ABSTRACT
In my contribution to this book, I would like to hint at a possible lineage of the concept of ostranenie (остранение) in aesthetic and film theory from the Russian Formalists to the present day. My approach is basically conceptual and unorthodox. My particular aim here is to define a golden thread for the conceptual labyrinth that would lead from Shklovsky’s idea – both theoretically and historically – to what I take to be a fundamental challenge to the theory of the moving image, namely the arrival of the newest digital technology of simulation. And I hope to be able to unpack the meaning of ostranenie without forcing the original concept too much and incurring the wrath of orthodox criticism.
