Definition of Russian Formalism

Russian formalism should be understood as an analytical approach related to literary criticism and not as a literary movement in a strict sense. Thus, early 20th century Russian linguists such as Victor Shklovski and Boris Eichenbaum began to analyze the literary work from its formal aspects and not according to the traditional criteria based on the historical context and the psychological dimension of the authors.

This new approach focused on how something is told and not what is told. Russian formalism was a whole revolution in the vision of literary criticism and, at the same time, in the world of movie theater.

General approach to Russian formalism

They focus on how to understand literary creation. Thus, they conceive that form is the structure and organization of a text and this dimension is directly related to the literary style and not to the content. In this sense, this school emphasizes the effect and impression of words on the reader.

For the formalists, the analysis of the literary work must be understood as a

methodology scientific and not as a conglomeration of psychological and historical ideas.

For Russian formalism, the concept of ostranenie, translated into Spanish as estrangement, is key to understanding literary creation

This proposal is the emotional effect that words have on the reader. In other words, it is the building of a fictional world far from reality as it is.

The technique of estrangement proposed by the Russian formalists connected with the literary movements of Vanguard Europeans, since the avant-garde understood the literary work as a form of experimentation through words.

Another of the basic topics is that of language everyday, which could be defined as the most spontaneous speech, that is, the least elaborate. The practical purpose of everyday language is communication effective. At the same time, everyday language is one that is opposed to poetic language.

The influence of Russian formalism on cinematographic language

The literary perspective of the Russian Formalists has been projected onto cinematographic creation. Like the literary work, a film can be analyzed according to formal aspects, such as lighting, sound, composition of shots or montage.

The ideas of formalism have influenced the history of cinema in general, as many filmmakers create their own reality independently of the real world around them. It must be remembered that the images of a film are not beautiful in themselves but they acquire this dimension by the formal treatment of the director (for example through the light or the effects of sound).

Finally, the shots that make up a movie are worthless until the director makes the final assembly of the same and, therefore, it is not a question of joining a series of shots or planes but of how they join.

Photo: Fotolia - Maksym Alokhin

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