Defamiliarization

From Free net encyclopedia

Defamiliarization or ostranenie is the artistic technique of forcing the audience to see common things in an unfamiliar or strange way, in order to enhance perception of the familiar. A basic satirical tactic, it is a central concept of 20th century art, ranging over movements including Dada, postmodernism, epic theatre, and science fiction. A fine example is Pepe le Pew's phrase "My sweet peanut of brittle".

Another example can be found in Swift's "Gulliver's Travel's Part 1" where the liliputians search Gulliver's pockets.

Defamiliarization (as a term, not a technique) was developed in the mid-20th century by Viktor Shklovsky, who is most often associated with Russian Formalism.

It was also slightly more publicized by Horace Miner [1956] with his story “Body Rituals Amongst the Nacirema,” where he characterized the rituals of Americans when they go about their morning rituals.

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