To make something seem unfamiliar or strange, to disrupt the automatic or habitual perceptions of the familiar. This involves distancing the viewer, reader, or listener from the commonplace, prompting a fresh and critical examination of the subject. It is achieved through various techniques like altering perspective, presenting information in unusual formats, or highlighting unexpected details. This method often challenges ingrained assumptions and encourages a deeper understanding by forcing a re-evaluation of the known, transforming the mundane into the novel, ultimately stimulating greater awareness and insight. The process can be used in art, literature, and everyday observation. It is, in essence, stripping the everyday of its taken-for-granted quality.
De-familiarize meaning with examples
- The author, employing experimental narrative techniques, sought to de-familiarize the reader with the traditional story structure. By breaking chronological order and shifting perspectives, she forced a reconsideration of the characters' motivations and the plot's inherent biases, leading to a more profound experience.
- A photographer, through selective blurring and unusual angles, managed to de-familiarize ordinary street scenes. The resulting images, no longer passively observed, prompted viewers to contemplate the subtle interplay of light, shadow, and human presence in the previously ignored urban landscape.
- Surrealist painters often de-familiarized recognizable objects by placing them in unexpected contexts. This juxtaposition of the ordinary and the extraordinary challenged perceptions and sparked new interpretations of reality, inviting the viewer to question what is 'real' and 'normal'.
- To de-familiarize your mind, try taking a walk in a new neighborhood and look at everything as if seeing it for the first time. By consciously trying to see the 'new' in the 'familiar' you will be able to focus and pay attention to elements that are not typically noticed.