The Field of Glory

I am only going to make two more posts before I take a good long break from this blog for a while. In order to wrap up my analysis of 300 and the way in which it defamiliarizes us by causing us to see the glory of being a soldier and going to war, I want to post one last video that shows the conclusion of this depiction from the film. It is the final stand by the 300 Spartan soldiers. They all get slaughtered; however, the film makes their death seem glorious! Perhaps the most obvious aspect of this portayal occurs at the very end of the scene when Leonidus is about to be murked by a ton of arrows. In particular, watch the way in which the film depicts Leonidus going down and ultimately dying; however, as you watch this part, watch the way in which the film shows the sun reflecting its glorious light. This is a blatant metaphor of the theme this film presents throughout its duration. It is ultimately a film about restoring glory to the ideas that we associate with being a soldier and going to war. It makes me want to fight and die for something bigger than me. In addition, it caused me as the viewer to want to watch the film again and agin and enjoy it as a piece of art that communicates directly to my soul. The film has an aesthetic beauty that can make any viewer stop and contemplate the way ideas are communicated as well as enjoy the special effects from the various scenes. For me, this final scene really encapsulates the essence of the reality that this film defamiliarizes us by creating a newness in the way in which we view being a soldier and being in war.

Fight to the Death

Glory of War

So, over the past several posts I have commented on how the film 300 defamiliarizes us to our normal ideas about war and the horrors and tragedies of war. 300 is quite a different depiction of the battlefield. In fact, it is as though the entire movie is a glorification of war or at least an attempt to make the glory that can be found in war glorious again. I feel that the way in which this particular battle scene is portrayed shows this ideology. It defamiliarizes us in many ways and there are various ways in which Zach Snyder, the director, purposely created the scene to do just this very thing. First off, the transitioning from slow motion to fast action filming defamiliarizes our perception of warfare by causing us to become focused on the relentless passion Leonidus has for killing his enemies. The clinging and clanging of the weapons providing the background music almost makes us think about war as being melodic, a form of art. The clinging weapons create the music that guides King Leonidus in this scene as he dances through the bodies of the Persians. The way the blood of the Persians he is killing is shown distorts the reality of war as being glorious rather than gruesome and horrid (compare it with the beach scene from Saving Private Ryan). I mean, I would say that the way that Snyder portrays the actual blood, killing, and fighting that takes place between the Spartans and the Persians ultimately defamiliarizes us further to this ideology. Rather than feeling a sense of sorrow or repulsivness over men killing other men, the film ignites a sense of passion and excitement in my heart as I see how AWESOME war can be (I say that based solely in light of the film) and the glory that can come from killing your enemy on the battlefield. I mean the film's portrayal of battle really is unfamiliar to us as viewers because it makes war seem so freakin' cool!!!

Leonidus goes ham!

Also...compare the portrayal of the 300 scene to this scene from Saving Private Ryan. Watch from about 4:30 to 7:00 on the clip to see what I am really talking about!

Living to fight

Once again, the film 300 is a great example of a film that defamiliarizes us to the ingrained ideas we have about things. In particular, I am expounding on the way that the film defamiliarizes us to the idea of war and our idea of soldiers. This scene where Leonidus asks his men about their profession is a perfect example. For the most part, we think as soldiers as being soldiers on the side in many ways. I mean, yes, today we have people who are full time soldiers in the military, and it is their profession; however, how many of those men lived their entire lives training to do nothing except fight and kill and go to war? I would argue that very few, if any, were brought up this way. In fact, I suppose that the way in which we usually think about being a soldier is similar to the way the Arcadians( the soldiers Leonidus questions) were portrayed in this specific scene. However, the film's portrayal of the Spartans, once again, defamiliarizes us to our normal ideas about being a soldier and restores the idea of glory to being a soldier and going to war. Go hit up this link!

Check it Out!!!

This is Sparta

Alright, so you may be wondering where am I going with this 300 thing. Well, ultimately, I finally had to choose to narrow my direction down to one specific area of focus, so I decided I would focus predominantly on this film as a form of art because of the defamiliarizing effect that it has on its viewers. As I watched the film, I felt like the main way in which it affected me through defamiliarization was by estranging the ideas I commonly associate with war by the film's critique of the glory that can be associated with being a soldier and going to war for one's country. Honestly, I really do not think of war as being glorious or something desirable. I would go to war if their was a draft or if I had to go, but I am not the type that really desires to go battle, kill others, and risk my life dying on a battlefield. However, I definitely believe there is much honor and respect to be had there. Therefore, this film, on the other end if the spectrum, is totally estranged to my views. Take this next scene link as an example. Leonidus has the oppurtunity to avoid going to war and remaining at peace with the Persians who are conquering their land. Now, I definitely understand if he would not want to surrender, thus, turning down Xerxes the Persian king's offer. However, he does way more than turn their offer down. He provokes them to attack Sparta by killing the messenger of Persia. Leonidus wants to go to war against the Persians or as he calls them later, a Tyrant. There is no sense of fear or hesitation about going to war. Rather, there is a sense of glory and honor to be gained by going to war. In fact, the only way to achieve this form of glory and honor is by going to war according to the film. Prior to seeing this film, I had never thought about the glory and honor of going to war in this way. Here in the scene, the cinematography is a very vital defamiliarizing effect. The sun shining in the way that it does once again hints at the idea of glory. Leonidus is seen looking at the sun as he is contemplating his descision. It is all centered around the idea of glory. He sees glory on the horizon. The cinematography depicts this mindset. Also, the music defamiliarizes us in a likewise manner by adding a weight of glory to the scene. In addition to the music, the way in which the scene slows down, zeroing in on Leonidus, hints at the idea that great glory is to be gained from going to war. As you watch the scene take in all the different ways that it reflects this idea and does so in a way that is unfamiliar to us. Every component makes the idea of war glorious again. This glory is what drove the Spartans and Leonidus to respond the way they do in the film and in this scene....also the pop up, if it happens when you watch it will defamiliarize the scene even further! Lol!

No Negotiations

An Enemy Approaches

Again, in the beginning of the film, 300, the movie defamiliarizes my sense of being a soldier. Even in his teen years, Leonidus, the King of Sparta in the film, is constantly tested as the narrator tells. All the testing is for one reason and one reason only: to prepare him to be a Spartan soldier. The narration is key to being defamiliarized here and making the glory of being a soldier glorious again. Honestly, before I saw this movie, I had never thought about warfare and being a soldier in the way I did after seeing this movie. I think this is one of the reasons it is such a great picture of defamiliarization. The sheer story line is enough to make this idea new again, but the special effects add even more gravity to it. For example, throughout the film pay careful attention to the lighting in the background from either the sun or the moon. At various times throughout the film there is a powerful visual portrayal of intense light shown through the use of special effects. The portrayal of light is a clear metapohor regarding the glory that was associated with war for the Spartan soldier. I say this because of the times when the light is shown and the way the light is shown throughout the film. Even in the scene that I am referring to in this post, there is an obvious implementation of this particular metaphor. Look at when this effect is used, how it is used, and the underlying reason for why it is used in this scene. Further adding to the defamiliarization effects of the film is the portrayal of the Spartan soldiers. For instance, in this scene, Leonidus has been cast into the wild to fend for himself and survive however he can. Not only is he put in the wild alone, he is put in the wild during the winter time. The way Zack Snyder, the director, decided to portray this encounter Leonidus has with the wolf is very artistic, and its whole purpose is to defamiliarize us to ideas like bravery and fearlessness and how they interact with the overarching theme of the film in that there is great glory to be found in being a soldier and going to war for your country. Look at the way the enemy is depicted, look at the special effects that bring light to the darkness of night, thus, hinting at the glory of being a soldier and killing the enemy. Also, look at the portrayal of the young boy and the way the film shows him interacting with the enemy, in particular, his fearlessness and bravery. In addition to all these components, think about the narrator's words throughout the scene. The totality of the scene exists to defamiliarize the way that we think of being a soldier and going to war.

His Form...Perfect

Life made for Combat

300, perhaps the greatest guy movie of all time, is a perfect example of a film that portrays a society in a way that totally defamiliarizes our sense and perception of the ideas we associate with war. The film itself, depicts the glory of war that drives the Spartan society in a way that is totally centered around causing us to perceive war from a different perspective. It is very rare that we think of war as being a glorious thing and nowadays the same goes for being a soldier. As a matter of fact, when I sat down and really started watching the movie for the first time, I remember being totally drawn into the film because it made the idea of war glorious really for the first time in my life. Not only that, but it created a newness in the way I always thought about being a warrior or a soldier. The training the warriors received, the upbringing of their childhood, the physical stature the warriors had in the film, and the way the warriors thought about war defamiliarized me to the idea of being a soldier. Throughout the movie, I saw this theme that being a warrior is a great honor. The film also made me think about the idea that going to war and eventually dying on the battlefield for one's country is the most glorious thing one can do with their life. It defamilarized my sense of what it meant to be a soldier. So rather than continue to talk about it, let's look at the beginning of the film with the way the young boys were trained from their youth. Here, we will look at the way the film depicts the glory of being a soldier through the training these boys had to become soldiers. It is definitely foreign to me, but it causes me to continue to watch it again and again. Maybe, this defamiliarization is the reason I saw the movie four times when it was out in theatres.

Baptized in the Fire of Combat

For immortality!

After deciding to go to battle, Achilles rallies his troops with the same passion and motivation that he has for the glory that comes from fighting in battle. I mean look at the way that he talks about going into battle. It is obvious that this is the one thing that he lives for in life. Although it is only a film, it does defamiliarize us to the sheer love for war that some people really do have and the idea that war can be glorious, which is an idea that is so far removed from our culture. It definitely totally defamiliarizes our sense of fear and hesitancy when it comes to battle. In fact, it is the direct opposite of that mindset. For Achilles, war was his life and the glory found there was his passion. Listen to his riveting speech.

Immortality Awaits You!

Remembered forever

Continuing along the same avenue regarding a film that should be considered works of art due to their defamiliarizing effects on the viewer regarding the way in which Achilles character in the film Troy defamiliarizes us the idea of war by restoring glory to it. Therefore, go ahead and look at this dialogue that takes place between Achilles and his mother about going to fight in the Trojan War. Glory in battle was for what Achilles lived. Here is the point of descision for Achilles with respect to what he is going to choose to do. Listen to the two options he is presented with and based on the history, the story of the Trojan War, and the rest of the film, it is pretty clear what he decided to do. Now, I say that this is an example of defamiliarization revealed through the script because of the way that it makes the thoughts and ideas that we associate with going to war unfamiliar to us by giving us a completely different perspective on them. This mindset being communicated through the script is an implementation of defamiliarization due the effect that it has on the viewer's habitualized views and perceptions of going to war. It causes the viewer to think more intensely about the reason for why somebody would go to war in the first place.

A Lasting Legacy

Defamiliarized reasons for battle

Troy and 300, two of my favorite films, are great examples of films that should be considered recent works of art due to their ability to defamiliarize our sense of the idea of war and why somebody would go to war in the first place. For the most part, people go to war because they have to or they need to fight for their freedom. The majority of war films depict war as a violent thing that should be avoided unless it has to be carried out. I think about films like Saving Private Ryan as an example of a film that prtrays war this way. Although a great depiction of brotherhood, the film really showed a lot about the horrors of war. Other films like Gladiator or Braveheart are meer depictions of war being a means to another end, like freedom. However, very rarely is there a film that glorifies war for the sake of the glory that can come from fighting in a war. I mean very few films really show war as being almost an end in itself: the ultimate pursuit of glory being found in dying on the battlefield for your country. Even further, few films depict war as being the passion of a particular person or a particular culture. However, two films that I can think of do just that. One example of a society that is depicted this way is the Spartan society as they are depicted in 300. Really the entirety of the film reflects this mindset. An example of a film that depicts an individual person this way is Troy through the depiction of Achilles in the film. Beginning with Troy, look at this scene and the way that Achilles talks to the little boy concerning his reasons for fighting. I mean, in the film, it shows him being totally indifferent to the advancement of the Greek culture. In fact, he hates Agamemnon the King. At a heart level, he has one reason for fighting. Glory. His character in the film can be viewed as a technique that the director ultimately used to defamiliarize the audience to its habiltualized ideas concerning war, being a soldier, and going to war.
Check it out: That's why Nobody will Remember Your Name.

Dairy Queen defamiliarization? Really

Watch it here: Dairy Queen Commercial

One of my buddies from class posted a youtube video of a new dairy queen video. Can I just say that dairy queen will probably defamiliarize your taste of burgers all in all, and I do not know if that application will be a positive form of defamiliarization or not...Anyways, The commercial that dairy queen released is pretty funny but definitely strange. In fact, I really do not know what the guy playing the guitar has to do with dairy queen. On top of that, the fact that he plays a guitar that makes dolphin sounds is even stranger. However, for the sake of the blog's reputation to bring you modern examples of defamiliarization in the cinematic arena, I would like to comment on the video. How can the video itself defamiliarize us? Well in one way, it defamiliarizes us by making the ridiculous well ridiculous again. The fact that the man in the commercial is playing a guitar is not really ridiculous; however, when the guitar produces dolphin sounds the commercial takes a turn into the realm of more than strange. However, this is the point. Just like you really do not know what to say after hearing this, a dairy queen burger (according to the commercial) is so good you will not be able to explain it either. It defamiliarizes us to fast food advertisement. However, it also defamiliarizes us to the sound that a guitar could make and creates a sense of newness and increased necessity to listen to the noise that the guitar produces. This, in fact, slows our perceptions and causes us listen more closely. The other way that this can defamiliarize us can be applied to our thought process regarding the sound that guitars make and how it can change the next time we hear a guitar. It may, in fact, cause us to listen with a new sense of awareness and appreciation for the sheer pleasure that can come from a harmonic melody of strings being played together. This contrasted with the somewhat annoying croaking of the dolphins coming from the guitar could create the sense of music from a guitar being made new again. Think about it. Thanks James!

Making brutality brutal again

One of the many examples of film that should be considered to be a piece of art due to its ability to defamiliarize us to that which we have become habitualized to is Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. The story of Jesus and in particular the story of His crucifixion can, very easily, become something that we become familiar with, not in its depth, but in its literal depiction of the event. Simply reading or hearing of the details of the crucifixion can be gut wrenching, but overtime, they become somewhat “familiar.” All of this changed when Mel Gibson released his film depicting the historic documentation of the death of Jesus of Nazareth. The entirety of the film is able to defamiliarize us to the events surrounding His death because no other film has so vividly portrayed the imagery of His trial, flogging, and crucifixion. To focus on one particular scene from the movie and its ability to defamiliarize our perceptions of the actual event is what I hope to do here. This particular scene causes us to slow down and perceive with more intensity the reality of the flogging of Christ. The visual depictions of the brutality of Christ’s death within the film cause us to visualize the event as though for the first time. Even though it is not actually happening in front of us, the film allows us to get a very close and vivid picture of what the onlookers at the actual flogging of Jesus witnessed. The visuals effect us to the very core. What text is often not able to do, the film does powerfully. But how so? Well, everything about the scene causes this scene to be “unfamiliar” to us, thus, succesfully employing Shklovsky's theory about the purpose of art. The soldiers brutality and hatred is depicted through their jeers, their actions, their mannerisms, and their facial features. Even the discoloration of their teeth adds to the defamiliarizing effect. It causes us to view these soldiers visually. Rather than reading about their laughs, we hear their laughs. Rather than read about their intense hatred, we are able to feel, sense, and see their hatred and indifference for Jesus. In fact, we see the length to which they are ruthlessly beating Jesus in this scene when they bend over out of sheer exhaustion from striking Jesus continually. The depiction of Christ defamiliarizes us to the normal way in which we have come across this event. The clothing He is wearing is ragged and dirty. He appears to have been “through the ringer” already. He has visual bruises and wounds on His face. Then, once the beating begins, Jesus yells and gasps for air as blow after blow slam into his back. He hops and jumps due to the pain of the blows being driven into His legs. By the time the first round of the beating is finished, he is shown quivering and shaking and whimpering in pain. His flesh is exposed and blood visually seeps from his fresh wounds. All of these components add to the defamiliarizing effect produced from the film. Another component that defamiliarizes us to the brutality of this scene is the visual portrayal of the weaponry. Perhaps the most powerful example of this can be seen when the soldier takes the cat of nine tails whip and slams it into the wood table. Upon contact, the metal blades that are anchored into the end of the ropes stick into the table. The guard literally yanks them out. The visual power this communicates repulses us as the audience becomes aware that those jagged pieces of metal would be thrust into human flesh. Throughout the scene, Mel Gibson “defamiliarizes” us to this well-known historical event. He does so in a very graphic way, making it new again. Or, by paraphrasing Shklovsky, he makes the brutality of the flogging of Jesus brutal again.

Flogging of Jesus

The Narrow Road

In an article that came out several years ago, 1986, to be exact, William Costanzo discussed how film can be taught as a new method of helping students learn more about composing papers and becoming writers. So what does this have to do with defamiliarization? Well, my fellow blogger, let me explain. The purpose in me choosing to read this paper (in addition to learning how to analyze films as written texts) is that I finally have some narrowed direction, even more narrowed than my post from the other day hinted at, concerning this particular blog. Since movies can be related to texts (written texts that is), then defamiliarization can be applied to analyzing different films. In fact, Constanzo says the following in the posted article about films being written texts: “…we can use them more directly and more productively by treating film, television, and writing as analogous forms of composition” (Constanzo 79). So, that being said, films can be analyzed as texts or prose and seen as being a work that defamiliarizes us or leaves us in the same state of thought, thus, showing itself to be a piece of art or failing to show itself to be that. Shklovsky frequently used the prose of Leo Tolstoy to drive home his theory of defamiliarization. Well, following his example, my hope is the apply similar techniques to recent films, whether it be through the cinematography, depiction of settings, story line, characters, or other various components of film that may defamiliarize us to our habitualized perceptions of the way we view things, especially in the arena of film. I hope I am able to inform, and you are able to enjoy. Peace.

Link to: Film as Composition

Defamiliarized Battle Scenes

So, as I was thinking further on some other applications of defamiliarization in our culture. One example that came to my mind was the movie 300. This film is very intense and a great battle movie, but what made it so interesting to me was learning about the actual filming of the movie itself. The entirety of the film was done in front of a green screen. Thus, almost the whole movie is strictly special effects. In an interview on StudioDaily, the VFX director of the film Grant Freckelton discusses the various ways and techniques in which he went about making the visual aspects of the film. One of the main things that the visual production of this film does to the audience is that it draws their attention to the entire setting of the battle scenes. The characters almost protrude from the screen. The surrounding environment coincides with the mood of the battle. For example, when the Spartan soldiers fight the Immortals, the whole scene is dark, gray, and overcast. Freckelton clearly did this to add to the dramatic effect of the battle with the Immortals. These soldiers (the Immortals) had never been defeated and greatly outnumbered the Spartans. By situating the setting this way, Freckelton caused the audience to take into account the entirety of the scene, not simply the fight. In other places throughout the film, the setting of the scenes equally effects the viewers perceptions and defamiliarizes them to typical battle scenes from other films.

Article about Freckelton's Techniques

Battle with the Immortals

Defamiliarization and Subtitles

Watching movies in a foreign language is always interesting. Especially with respect to the way in which we, as audience memebers, are able to engage them. One of the movies that sticks out in my mind is the late, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I remember watching this movie for the first time and having to read the movie in subtitles. It was the first time that I watched a movie in subtitles and it made the film watching experience totally different. I had to be more engaged. I was forced, due to this type of defamiarization, to gaze more intently at the film just like it were a piece of art. As I was thinking about this film and doing some research about this idea regarding subtitles, I came across an article that discusses how subtitles do, in fact, defamiliarize us as viewers who are watching a foreign film. In fact, the author of this article Dionysis Kapsaskis (unfamiliar name mind you...could names be considered art forms?...just a side thought) says, "Overall, subtitles exert a defamiliarizing effect; they intervene in the filmviewing experience and draw attention to the formal and aesthetico-political characteristics of the cinematic medium itself" when referring to the effect of subtitles in film. Check it out.

The Defamiliarizing Effect of Subtitles

Some Page Direction

So, I have been trying to think about the purpose of this page more lately and how to apply Victor's theory of defamiliarization to certain components of culture, whether it be literature, paintings, or music. After some thought about the direction of this particular blog, I feel that I would really like to make this site a compilation of different artisitic presentations that defamiliarize us to our normal way of viewing things. Ultimately, my focus will be more general and less specific but will show how prevelant this theory is in our culture when we think about the humanities. From Lady Gaga to Guadi. Defamiliarization occurs everywhere and the purpose of this blog will be to show specific examples of it in our culture. Thanks for following.

Defamiliarization in Dress

So one of the biggest celebrity icons of our day is Miss Lady Gaga! She has continued to wow, if thats the proper word, our culture with her provocative and strange clothes. She has definitely made clothing a form of art and in some cases, a meat market. Anyways, I thought about some of the outfits she has flaunted in the various award ceremonies she attended and thought about Victor's idea of art being defamiliarization. Is it applicable to dress? I believe it is and here is an example: