Jurassic Park and Walter Benjamin

http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi2530541593/

According to Walter Benjamin, “…for the first time man has to operate with his whole living person, yet forgoing its aura.” He goes on to say that “…aura is tied to [man’s] presence; there can be no replica of it…however, the singularity of the shot in the studio is that the camera is substituted for the public. Consequently, the aura that envelops the actor vanishes, and with it the aura of the figure he portrays.” This meaning that the stage actor creates an atmosphere between him and the audience that the screen actor lacks. While that may be true, the screen actor has something that theatre can never completely reproduce: technology. Since film can be edited and cut several different times, this allows directors and actors the opportunity to experiment with different acting styles and techniques to figure out which best fits the current scene. The main reason technology is so important to film in modern day movies is computer-generated scenes, situations, and even characters. In the film Jurassic Park, the entire film would have been a failure without technology. The clip above shows how computer-generated images and live people interact in a scene that would have been impossible without technology. This advantage cannot cross over into the theatre. It is impossible with the current technology to produce life-like dinosaurs on stage. Benjamin also assumes that screen actors have more opportunity to perfect their performance with multiple shots and takes. For instance if a scene requires the actor to have a startled look and they fail to give the desired expression, the film crew can create a situation without the actor knowing and startle him to get the perfect expression for the film (9). While this is all true it also makes the film quality better. When watching a movie, the viewer knows that they are seeing the best possible performance. In the case of Jurassic Park, I’m sure that some of the techniques suggested by Benjamin were used to create a realistic sense of fear in the film, but as a result, the movie seems realistic and the actors do not seem as if they are acting. A well-done movie, if performed and executed properly, should seem like a documentary about the certain subject. The clip shown views like a documentary as a result of realistic acting and, most importantly, technology. If the technology had not existed to create the life-like dinosaurs, this feeling would not be present.