This content originally appeared on Envato Tuts+ Tutorials and was authored by Marie Gardiner
What does breaking the fourth wall mean?
The ‘fourth wall’ is a sort of invisible barrier between us (the audience) and the world of a play, film, or TV show. In a theatre setting, the stage has three actual walls, and the audience watches through the ‘fourth wall’. For that to be broken, a character has to directly address the audience, which is an acknowledgment that they’re there. We’re going to stop putting fourth wall in inverted commas now!
In films, this is usually a metatextual device where characters look at the camera (and so at us, the audience) watching through the fourth wall. They might be narrating their thoughts or giving a critique of the story they’re in. Either way, it disrupts the suspension of disbelief for one reason or another: to be funny, to heighten the emotional impact, to get the audience to think, etc.
It's worth a little note to say that there's also an idea of the 'third wall' which isn't a metaphor like the fourth wall. It includes times when characters interact with or acknowledge the limits of the physical space they're in, but without directly addressing or including the audience in some way. A good example of this is Dogville (2003) where the characters interact with chalk outlines on the floor as if they're real, which breaks the illusion of the 'world' they're in but doesn't acknowledge the audience.
Breaking the fourth wall
As we’ve mentioned already, the idea of this dates back to theatre. Playwrights like Shakespeare often used techniques like asides and soliloquies to deliver more information to the audience than just dialogue could. In Hamlet, Hamlet talks to the audience about his struggles. Denis Diderot theorised about an ‘invisible wall’ and that by ignoring the audience, a performance would be more real, which is where the notion of a fourth wall came from.
Cinema took on this technique right from the get-go, and even silent films would sometimes have actors acknowledging the audience. Take The Tramp (1915) where Charlie Chaplin tips his hat to the camera. In the early days it was mostly used as something light-hearted or comedic, little knowing glances to the camera during a funny moment and a way to invite the audience into the joke.
With the introduction of sound, characters could speak directly to the viewers, and in the mid-20th century directors like Alfred Hitchcock started experimenting with how to manipulate audience engagement.
In the 1970s and ‘80s, directors like Woody Allen and Mel Brooks were really making use of it in films like Annie Hall (1977) and Blazing Saddles (1974). More recently, films like Deadpool (2016) have used the technique to mock the superhero genre while existing within it, but the TV show Fleabag uses it to create a closer connection between the protagonist and the viewer.
Ways to break the fourth wall
- Direct address. A character looks into the camera and speaks to the audience.
- Narration. A character’s voice-over is paired with a moment of direct eye contact.
- Meta references. Characters acknowledge their existence in a fictional world.
- Interactivity. Sometimes films or shows will ask for the audience to take part in decision-making.
- Breaking the physical space. Interaction with the camera or audience, like pulling the frame closer.
Why break the fourth wall?
- Humour. Pointing out absurdities or being meta can make audiences laugh and subvert expectations.
- Emotion. Directly addressing the viewer can create a sense of intimacy or shared experience.
- Critique. Drawing attention to societal issues, genre conventions, tropes and so on can challenge traditional storytelling.
- Immersion or disruption. Depending on how it’s done, breaking the fourth wall can either pull the audience into the story more, or pull them out of it entirely.
- Reinforcing themes. Like questioning what’s real, or the idea of free will.
Cultural Context
Cultural context plays a role in how breaking the fourth wall is interpreted. Western audiences might be more familiar with it as it’s used quite a lot in US and UK film and TV, but other cultures have their own take too, even if it’s less common.
Take Bollywood. Films like Om Shanti Om (2007) use a lot of meta references and fourth wall breaks to comment on Bollywood tropes and filmmaking. Japanese anime often uses direct audience engagement too.
Social and technological changes also shape how we respond to breaking the fourth wall. If you think about social media and how interactive entertainment can be now, we’ve actually got used to breaking boundaries; does that make breaking the wall more, or less, effective?
Films and TV that break the fourth wall
1. Deadpool (2016)
Deadpool’s playful self-awareness is part of what makes it so appealing. A superhero movie, Deadpool follows Wade Wilson as he tries to get revenge after being disfigured in an experiment. Deadpool regularly breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the camera, making snarky observations about the superhero genre, and mocking the studio’s lack of budget.
2. Annie Hall (1977)
Oscar-winning comedy-drama Annie Hall follows a relationship between an eccentric named Annie and a neurotic comedian called Alvy, who quite often turns to the audience to let us know his thoughts, feelings, and even observations. There’s one particularly funny part (although it’s actually to another character but we don’t see them on screen at the time) where he says, ‘There's the winner of the Truman Capote look-alike contest’ and it is actually a cameo by Truman Capote, which really makes us feel like we’re in on the joke.
3. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Everyone’s favourite slacker Ferris Bueller fakes being ill to have fun in the city with his friends. He frequently addresses the camera to share plans and thoughts, treating the audience a bit like a diary, or co-conspirators. It adds to the charm of the film and it makes us feel more affection for Ferris because he’s charismatic.
4. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Leonardo DiCaprio plays stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who regularly narrates what he’s up to directly to the camera, walking us through his dodgy financial schemes.
5. The Truman Show (1998)
Truman’s whole life has been a reality TV show, and everyone around him is acting out roles. Truman himself doesn’t actually break the fourth wall in the ways we’ve covered (that would be the third wall!), but the premise of the film is that we constantly have our attention pulled to the fact that the world is fake, and we’re voyeurs of Truman’s life. In that sense, we're being directly addressed and so it's breaking the fourth wall, just not as overtly as some other examples. Everyone other than Truman needs to be careful about breaking any metaphorical walls at all because they’re fully aware there’s an audience (not us, although we're part of it); with the frequent exception of advertising, and one particularly stressful point where Truman’s ‘wife’ feels threatened and calls out to producers for help.
6. Fleabag (2016–2019)
An example in TV rather than film, Fleabag is a great demonstration of how effective breaking the fourth wall can be. Fleabag (the titular character) constantly breaks the fourth wall with knowing looks to camera, witty remarks, and confessions. This way, we feel we get to know her really well and are the closest friends in her chaotic world. While we’re the only ones who can see and hear her doing this (the other characters are oblivious, as is usually the way) in the first season, season 2 gets a bit meta when the priest can see her doing these little asides.
7. Fight Club (1999)
An unnamed narrator (played by Edward Norton) struggles with insomnia and an overwhelming dissatisfaction with life. He regularly addresses the audience to explain his struggles or to criticise social norms. We’d go on, but the first two rules say we can’t.
8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Monty Python crew were big fans of breaking the fourth wall (and the third!) and used it frequently in film and TV. In The Holy Grail, King Arthur and his knights go looking for the Holy Grail, and it’s packed full of self-referential jokes to camera, including many comments on the film’s budget and meta gags like the story stopping with modern-day police closing the production down, which was actually to cut costs!
9. Blazing Saddles (1974)
A parody of a Western, Blazing Saddles follows a Black sheriff trying to bring order to a racist town. It’s spilling over with meta jokes, including a scene where the characters literally break through the walls of the set, a very over-the-top but effective breaking of the fourth wall (and all the walls, in fact) to satirise Hollywood filmmaking.
10. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
A petty thief stumbles into the world of acting and crime-solving… Harry Lockhart narrates the story with self-awareness, even pausing mid-scene to point out cliches or rewind the action.
Breaking the fourth wall
It’s a technique that really needs some careful thought. Used right, it’s fantastic and can (as with The Truman Show) be integral to the plot. If it’s over-used or used in a ‘bad’ way, it can feel very gimmicky, like in The Love Guru when the main character ‘pivots to the camera after almost every joke to make certain it was adequately appreciated.’ In comedy, we (the audience) are a lot more forgiving when it comes to breaking the fourth wall with meta references and jokes (like Fleabag). In serious narratives, though, it really does need to be used with some clear thought and purpose, or it can be very jarring.
Some more resources on breaking the fourth wall
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About this page
This page was written by Marie Gardiner. Marie is a writer, author, and photographer. It was edited by Andrew Blackman. Andrew is a freelance writer and editor, and is a copy editor for Envato Tuts+.
This content originally appeared on Envato Tuts+ Tutorials and was authored by Marie Gardiner
Marie Gardiner | Sciencx (2024-12-11T16:46:06+00:00) Breaking the fourth wall in film & TV. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2024/12/11/breaking-the-fourth-wall-in-film-tv/
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