Wrapping it Up

Throughout this blog, I have tried to present you with various examples from our culture that should be considered art because of the defamiliarizing effect that they have on us. Trying to be faithful to the founder of this theory, I have attempted to expound on ways in which these objects are able to defamiliarize us. At the outset of my blog, I was not sure what direction I wanted to head in, but as time progessed and the blog evolved, I finally landed on film. In doing this, I was looking to do something new. Therefore, the evidence and research that I have obtained for the posts ultimately is rooted in Viktor Shklovsky's work, "Art as Technique." However, once I moved into focusing specifically on film, I used the footage from the various films as the evidence to back up the claims and the arguments that I was making in my posts. As the blog has developed, I have learned a lot about Shklovsky's theory and have been persuaded that the ultimate purpose of art is to defamiliarize us to life so that things are constantly made new, keeping us from becoming habitualized to anything. The final component of my argument was ultimately discussed through the film 300 where I set out to show how that film should be considered a piece of art due its defamiliarizing effects on us as viewers. It is my hope that this blog will serve as a catalyst for you to do more research concerning Shklovsky's ideas and learn how to enjoy art for what it is. For me, Shklovsky's theory impacted me because I need to be shocked out of my routine everyday and art, according to Shklovsky, is able to do this. Therefore, I have been led to appreciate art once again. Thanks Vik! Hope you have enjoyed!