Breaking the Fourth Wall

The fourth wall is an expression that stems from stage plays. In almost all modern theatre designs, theatres have three walls, which create the room, and a fourth one which separates the actors and stage from the audience. This is shown in the picture to the right. Therefore, breaking the fourth wall is when fictional characters, whether they are actors on a stage, characters in a video game, or people in a movie, look through that imaginary wall, and actually acknowledge the audience's existence. It can be anything from a game character asking the player to press 'X' to continue, to a stage actor talking to the audience, to a movie character looking directly into the camera and interacting with the audience.

One of the most famous examples of breaking the fourth wall is in Ferris Bueller's Day off (1986). Throughout the film, Ferris interacts with the audience whilst looking straight into the camera - this is a great way of explaining to the audience background information that other films would have to introduce an entirely new outside character to do. Ferris is also notably truthful to us in his fourth wall breaks - this gives us a connection with him, because the rest of the film is about how he lies, steals and cheats his way through his day off.

Mean Girls (2004) also demonstrates breaking the fourth wall. When the different girls are all talking about Regina, they look directly into the camera, just like they are talking to the audience. This is effective because one of the main themes of the film is about lying and talking about others behind their backs - them talking directly to us gives it a more truthful feel. It also shows off their admiration for her, as it's quite an intense shot, so what we get from what they say seems amplified.

Amélie (2001) is another film that breaks the fourth wall. In the opening scene, it shows her as a child, standing on her own in an isolated room playing with toys. She sometimes stops, staring directly into the camera - this makes it quite uncomfortable, due to the lighting and loneliness of the room, which I feel emphasizes her isolation. The fact that she feels the need to include the audience in her playing by breaking the fourth wall again demonstrates how on her own she is, as she has nobody else apart from us, and the many different and obscure toys she has to play with.

I would definitely consider breaking the fourth wall in my coursework. I think it's a really great technique that can be present in all genres and still look good, so whatever I decide to do it wouldn't look out of place. However, I would need to think very carefully about adding it in, as to not just do it for the sake of having an interesting shot - if I can't suitably justify why I've done it in terms of effects on the audience and the scene, it will probably take away more than it adds. I would also need to plan down to the very last detail the specifics of that shot - I think making bold moves and trying to be non conventional with these types of things is very important, but practicing, planning and experimenting is also important to make it work as I would want it to.