Breaking the Fourth Wall

The Fourth Wall is a theatrical term for the imaginary “wall” that exists between actors on stage and the audience. Normally actors avoid connection with the camera or audience but breaking the fourth wall makes the actor speak directly to the audience.

By breaking the fourth wall it acknowledges the artificiality of the environment and makes both the actor and the audience obvious to the artificiality of it. Although it does this, it makes the audience more conversed and included as the actor is speaking to the audience through either directly referencing the audience or referencing their fictionalization. Many movies have used this, one classically being Deadpool. In Deadpool the actor speaks directly to the audience, in one instance he pushed the camera away to make you avoid looking at the scene. This is direct contact from the actor to the audience, making the audience feel involved and as if they are beside the actor.

The fourth wall can be broken through films as well as comics and most famously is broken by the character/actor speaking to the audience.

Websites used for research: https://alwaysactingup.wordpress.com/what-is-the-4th-wall/

: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/fourth-wall