In art and culture, the practice of taking existing images, texts, or ideas and repurposing them in a new context to create new meaning or critique.
French word meaning 'diversion' or 'misuse,' from détourner (to turn aside). Adopted into English by the Situationist International art movement in the 1950s to describe their artistic technique.
Detournement is what street artists and meme creators do when they take a famous advertisement or movie scene and remix it into something totally new—it's the artistic rebellion of 'I'll take your culture and twist it,' and it has a French revolutionary name to match.
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