How Spatial and Temporal References Construct Cultural Identity and Ecological Awareness: The Case of Little Forest Movie

How Spatial and Temporal References Construct Cultural Identity and Ecological Awareness: The Case of Little Forest Movie

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article
Authors: Idah Hamidah1 Yusida Lusiana1 Nani Sunarni2 Faizal Risdianto3

1 Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Indonesia, 2 Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia, 3 Universitas Islam Negeri Salatiga, Indonesia

10.22034/ijscl.2025.2059443.4026

Abstract
This research analyses the use of spatial and temporal deixis in the Little Forest movie to explore the interconnection between language, Japanese culture, and ecology. It employed a qualitative approach based on an ecolinguistics analysis framework grounded in the positive discourse analysis (PDA) model and the concept of symbolic competence. The analysis reveals that the use of local place (35.71%) and cultural place names (39.29%) is more dominant than proximal explicit (14.29%), medial (7.14%), and distal (3.57%) deixis. In terms of temporal deixis, specific time (48.28%) and repeated time (24.14%) references reflect a natural cycle-based time construction. These findings suggest that space and time in the movie are not merely narrative backdrops but play a crucial role in constructing cultural identity, fostering ecological awareness, and articulating resistance to global homogenization (Kramsch, 2010; Stibbe, 2020). The movie presents rural life as a deliberate, meaningful choice rooted in tradition and nature. Thus, Little Forest can be seen as offering an alternative, sustainable model of life grounded in local wisdom and ecological values and showing cultural continuity in society.

Keywords: Deixis Ecolinguistics Japan Language and culture Little Forest Movie

How Spatial and Temporal References Construct Cultural Identity and Ecological Awareness: The Case of Little Forest Movie