1896 - 1966
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Walter Benjamin (1892-1940)
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical
Reproduction
VIII
The artistic performance of a stage actor is
definitely presented to the public by the actor in person; that of the
screen actor, however, is presented by a camera, with a twofold consequence.
The camera that presents the performance of the film actor to the public
need not respect the performance as an integral whole. Guided by the cameraman,
the camera continually changes its position with respect to the performance.
The sequence of positional views which the editor composes from the material
supplied him constitutes the completed film. It comprises certain factors
of movement which are in reality those of the camera, not to mention special
camera angles, close-ups, etc. Hence, the performance of the actor is subjected
to a series of optical tests. This is the first consequence of the fact
that the actor's performance is presented by means of a camera. Also, the
film actor lacks the opportunity of the stage actor to adjust to the audience
during his performance, since he does not present his performance to the
audience in person. This permits the audience to take the position of a
critic, without experiencing any personal contact with the actor. The audience's
identification with the actor is really an identification with the camera.
Consequently the audience takes the position of the camera; its approach
is that of testing. This is not the approach to which cult values may be
exposed. |
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