The fourth wall is the imaginary wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theater, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. Although the concept has been around since before the ancient Greeks and is used by Shakespeare, it was made explicit by Denis Diderot^[1] and spread in nineteenth century theatre with the advent of theatrical realism. Critic Vincent Canby described it in 1987 as "that invisible screen that forever separates the audience from the stage."^[2] The interior of the Auditorium Building in Chicago built in 1887. ... For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed... Portrait of Diderot by Louis-Michel van Loo, 1767 Denis Diderot (October 5, 1713 – July 31, 1784) was a French philosopher and writer. ... Nineteenth century theater is theatre of the 19th century. ... For other uses, see Realism (disambiguation). ... The term screen has a number of meanings: A window screen is a wire mesh that covers a window opening to keep out insects even when the window is open. ...

Origin and meaning

The term "fourth wall" stems from the absence of a fourth wall on a three-walled set where the audience is viewing the production. The audience is supposed to assume there is a "fourth wall" present, even though it physically is not there. This is widely noticeable on various television programs, such as situational comedies, but the term originated in theatre, where conventional three-walled stage sets provide a more obvious "fourth wall".

The meaning of the term "fourth wall" has been adapted to refer to the boundary between the fiction and the audience. "Fourth wall" is part of the suspension of disbelief between a fictional work and an audience. The audience will usually passively accept the presence of the fourth wall without giving it any direct thought, allowing them to enjoy the fiction as if they were observing real events. It is the invisible barrier between realities. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The presence of a fourth wall is one of the best established conventions of fiction and as such has led some artists to draw direct attention to it for dramatic effect. This is known as "breaking the fourth wall". For instance, in A.R. Gurney's The Fourth Wall, a quartet of characters deal with housewife Peggy's obsession with a blank wall in her house, slowly being drawn into a series of theatre clichés as the furniture and action on the stage become more and more directed to the supposed fourth wall. A.R. Gurney (1930- ) is an American playwright and novelist. ... Specifically in a proscenium theater, the term fourth wall applies to the imaginary invisible wall at the front of the stage in a theater through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. ...

Besides theatre and television, the term has been adopted by other media, such as cinema, comics, and more recently, video games. Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... Comics (or, less commonly, sequential art) is a form of visual art consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the form of speech balloons or image captions. ... This article is about computer and video games. ...

Breaking the fourth wall

The term "breaking the fourth wall" in theatre generally means when a character is showing his/her awareness of the audience. The term originated from Bertolt Brecht's theory of "epic theatre" that he developed from (and in contrast to) Konstantin Stanislavski's drama theory. Most often, the fourth wall is broken through a character directly addressing the audience; an example is the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's Our Town, who speaks to the audience. A similar effect can be achieved by breaking character, through dialogue, or by the characters interacting with objects outside the context of the work (e.g. a character is handed a prop by a stage hand). {{dy justified his choice of form, and from about 1929 on he began to interpret its penchant for contradictions, much as had Eisenstein, in terms of the dialectic. ... Epic theater, also known as theater of alienation or theater of politics, is a theater movement arising in the early to mid-20th century, inextricably linked to the German director Bertolt Brecht. ... A portrait of Konstantin Stanislavski by Valentin Serov. ... Image:Thorntonwilderteeth. ... This article is about the play by Thornton Wilder. ... Breaking character, to break character, is a theatrical term used to describe when an actor, while actively performing in character, slips out of character and behaves as his or her actual self. ...

Various artists have used this jarring effect to make a point, as it forces an audience to see the fiction in a new light and to watch it less passively. Bertolt Brecht was known for deliberately breaking the fourth wall to encourage his audience to think more critically about what they were watching, referred to as Verfremdungseffekt ("alienation effect"). {{dy justified his choice of form, and from about 1929 on he began to interpret its penchant for contradictions, much as had Eisenstein, in terms of the dialectic. ... Bertolt Brecht (February 10, 1898 - August 14, 1956) was an influential German dramatist, stage director, and poet of the 20th century. ...

The sudden breaking of the fourth wall is often employed for comical effect, as a sort of visual non-sequitur; the unexpected breaking from normal conventions of narrative fiction can surprise the audience and create humor. A very early example of this occurs in Francis Beaumont's play The Knight of the Burning Pestle, which contains three characters who are purportedly part of the audience. They interrupt the prologue and demand to be consulted on the plot, ordering a number of sudden (and usually extremely awkward) changes throughout the play, with comic results. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Sketch of Francis Beaumont Francis Beaumont (1584 – March 6, 1616) was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher. ... The Knight of the Burning Pestle is a play by Francis Beaumont written around 1607 or 1611 and first published in a quarto in 1613. ...

A common traditional theatrical production which makes frequent use of 'breaking the fourth wall' is the British pantomime. For other uses, see Pantomime (disambiguation). ...

Such exploitation of an audience's familiarity with the conventions of fiction is a key element in many works defined as post-modern, which dismantle established rules of fiction. Works which break or directly refer to the fourth wall often utilize other post-modern devices such as meta-reference or breaking character. Postmodernism (sometimes abbreviated pomo) is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Breaking character, to break character, is a theatrical term used to describe when an actor, while actively performing in character, slips out of character and behaves as his or her actual self. ...

In the early days of "talkies", the Marx Brothers' stage-to-screen productions often broke this barrier. In their 1932 film Horse Feathers, for example, when Chico sits down at a piano to begin a musical interlude, Groucho turns to the camera and deadpans "I've got to stay here, but there's no reason why you folks shouldn't go out into the lobby until this thing blows over." ^[3] A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ... This article is about the comedian siblings. ... Horse Feathers (1932) was the fourth Marx Brothers film. ... Leonard Marx, known as Chico, (March 22, 1887 – October 11, 1961) was one of the Marx Brothers. ... Groucho redirects here. ...

By the 1940s, breaking the fourth wall was accepted in popular culture, as evident in the appealing "Road to..." movies with Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Hope or Crosby often addressed the audience with a wisecrack, letting them in on the joke or with an irreverent comment about the film's producers. Road to. ... Bob Hope, KBE (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003), born Leslie Townes Hope, was an English-Born American entertainer who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, in movies, and in performing tours for U.S. Military personnel, well known for his good natured humor and career longevity. ... Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death in 1977. ... Dorothy Lamour (December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American motion picture actress. ...

A compromise to the concept often occurs in improvisational theatre, in which the audience is asked to interact with the players to some extent, such as by voting on a resolution to a mystery. In that case, the audience members are treated as if they were witnesses to the action in the play, effectively becoming "actors" rather than being a true "fourth wall." This is a major tenet of Augusto Boal's Theater of the Oppressed. Augusto Boal (born 1931 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is an innovative and influential theatrical director, writer and politician. ... Augusto Boal (born 1931 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is an innovative and influential theatrical director, writer and politician. ...

It is arguable that this technique was first employed in the modern sense (i.e., not in which an actor merely makes a clarifying aside to the audience, or clever implied self-references are made, but rather when the fourth wall is demolished to the point that there no longer remains any significant division between performance and audience, with drama joining reality or the exact opposite depending on one's perspective) in the sensational 1921 premiere of Pirandello's play Sei Personaggi in Cerca d'Autore (Six Characters in Search of an Author), wherein six ordinary people come to the rehearsal of a play to demand that their stories be told as part of the performance. This type of fourth wall breaking is also used in "The Aliens Are Coming! The Aliens Are Coming!" where at one point it is impossible to tell what is real and what is not in the play, as the aliens end up everywhere. The fourth wall was broken twice in the 2008 movie Funny Games starring Micheal Pitt. A self-reference occurs when an object refers to itself. ... Luigi Pirandello (June 28, 1867 – December 10, 1936) was an Italian dramatist and novelist, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1934. ... Six Characters in Search of an Author (Sei personaggi in cerca dautore) is the most famous play of Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello. ...

The fourth wall is sometimes included as part of the narrative, when a character discovers that they are part of a fiction and 'breaks the fourth wall' to make contact with their audience, as seen in films like Tom Jones, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1963, Woody Allen's Annie Hall (with Marshall McLuhan) and The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Jonathan Gash's Lovejoy novels. Also, it is broken both by Peter Pan and Captain Hook in the 1954 musical of Peter Pan. George Burns commonly broke the fourth wall and directly addressed the audience in his 1950s TV comedy show.^[4] Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Konigsberg; December 1, 1935) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director, writer, actor, jazz musician, comedian and playwright. ... Annie Hall is a 1977 romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen from a script he co-wrote with Marshall Brickman. ... “McLuhan” redirects here. ... The Purple Rose of Cairo is a 1985 English language film written and directed by Woody Allen. ... John Grant is a British author who writes under the pen name Jonathan Gash. He is the author of the Lovejoy series of novels. ... There are other articles with similar names; see Lovejoy (disambiguation). ... This article is about the character Peter Pan. ... Gerald du Maurier as Captain Hook Captain James Hook is the villain of J. M. Barries play and novel Peter Pan. ... George Burns[1], born Nathan Birnbaum (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996), was an American comedian and actor. ...

In the stage version of the hit musical Oliver!, the fourth wall is broken when Nancy and Bill Sikes, who are supposed to be dead at the end of the show, join the entire cast in singing the final medley of three songs from the show. This was not done in the film version. This article is about the musical. ... A medley is a collection of related but different things, served as one. ...

In Sir Laurence Olivier's film Richard III (1955), Olivier as Richard off camera addresses the film audience directly. Laurence Olivier, as photographed in 1939 by Carl Van Vechten Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (May 22, 1907 – July 11, 1989) was an English actor and director, esteemed by many as the greatest actor of the 20th century. ... Richard III is a 1955 British film adaptation of William Shakespeares historical play Richard III, including elements of Henry VI, part 3. ...

In these situations however, the 'fourth wall' that the character breaks remains part of the overall narrative and the wall between the real audience and the fiction remains intact. These sorts of stories do not actually break the fourth wall in the strictest sense, but are more properly referred to as metafiction, or fiction that refers to the conventions of fiction. The television series Titus, which ran from 2000-2002, employed a similar technique; lead character Christopher Titus directly addressed the audience in a black-and-white "neutral space", which he used for narrating the events in the show's "Live Story". Look up metafiction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Titus was an Emmy-nominated American dark-comedy sitcom that debuted on FOX in 2000. ... Christopher Titus (born October 1, 1964 in Castro Valley, California) is an American comedian and actor. ...

In Malcolm in the Middle, Malcolm frequently breaks the fourth wall, describing characters and events to the audience. Malcolm in the Middle is a seven-time Emmy-winning,[1] one-time Grammy-winning[1] and seven-time Golden Globe-nominated[1] American sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. ...

It can be intentional as well as some television series involve a character telling the audience important factors, such as gun violence in schools, help people with certain kinds of diseases, and death in immediate family, and to help people with other problems as well.

A good example of this type of metafiction can be found in the film Stranger Than Fiction, in which Will Ferrell's character Harold is able to hear the voice of the film's narrator. His attempts to discover the identity of this woman, aware of every action he takes, becomes the plot of the film. Stranger than Fiction is a 2006 American comedy-drama film. ... John William Ferrell (born July 16, 1967)[1] is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated American comedian, actor, voice actor, and writer who first established himself as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, and has since gone on to a successful film career, starring in the comedies A Night...

Mel Brooks frequently breaks the fourth wall in his movies for comedic effect. The climax of Blazing Saddles features the characters crashing into the set of "another" production. In Robin Hood: Men in Tights, the characters review the script of the movie during the archery competition scene. Spaceballs features several examples including reviewing the script, a character hitting a camera, and viewing a copy of the movie on an "instant cassette" that was released "before the movie [was] finished." Mel Brooks (born June 28, 1926) is an Academy Award-winning American director, writer, comedian, actor and producer best known as a creator of broad film farces and comedy parodies. ... Alex Karras as Mongo in Blazing Saddles Blazing Saddles (1974) is a comedy directed by Mel Brooks and starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, and released by Warner Brothers. ... Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993) is a film parody of the story of Robin Hood, particularly parodying Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. ... Bold text Spaceballs is a 1987 science fiction parody film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks. ...

This technique is also used in comic strips; for example, Calvin and Hobbes "spoke" to the readers in a few strips. The Marvel Comics character Deadpool is also known to speak to the reader and even refer to his nature as a comic book character, much to the confusion of others around him. She-Hulk is another Marvel Comics character that is seen tearing through pages and advertisements, and even addressing the writer of the storyline. Characters in the comic strip Pearls Before Swine have discussed their own strip and other comic strips, and the author, Stephan Pastis, has appeared as a character. This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Listen to this article (3 parts) (info) Part 1ʉۢ Part 2ʉۢ Part 3 This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2006-01-29, and may not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... For other uses, see Dead pool (disambiguation). ... She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) is a Marvel Comics superheroine. ... Pearls Before Swine is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis, formerly a lawyer in San Francisco, California. ... Stephan Pastis Stephan Thomas Pastis (born January 16, 1968) is the creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. ...

Some webcomics frequently break the wall, and the online Crossover Wars collaborations between various webcomic artists contain an entire plot arc entitled "WCA Hunt," which involved webcomic awareness spreading throughout the internet, resulting in fourth walls breaking in normally self-contained comics. [1]

The television series Moonlighting, Clarissa Explains It All, Saved By The Bell, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and The Weekenders made extensive use of breaking the fourth wall. Moonlighting is a television series that first aired on ABC in the United States from 1985 to 1989 with a total of 66 episodes. ... Clarissa Explains It All was an American situation comedy television series from Nickelodeon starring a then unknown Melissa Joan Hart. ... Saved by the Bell is an American dramatic sitcom that originally aired between 1989 and 1993. ... The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was a situation comedy which ran on CBS from 1959 to 1963. ... The Weekenders is a Disney animated series about the weekend life of four pre-adolescents: Tino Tonitini (Jason Marsden), Lor McQuarrie (Grey DeLisle), Carver Descartes (Phil LaMarr), and Petrotishkovna Tish Katsufrakis (Kath Soucie). ...

The fourth wall is also often broken in both the traditional Commedia Dell'arte style or modern reincarnations of such kinds of plays, such as Pippin. Usually, the cast of players is looking to the audience for advice or support. This device is also common in many popular television comedy series, such as Magnum, P.I., Boston Legal, The Mighty Boosh, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Guy, The Bernie Mac Show, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Malcolm in the Middle, 30 Rock, Oz, Drake & Josh, Saved by the Bell and Hustle where characters use 'knowing' and comical looks toward the audience or sometimes even speak directly to camera. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a popular example of this. Commedia redirects here. ... Pippin is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Roger O. Hirson. ... Magnum, P.I. is an American television show starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a fictional private investigator living in Oahu, Hawaii. ... Boston Legal is an American dramedy television series that began airing on ABC on October 3rd, 2004. ... The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy television series and live show about two friends who go on a series of magical adventures. ... The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an Emmy, BAFTA, and RTS-award winning popular American television sitcom that aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. ... Family Guy is an Emmy Award-winning American animated television series about a dysfunctional family in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. ... The Bernie Mac Show was an half-hour American sitcom featuring the comedic antics of comedian Bernie Mac. ... Neds Declassified School Survival Guide, sometimes shortened to Neds Declassified or Neds, is an American live-action situation comedy on Nickelodeon that debuted in the channels Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004 in The United States of America. ... Malcolm in the Middle is a seven-time Emmy-winning,[1] one-time Grammy-winning[1] and seven-time Golden Globe-nominated[1] American sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. ... This article is about the TV series. ... Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series 56 episodes. ... Drake & Josh was an American sitcom shown on the Nickelodeon television network, starring Drake Bell and Josh Peck. ... Saved by the Bell is an American dramatic sitcom that originally aired between 1989 and 1993. ... Hustle is a British television comedy-drama series made by Kudos Film & Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. ... Ferris Bueller redirects here. ...

The fourth wall is frequently broken in cartoons, often in very imaginative ways difficult or impossible with live actors. Perhaps one of the most humorous is to "fight the iris", i.e, right before the picture ends and while the image gradually is diminished by a contracting circle, a character uses his hands or body to force the "eye" open in order to injerject a wry comment or complaint. (Often the iris seems to stretch and go out of shape like pliant rubber during this stunt.) Often this technique is combined with physical comedy, e.g. having the iris snap back into shape and painfully pinch the person's nose or finger for their trouble. Another variation is having them appear onscreen after the iris is closed, walking or running over a solid black background. Warner Bros. directors like Bob McKimson and Tex Avery used the gag to good effect in the forties and fifties, and many modern cartoon directors have adapted it. This does not cite any references or sources. ... Physical comedy is comedic performance relying mostly on the use of the body to convey humor. ... For other uses, see Nose (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Robert Bob McKimson, Sr. ... Frederick Bean Fred/Tex Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. ...

Additionally in traditional British Pantomime the audience is encouraged and expected to interact with the cast in breaking the fourth wall by booing the villains, who will often respond, cheering the heroes, who will often thank the audience, and by providing hints to the characters as to what to do next. e.g. shouting 'he's behind you' when the villain is sneaking up on the hero, or 'She's in the cellar' when the Prince Charming is searching for Cinderella who has been locked in the basement by the Ugly Sisters.

In video games

Breaking the fourth wall in video games is very common, mostly due to the fact that the players play an active role within the game. It's usually done as a comic relief, as a part of the game, or to increase the player's awareness of the game's fictional nature. Some game series are known to use this technique very often, such as Crash Bandicoot, Ape Escape 2, EarthBound, Banjo-Kazooie, Final Fantasy V, Donkey Kong Country, Paper Mario, the Metal Gear series, Contact, Spyro The Dragon, Destroy All Humans 2, Monkey Island, and No More Heroes. This article is about the first game in the series. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... EarthBound , lit. ... Banjo-Kazooie is a 3-D platform/adventure video game for the Nintendo 64. ... “FF5” redirects here. ... For the television series, see Donkey Kong Country (TV series). ... Paper Mario, called during production Super Mario RPG 2, known in Japan as Mario Story ), is a role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. ... For the original video game titled Metal Gear, see Metal Gear. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... This article is about the first game in the Spyro series. ... Destroy All Humans! 2, known as Destroy All Humans! 2: Make War Not Love in Europe is a video game and sequel to Destroy All Humans!. It was released on October 18, 2006 in North America. ... The Secret of Monkey Island, CD version. ... -1...

Tutorial method

The most common way to break the fourth wall in video games is in a tutorial fashion. A character in the game instructs the player’s avatar (or in some cases, directly instructs the player) how to perform a specific action within the game world.

In the game Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, when the player gets the item 'Running Shoes', their 'mom' says "Here, let me read the instructions. Press B and blaze new trails of adventure!". Notable instances occur in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and Metal Gear Solid as the character must input a radio-frequency which is never given in-game, but instead printed on the video-game's manual (in Metal Gear 2) or back CD cover (in Metal Gear Solid). This particular kind of phenomenon was also seen in the NES game Startropics, where the user is asked to enter coordinates that are found in the game manual. (An alternative interpretation of this technique is to prevent software piracy, with the assumption that pirated game owners will not have access to the original packaging.) Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are new Pokémon games to be released for the Nintendo DS. Not much is known about them. ... Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is a stealth-based game directed by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami . ... This article is about the original PlayStation game. ... The copyright infringement of software is often called software piracy by those seeking to reduce its incidence. ...

Story-driven

The fourth wall can also be broken simply through story-driven elements within the game. In the game Tak and the Power of Juju, the Shaman addresses the player directly as an omniscient being throughout the story. During the dream sequences in Max Payne, you can sometimes see messages that say something like "Wake up! You are in a computer game!" Tak and the Power of Juju is a video game for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and the Game Boy Advance. ... For the album by Swans, see Omniscience (album). ... Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by the Finnish company Remedy Entertainment, produced by 3D Realms and published by Gathering of Developers in July, 2001 for Windows. ...

The narrative of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty breaks the fourth wall a number of times, by communicating to the player indirectly through the protagonist Raiden. For example, during a codec conversation, Raiden (and by extension, the player) is told to "Turn the game console off now!" Later on, the message "Fission mailed" appears on the game screen (instead of "Mission failed") as the artificial intelligence of the GW program in the narrative (and by extension, the game itself) begin malfunctioning. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (commonly abbreviated MGS2) is a stealth-based game that was developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. ... Raiden ) (real name Jack) is a character in the Metal Gear series. ... AI redirects here. ...

The game Super Smash Bros. Brawl is greatly known for its great music. The main theme is sung in Latin, and the lyrics translate to a story of a great adventurer out to save his home land. The lyrics are indefinite (since the song wouldn't make sense if one played as a character and the song talked about another, for example one could play as Mario the entire time and the song would be written about Sonic), so it is presumed to be talking about the player himself. Super Smash Bros. ... Mario ) is a video game character created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and the official mascot of Nintendo. ... // Sonic the Hedgehog is a fictional hedgehog character that serves as the mascot of the Japanese video game company Sega. ...

Physical interaction with the Player

The advent of force-feedback and controller vibration gave a new way for a game to reach out for the player. In Metal Gear Solid, during an encounter with Psycho Mantis, the player is asked to place the console controller in the ground so Psycho Mantis himself might move it with the powers of his mind. Later, after the torture scene, the player is asked by Naomi Hunter to press the controller against the arm, then the controller vibrates as a kind of massage to compensate for the stress done on the arm during the torture. All this enhances the player's interaction with not only the game but also the story of the game. This physical interaction between the player and the protagonist is further employed in its sequels Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. This article is about the original PlayStation game. ... Psycho Mantis is a fictional character and boss in the game Metal Gear Solid. ... Naomi Hunter is a fictional character from the video game Metal Gear Solid (1998, Playstation). ... Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (commonly abbreviated MGS2) is a stealth-based game that was developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. ... Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (commonly abbreviated MGS3) is a stealth-based game directed by Hideo Kojima, developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2. ...

Unusual player actions

Another common method employed by video games is to address the player when he does something unusual while playing (e.g, clicking numerous times on a character in a Real-time strategy game, such as the Warcraft Universe, or waiting a long time without moving their avatar). An example of this would be in the video game Bubsy where, if left idle for some time, Bubsy will knock on the TV screen, trying to get the player's attention), or the video game The Bard's Tale where, if left idle for some time, the narrator of the game will state that "there was a long period where nothing much happened". The series of "Sonic the Hedgehog" games take this to an extreme where, in one game, if left idle for too long, Sonic tells off the player and leaves, resulting in a game over. A real-time strategy (RTS) video game is a strategic game that is distinctly not turn-based. ... “The world of Warcraft” redirects here. ... Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind for the SNES. Bubsy was the star character in a number of series video games released by Accolade for the SNES, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Atari Jaguar, the PC and PlayStation in the early and mid-1990s. ... The Bards Tale (Tales of the Unknown: Volume I) is a fantasy computer role-playing game created by Interplay Productions in 1985 and distributed by Electronic Arts. ...

Character awareness

The fourth wall is broken by the game Pathologic. During the last day of events, the player can visit the Theater (which is somewhat a metafictional entity throughout the entire gameplay). In a dialogue taking place there the player will be presented with a choice to answer the question "Who is saying this?" either as "It is me, Bachelor" (or another playable character) or as "It is me, the player". In the latter case the NPC will show the full awareness that he is "merely a bunch of triangles on your monitor". In Shadow Hearts, the character Roger Bacon will tell the player, after having chosen a name for Bacon, that that one isn't his name. The main character, Yuri, asks him who is he talking to. For other uses, see pathology (disambiguation). ... Look up metafiction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An NPC from the video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. ... Polygons are used in computer graphics to compose images that are three-dimensional in appearance. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Easter eggs

Main article: Easter egg (virtual)

Easter eggs are another way to break the fourth wall. Easter eggs in video games are objects, quotes, characters (either avatars or NPCs), levels, or any other element of the game that makes a reference to the exterior world. The references may be to a picture of the programmer, a reference to another game of the same or affiliated company, an element created by a rumor circulating about the game or a previous one in the same series, or any other entity which does not exist directly within the game world. This breaks the fourth wall by introducing an element that is superfluous to gameplay, reminding the player of the virtual nature of the game. One such example is in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. After finishing the game as on both the light and dark sides, Atton Rand will say this quote when you find him: A virtual Easter egg is a hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. ... A virtual Easter egg is a hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. ... An NPC from the video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. ... Look up rumour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Gameplay includes all player experiences during the interaction with game systems, especially formal games. ... Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (KOTOR II) is an RPG video game for the PC and the Microsoft Xbox. ...

"I'm Atton. I actually wasn't supposed to make it into the final game, but I was created at the last minute. Blame my agent. I was actually slated for a spin-off to Jedi Knight, but I don't want to talk about what happened there."

Another example of this is the Konami Eyes models in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, posters of the magazine models appear on the inside of lockers and on the backs of doors, even in a codec transmission. Not to mention, a toy figure of Vulcan Raven (from the original Metal Gear Solid) scares Solid Snake during his original sweep of the tanker.

Controversy

As can be seen from the numerous examples above, breaking the fourth wall has become quite common in modern visual arts, but it is not without its critics. Used sparingly and appropriately it can be quite startling to an audience immersed in the suspension of disbelief. But by over-use it is in danger of becoming almost conventional, especially in TV and film comedy; such that no-one is remotely surprised when an actor or actress turns to camera to deliver a slick aside to the audience. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Unless being used for comic effect, breaking the fourth wall can be annoying and distracting to the audience, and create plot holes by interrupting the natural flow of the dramatic narrative. For example, in a video game (or film), narrative continuity could be broken if a character begins talking to the player/viewer without contributing to the theme of the game. However, it can work if the character is giving "catch-up" information about previous episodes; and such techniques can be used to build atmosphere and tension, or fill in the characters' backstory. This is most commonly used in episodic genres, especially anime. In narratology, a back-story (also back story or backstory) is the history behind the situation extant at the start of the main story. ... Animé redirects here. ...

Commentary by characters can occasionally be effective even in straight drama, such as when a first-person narrator frames the main dramatic presentation with an introduction and conclusion delivered direct to camera, and perhaps interjects commentary at key points in the storyline (for instance, American Beauty). In this context it could almost be seen as a return to earlier theatrical conventions of prologue and epilogue. This technique needs to be used very selectively, since it tends to slow the pace, and can be seen as somewhat ponderous if not done for good reasons. And since such pieces are often delivered "front of curtain" (in the studio, or in the narrator's oak-panelled study, or as a disembodied voice-over) and hence separated from the world inhabited by the drama, it is arguable whether or not they constitute breaking the fourth wall at all. ... American Beauty is a 1999 drama film that explores themes of romantic and paternal love, freedom, sexuality, beauty, self-liberation, existentialism, the search for happiness, and family against the backdrop of modern American suburbia. ...

Breaking the fourth wall is historically considered highly controversial in the professional wrestling business where the wrestlers breach the imaginary storyline known as "kayfabe" and communicate real life behind the scenes events directly to the audience. The most notable examples of breaking kayfabe are the Madison Square Garden curtain call of 1996, the Mike Tyson-Stone Cold Steve Austin storyline of 1998, Vince McMahon's disclosure of the Chris Benoit double-murder suicide in 2007, and Triple H kissing Stephanie McMahon to reveal their marriage at the RAW 15th anniversary show on 12/10/07. Kayfabe was breached so much in 2007 that it is no longer so taboo and is now more of a technique to induce ratings or reinvent the storylines that suspend disbelief. In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced KAY-fayb) refers to the portrayal of events within the industry as real, that is, the portrayal of professional wrestling as unstaged or not worked. ...

Technical limitations

Although breaking of the fourth wall is usually deliberate, the technical constraints of filmmaking, or the impracticality of refilming a complicated scene, can sometimes inadvertently break the wall by "reminding" the audience that they are watching a film:

• Lens Flare.
• Something splashing on the lens, such as water or mud or blood, such as the effects used in "Saving Private Ryan", and more recently, Tim Burton's adaptation of "Sweeney Todd".
• A hand or other object appearing distorted due to being too close to the camera (if not done purposely for visual effect).
• The apparent backwards-motion of rotating wheels on a fast-moving car or carriage, due to the stroboscopic effect.
• An object or a person bumping into the lens.
• Shadows and mirrors' reflections of the camera or cameraman.
• The boom microphone appearing at the top of the picture, as in "Elizabethtown".

The above kinds of anomalies, if blatantly obvious and distracting, are sometimes considered "bloopers". However, in some cases they are inserted deliberately to add "realism" because audiences have come to expect to see them. A shot that lacks these flaws can call attention to itself as not being rooted in the physical world, making it look even more false than a physical-world shot with a flaw. "Babylon 5", "Firefly" and the re-imagined series of "Battlestar Galactica" contain many examples in CGI sequences, such as lens flares, cameras shaking when a starship passes close, or the camera being hit by debris after a ship blows up, even though neither the camera nor the spaceships actually exist. Such fourth wall shenanigans can also be used for comic effect, such as an episode of "Arrested Development" where the families' lawyer suggests that a mole might be listening in on the Bluth Company, the boom microphone is clearly visible at the top of the screen. Photograph of NASA lunar lander containing lens flare. ... Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 Academy Award-winning war film that is set during the D-Day invasion of Normandy in World War II and was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. ... Timothy Tim William Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated American film director, writer and designer notable for the quirky and often dark atmosphere in his high-profile films. ... The wagon-wheel effect, (alternatively, waggon-wheel effect, stagecoach-wheel effect, stroboscopic effect) is an optical illusion in which a spoked wheel appears to rotate differently from its true rotation. ... A mirror, reflecting a vase. ... Elizabethtown is a 2005 film written and directed by Cameron Crowe. ... A blooper usually refers to a faux pas made by an actor while filming a television show or movie. ... Babylon 5 is an epic American science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. ... Firefly is an American science fiction television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, under his Mutant Enemy Productions. ... This article is about all the media that use the name Battlestar Galactica. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Most modern computer and video games featuring advanced graphics also feature lens flares when the camera is facing the sun.

References

See also

• Corpsing
• Gaze
• Kayfabe, a similar concept in professional wrestling
• Descartes' philosophy - The concept of reality itself being illusory.
• Alternate reality game