IS THE ACTRESS’S BODY STILL USEFUL? THE DISAPPEARING TECHNOLOGIES OF THE ACTOR’S BODY IN THE CONGRESS (ARI FOLMAN, 2013)

Abstract

The study of the film The Congress is an opportunity to observe the ins and outs of the debate on performance capture and motion capture. Three scenes are analyzed from an aesthetic point of view, to see how the mise-en-scène brings out the problems linked
to actress Robin Wright’s image. Playing herself, she is confronted with her aging appearance and her “usefulness” as an actress, as her body and facial expressions are scanned and dematerialized. The debate over the disappearance of the actor’s craft nevertheless highlights the importance of the actor’s presence on the set, his function as a technician against the machines in a Hollywood production, and the need to capture his persona. However, this raises the ethical question of potential abuses: on the one hand, an actor’s data may remain after his or her death; on the other, the risk of deepfakes is increased. Ultimately, performance capture is an additional tool for the actor, but opens the door to information retrieval without genuine consent.