The straightforward answer to why many detest a repetitive 9-5 career is habitualization.

When

one can no longer find the variables that separate days, or even hours, life can eventually be

“reckoned as nothing” (Shklovsky, 9). With that said, the following question would be: how does

one introduce variety into life? Russian formalist and literary critic Viktor Shklovsky answers

this in the very title of his essay - to use “Art as a technique”.

A water bottle does not just hold water, but it can also hold stationery. A suitcase can act as a

table. A video game controller can be decor. By “mak[ing] an object ‘unfamiliar’” and detaching

it from a single purpose, one’s perception of it can morph and give way to creativity and

originality. Recognising an object or situation is boring. A better approach would be to “see it”,

as Shklovsky states, and open the object and the individual up to more possibilities (9).

An effective practice to exercise creativity and artistry would be to describe an object or situation

“as if [one] were seeing it for the first time” (Shklovsky, 9); a technique derived from Tolstoy’s

writing. For example, to defamiliarise a computer, try to look at life from its point of view. More

often than not one would easily find entertainment and value behind the silliness of perspective

shifts.

Even as repetition continues to create mundane objects and circumstances, with an artistic

mindset, the familiar can “seem strange” (Shklovsky, 9).

Though this technique may seem new, all have used it before in childhood when more was

unknown. By progressing to adulthood, many tend to lose touch with the immature naïveté,
innocence, and creativity necessary to make life entertaining. That is what is expected of society:

seriousness in replacement of risk, curiosity, and wonder. However, every once in a while artists

such as Antoine de Saint-Exupery perfectly recall the simplicity of childhood and promote the

application of immature exploration and thought. Through Kenneth Branagh’s soothing voice,

Romain Victor-Pujebet’s game design techniques, and Saint-Exupery’s text, Gyoza Media

published an interactive video novel that depicts the story of The Little Prince - known as the “A

kids’ story only adults can love” (Jean-Louis; Helbig). Of all the cautionary tales and lessons

riddled in the visual journey, the most prominent of which considers the importance of monetary

value.

“If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with

geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they would not be able to get any idea of that

house at all. You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000." Then they would

exclaim: ‘Oh, what a pretty house that is!’” (Williams 14:30–14:47)

Despite a social construct, money continues to be idolised and prioritised often above all else as

seen in Branagh’s monologue. No individual nor community can change this fact of life in the

near future. However, the director, animators, and performers demonstrate that when all is

reduced to appeal to logos, the visual and physical can disappear, further dehumanising us as

both consumers and producers of goods and services. The animation further highlights this idea

through a visual analogy consisting of a scientist presenting the same findings in informal and

formal attire. When shown that his research was only accepted after presenting in an “elegant

suit”, it is clear that the creators intend to bring light to the impracticality behind the shallow
capitalism many adults maintain (Williams 13:26–13:55). Instead, to live freely, happily, and

creatively, one take away the number: whether it be a price or someone’s income. Become

childlike and view the world as it is. The house is pretty not because of its monetary value, but

because of its “rosy brick[s]… geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof”.

Works Cited:

Victor-Pujebet, Romain, director. The Little Prince Narrated by Kenneth Branagh. YouTube,
YouTube, 28 Apr. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=APG1upS8LDw&ab_channel=ChristopherWilliams. Accessed 22 Sept. 2022.
Gratchev, Slav, et al. Viktor Shklovsky’s Heritage in Literature, Arts, and Philosophy.
Amsterdam, Netherlands, Adfo Books, 2019.

Jean-Louis. “Le Petit Prince (1997).” MobyGames, 21 Nov. 2010,

https://www.mobygames.com/game/le-petit-prince.

Helbig, Jack. “The Little Prince: A Kids' Story Only Adults Can Love.” Chicago Reader, 19
Aug. 2021, https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/the-little-prince-a-kids-story-only-adults-can-
love/.