Samsara documentary: narrative and discourse analysis and a possible interpretation

Abstract

This article aims to present an analysis of Samsara's documentaryproduced by Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson. This analysis was based using aspects of discourse analysis and the concepts about time and narrative elaborated by the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur. From the narrative construction of the film I was able to establish a possible reading through the assembling of a hypothetical narrative chain of the scenes and the search of a narrator, which is hidden in the film. Through the analysis I was able to understand how the producers intended to demonstrate contradictory aspects of human existence and its relationship with the environment. Following the story I was able to propose insights that helped to understand the purpose of the directors for a film without speeches.

Keywords

• Documentary film
• discourse analysis
• narratological analysis
• history of the world
• meditation