earticle

영어

This paper examines the ontological crisis facing stunt performance due to the rise of artificial intelligence. Historically, the reality of stunt work has been rooted in the physical, embodied risk undertaken by performers. This concept has been theoretically defined through Walter Benjamin’s aura, which is the unique presence of the performance in time and space, and Vivian Sobchack’s embodied vision, which is the phenomenological connection between the on-screen action and the spectator’s sensory experience. This paper argues that AI technologies are not merely replacing this reality but are reconstructing it. The locus of authenticity is shifting from the singular, high-risk physical event to a legally negotiated, technologically reproducible digital asset. This argument is explored through four key analyses. First, an examination of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA contract reveals how legal frameworks for Digital Replicas and Synthetic Performers institutionalize the dissolution of aura. Second, it analyzes how this legal framework transforms professional risk from the physical to the digital realm. Third, a case study of the film The Fall Guy (2024) illustrates the emergence of a hybrid reality, where authentic, practical stunts serve as a raw core for extensive digital reconstruction. Fourth, the establishment of a new Academy Award for Stunt Design is interpreted as an institutional canonization, an attempt to preserve the cultural value of the craft at the moment its material basis is threatened. The paper concludes that the reality of stunt performance is being redefined from a physical event into a contractual asset, altering the aesthetic, economic, and phenomenological foundations of this cinematic art form.