Let’s discuss fourth-wall breaks because any excuse to include Deadpool in one of my passion blogs is a welcome one!
Narratives, by definition, are enclosed series of events: A leads to B, which then results in C all inside a world that we call Z. This encapsulated progression provides the ideal environment to communicate thought-provoking themes or construct masterpiece stories because no external factors must be considered when developing the flow of the narrative – that is, you do not need to account for parts of your story that aren’t present when you write it. Such is an expectation audiences have when they pick up a book or turn on Netflix, giving more impact to actions that subvert it.
The fourth wall is a term used to describe the imaginary barrier between the events of a story and the audience witnessing it. Rooting from the ‘missing wall’ in the sets of television studios, the act of an actor staring at the wall (i.e., directly toward the camera) breaks the illusion of viewing an isolated reality – for what reason would the character stare directly at the wall? In more ways than one, that “wall” represents the boundary between the audience and the world of the narrative.
Having characters pass the border into ‘our world’ opens a plethora of opportunities for authors to instill feelings or communicate ideas better than they might have been able to otherwise. The most common way this is utilized is comedically – this is likely something you have witnessed in movies before. Consider Deadpool, a famous example of shattering the fourth wall. The “merc with a mouth” notably (in both his films and comics) delivers jokes directly to the audience, often providing meta-commentary on his predicaments or referencing irrelevant pop culture icons for pure shock value. These moments of crossing the boundary between his world and ours are, as previously mentioned, outside the norm in storytelling and thus achieve greater comedic value (from the shock) than similar jokes would have otherwise earned remaining solely inside the narrative.
The other kind of fourth wall break serves the narrative beyond comedic filler and adds to the story’s narrative themes or even progression. While this is difficult to achieve in non-interactive mediums, many narrative-heavy video games have implemented this concept well. Consider Doki Doki Literature Club, a game designed to give the impression of a harmless dating simulator that progressively transmutes into a psychological horror game delving into themes of loneliness and the unintended consequences of your actions. In one of the game’s possible endings, the character Monika confesses her undying feelings for the player, to which one is expected to think little of – this is a pre-scripted story after all. However, Monika will eventually disclose that she knows the player’s real-life name (or, at least, the one you used for your Steam profile) and uses that as a segue to delve into how she wishes she could join the player in “the real world.” Upon hearing this, the player is intended to momentarily reflect on their actions and how their choices could have actually hurt some or driven them to commit horrible acts. A little bit of shock is enough to make you consider the impossible (like having actually hurt someone that does not exist), making stories and their themes all the more impactful.
(Passion Blog #5)