A construção do sujeito na perspectiva do narrador: análise discursiva do filme Malèna e a formação de identidade através do olhar do outro

Abstract

This study investigates how a subject's identity can be constructed through the gaze of the other, based on a discursive analysis of the film Malèna (2000), directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Grounded in Foucauldian Discourse Studies, the research examines how Renato, the narrator-character, constructs the figure of Malèna from a socially and historically situated perspective. Furthermore, it analyzes how the character's lack of voice, combined with her objectification and silencing, reveals power structures and discursive mechanisms at work in the constitution of female subjectivity. Through audiovisual discourse analysis, the study highlights how the male gaze, embodied in Renato's narrative, reinforces stigmas and fantasies while simultaneously denying the character her agency as a subject. The findings indicate that Malèna’s identity is constructed within a discourse that both idealizes and marginalizes her, positioning her as an object of others’ desire, even though she is, at times, humanized by the narrator. The research thus contributes to discussions on audiovisual representations from a Foucauldian perspective, the relationship between narrative and power, and the discursive processes involved in identity formation in cinema.