The Convergence of Familiarity and Strangeness: Non-Commercial Adaptation of the Home Shopping Format to Induce Critical Reception
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Traditional policy promotional videos have prioritized direct information delivery, thereby limiting opportunities for stylistic and structural experimentation.This study closely examines a case in which a local government strategically applied the commercial television home shopping format to the promotion of public policy.The content, Chungcheongbuk-do Smart City Shopping Live, directed by the researcher, presents core policy messages through a familiar product-selling structure while embedding theatrical devices and intentionally defamiliarizing techniques to induce productive tension between media format and communicative intent.This dissonance is interpreted via Brecht's theory of Verfremdungseffekt (alienation effect), which disrupts narrative immersion, promotes interpretive distance, and encourages critical reflection.Five expressive strategies are analyzed in detail: theatrical scene insertion, inversion of linguistic forms, visual mimicry of commercial aesthetics, commodified presentation of devices, and carefully calibrated emotional design.These elements collectively foster interpretive distance, thereby realizing the alienation effect.The study explores the contemporary relevance of Brechtian theory within mediated public communication.Additionally, optimal arousal theory is employed to demonstrate how a balanced level of emotional stimulation can sustain viewer engagement while facilitating interpretive shifts.By integrating these theoretical perspectives, the study provides a multidimensional understanding of how formal experimentation can enhance critical reception in non-commercial public messaging.
Authors: Ki Wook Seong, Jong Woo Jun
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4413835450