Resumen de Elogio de la metamorfosis. Notas acerca de la teoría del actor cinematográfico en el cine de Weimar
German theoretical debate concerning films made in the late teens and the early twenties very often takes the actor as the starting point for analysis of the new medium.
This focus gave rise to a rich reflection that, nonetheless, was eclipsed by editing theories in the mid-twenties.
The film actor theory in 1920s Germany systematically attempted to define the distinctive features of the human presence on the screen based on the verification of the ontological and functional difference that separates it from its theatrical predecessor. The image of the film actor is technically reproducible and is materialised in superficiality. An image, moreover, capable of publicising the productivity of a new concept of the meaning of the body, which is revealed to be essentially different to verbal language. Film images bring to light the metamorphism of the body, provided that it is not subjected to the dictates of narration and editing. This incessant transformation is a source of meaning in itself, before and independently of the intention to tell a story. Thanks to this contribution, the generation of meaning in cinema can now be understood from a different perspective to that provided by semiotics of narration or morphological models.
