Detaching the Actor’s Face: Control and Usage of the Face as an Image-object

Abstract

This article explores the extent to which the actor’s face has impacted society to the point that it is no longer a personal possession and that its usage and context are difficult to control. I bring together perspectives from visual studies and celebrity studies to address the issues of face borrowing and identification. I examine the engagement of the general public with the actor’s face in an attempt to create the basis for a critical analysis. I propose viewing the actor’s face as an image-object, detached from the physical body and able to travel without the actual presence of the actor. Three defining stages are identified in social behaviour that are a direct result of capturing the face in a photograph: detaching, owning and wearing the face. The need for intimacy and identification that governs the relationship between audiences and celebrities has an effect on the handling of images of actors. Furthermore, this article investigates the concurrence of technological advancements that allow individuals to use actors’ faces for shaping their own identities and highlights the danger that actors are facing as the rise of artificial intelligence can render them as replicable digital assets.