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Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I would condemn it as improbable fiction."''
|'''Fabrian''', ''[[Twelfth Night]]''}}
'''Bob:''' Hey, [[Alice and Bob|Alice]], have you ever noticed how sometimes a character will talk to another character about something that sounds like it's really about the show they're in, but it makes perfect sense in context?
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'''Bob:''' You mean like [[Fourth Wall Psych]]? What about [[Aside Glance]]? And the inverse would be [[This Is Reality]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Advertising ==
* Thanks to food and drug guidelines, [[Yes but What Does Zataproximetacine DO|just about every drug commercial]] on American TV is like this, with characters [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick|rattling off side-effects]] in "casual" conversation, sometimes (but [[This Is Reality|surprisingly rarely]]) lampshaded when the other character will say "You sound like you're trying to convince me to use it!"
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* One Honda commercial had a man talking about his car and the deal he got from it, while his friend says that he sounds like a car commercial.
▲== Anime/Manga ==
* Fairly early in the ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' manga, Ako tells an aged up version of Negi that she envies Negi because she feels like she's just a supporting character and he's the main character. She is, of course, absolutely right. Negi counters that even if she's a minor character in someone else's story, she's still the main character of her own. As she was the main character of [[A Day in the Limelight|that particular mini-arc]], he was right, too.
** In an especially tongue-in-cheek moment, Natsumi refers to herself as a side character right before making a casual observation that turns the chapter (#257) into a [[Wham! Episode]].
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* [[Osamu Tezuka]] is famous for this, at least in his less-serious stories. In the ''[[Black Jack]]'' story "Baby Blues", a teenaged girl brings Jack an abandoned baby, and he asks, "Whose baby is it? Is it yours?" The girl slaps him—but instead of Jack she's slapping Tezuka himself, with the caption ''standing in for the slap''. Tezuka is of course gone by the next panel and the story continues.
* In the ''[[Super Robot Wars Original Generations]]'' anime, a direct translation from the game leads to a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-FfN65U1OIM#t=145s hilarious fourth wall breaking moment.]
== Comic Books ==
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** In a similar fashion, in ''Asterix and the Soothsayer'', when the soothsayer offers to "read" the entrails of Dogmatix, Obelix retorts "No one has ever read us, and no one will!"
* A story in [[Tales from the Crypt]] called "Concerto for Violin and Werewolf" had the main character figure out the plot twist of the story because it was similar to one he had read in an American comic book called Tales from the Crypt. The story he refers to called "Midnight Mess" was an actual story that had been published a few issues before.
== Fan Works ==
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** [[Ace Attorney|Phoenix]] while investigating the crime scene makes an off-hand comment about one of his world's [[Show Within a Show]] ''The Steel Samurai'', and comments on how amazing it's that a kids show got so popular with the [[Periphery Demographic]]. This wouldn't be a very remarkable comment, but he just happened to say it while being in [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|Equestria]].
** While Phoenix and Pinkie are investigating, she starts to hum ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq1jknZp0ic Pursuit ~ Cornered]'', one of ''Ace Attorney's'' most iconic themes. Phoenix comments that the tune sounds quite familiar to him.
* A rather gory
{{quote|''"Were they nothing more but characters, whose capacities for self-determination were undermined by an unfeeling writer—an omnipotent author that had nothing better to do except enthused prostitution to the ideals of entertainment and fame?"''}}
== Film ==
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* In his ''Zamonia'' novels, [[Walter Moers]] has pretty much declared the fourth wall to be a floor. The books contain a note, that Walter Moers is not actually the author of the book, but actually just a translator and editor. The original scripts have been written by Hildegunst von Mythenmetz (Optimus Yarnspinner in english versions), his [[Author Avatar]] who is an author in the world of Zamonia. However, Hildegunst has the habbit of not simply writing down the story he is telling, but constantly interrupting it and adressing his reader. These parts are so numerous that Moers left them all in when he made the translation. Hildegunst is a [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|Bunny Ears Author]] who rants about nonsense and fictional events, but is himself a satire of the modern literature scene. Hildegunst is leaning very heavily on the fourth wall at all times, but it is explained by him actually adressing his Zamonian readers and not the real world readers.
* In [[Jack Campbell]]'s ''[[The Lost Fleet]]'' novel ''Invicible'', Geary muses about the unrealistic cover that would probably be put on books about his life. He describes the covers the series actually got.
== Live Action TV ==
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* ''[[CSI]]'', "I Like To Watch". One of the camera guys following the group around said something about "Beautiful people solving crimes" having potential as a series.
* In one episode of ''[[Kamen Rider Hibiki]]'', the titular hero is seen telling some customers at the restaraunt where he works about this movie that "just came out the other day". He describes it as a period piece about "this group of really cool warriors", or something along those lines. The day before the episode aired, [[The Movie]], ''Kamen Rider Hibiki & The Seven Fighting Demons'', which takes place in Japan's Warring States era, premiered in theaters.
== Music ==
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* ''[[Candorville]]'' takes a darker-than-usual approach to this, as shown on the quotes page.
* ''[[Sally Forth (syndicated strip)||Sally Forth]]'' had Ted declare that they shouldn't do a "middle-aged couple gets overwhelmed by social media plot." When asked why he said "plot," Ted answered, "Sometimes I like to imagine my life as a series of week-long story arcs, and I want each one to be gold."
== Professional Wrestling ==
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** Also during the writer's strike when [[Triple H]] came out, made a bad joke and then remarked "Who writes this stuff? Oh yeah, they're on strike!"
* On October 10, 2011, [[Michael Cole]] said that he got a ton of Twitter posts and emails about how everybody missed him. When [[Jerry Lawler]] challenged him to show him ''one'' of these, he mentioned somebody named "Sean C" who sent him one of these. Michael Cole's real name is Sean Couthard.
== Radio ==
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{{quote|'''Nobody No-One:''' How do you know if you yourself haven't been travelling through a universe only consisting of written language and sound for decades?}}
== Theater ==▼
* ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]'' plays with the fourth wall a lot. The first scene centers on the characters flipping a coin ninety times in a row and it comes up heads every time. Guildenstern comes quite close to realizing that the reason this is happening is because they are fictional characters and the result of every coin-flip is determined by the author, not by chance; but he never quite figures it out.▼
** This sort of [[Meta Fiction|meta-commentary]] on the nature of [[Theater]] is pretty much the whole point of the play, really—especially the part where Guildenstern {{spoiler|"kills" the Player}}.▼
* [[Older Than Steam]]: [[William Shakespeare]] [[Zeroth Law|did it]]:▼
** In ''Twelfth Night'', specifically the line "[[Medium Awareness|If it were played upon a stage, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction]]".▼
** ''[[As You Like It]]'': All the world's a stage and we are but players.▼
{{quote|'''Cassius''': How many ages hence shall this our lofty scene be acted over in states unborn and accents yet unknown!}}▼
* Every ''[[Pantomime]]'' ever produced. It's a key part of the format that while one character will have [[No Fourth Wall]], the rest of the cast are only allowed to lean on it.▼
* ''[[Cyrano De Bergerac]]'': This play is a blend of farce and drama, and his first act is placed at the Burgundy Theater. Cyrano has interrupted the [[Show Within a Show]] ''La Clorise''. The rest of the theater actors are rehearsing a new play, and Cyrano invites them to a [[Sword Fight]] [[One-Man Army|he will have with one hundred men]].▼
{{quote|'''Cyrano:''' Come all—the Doctor, Isabel, Leander,▼
Come, for you shall add, in a motley swarm,▼
The ''farce'' Italian to this Spanish ''drama''! }}▼
* The 2011 revival of ''[[Company]]'' does this when Bobby and April are discussing Bobby's apartment. As the set was left to be as simplistic as possible, all of April's remarks about the (non-existent) decor ("That's darling!" "Isn't that tasteful and interesting!") were made in reference to the conductor and the audience (with [[Neil Patrick Harris|Bobby]] at one point even reaching out and [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|poking]] the conductor.▼
* In ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace]]'', the character Johnathan Brewster is described as looking like Boris Karloff. Guess who played Johnathan in the original production?▼
* In Eugene Ionesco's ''Rhinoceros'', we get this exchange:▼
{{quote|'''Jean:''' Instead of squandering all your spare money on drink, isn't it better to buy a ticket for an interesting play? Do you know anything about the avant-garde theatre there's so much talk about? Have you seen any of Ionesco's plays?▼
'''Berenger:''' Unfortunately, no. I've only heard people talk about them. [...]▼
'''Jean:''' There's one playing now. [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|both turn to stare at the audience]] Take advantage of it. }}▼
== Video Games ==
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* Near the end of the true final fight of ''[[Asura's Wrath]]'', {{spoiler|Chakratarvin's final form starts doing his own QTE's that are similar to your own QTE's, as if someone else is controlling him.}}
* Of all games, [[FIFA Soccer]] 2012 does this. Martin Tyler and Alan Smith comment casually on the fact that the players' passing looks like the players are part of a computer game if they're timed right and accurate enough.
▲== Theater ==
▲* ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]'' plays with the fourth wall a lot. The first scene centers on the characters flipping a coin ninety times in a row and it comes up heads every time. Guildenstern comes quite close to realizing that the reason this is happening is because they are fictional characters and the result of every coin-flip is determined by the author, not by chance; but he never quite figures it out.
▲** This sort of [[Meta Fiction|meta-commentary]] on the nature of [[Theater]] is pretty much the whole point of the play, really—especially the part where Guildenstern {{spoiler|"kills" the Player}}.
▲* [[Older Than Steam]]: [[William Shakespeare]] [[Zeroth Law|did it]]:
▲** In ''Twelfth Night'', specifically the line "[[Medium Awareness|If it were played upon a stage, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction]]".
▲** ''[[As You Like It]]'': All the world's a stage and we are but players.
▲** From ''Julius Caesar'', immediately after Caesar's assasination:
▲{{quote|'''Cassius''': How many ages hence shall this our lofty scene be acted over in states unborn and accents yet unknown!}}
▲* Every ''[[Pantomime]]'' ever produced. It's a key part of the format that while one character will have [[No Fourth Wall]], the rest of the cast are only allowed to lean on it.
▲* [[Cyrano De Bergerac]]: This play is a blend of farce and drama, and his first act is placed at the Burgundy Theater. Cyrano has interrupted the [[Show Within a Show]] ''La Clorise''. The rest of the theater actors are rehearsing a new play, and Cyrano invites them to a [[Sword Fight]] [[One-Man Army|he will have with one hundred men]].
▲{{quote|'''Cyrano:''' Come all—the Doctor, Isabel, Leander,
▲Come, for you shall add, in a motley swarm,
▲The ''farce'' Italian to this Spanish ''drama''! }}
▲* The 2011 revival of Company does this when Bobby and April are discussing Bobby's apartment. As the set was left to be as simplistic as possible, all of April's remarks about the (non-existent) decor ("That's darling!" "Isn't that tasteful and interesting!") were made in reference to the conductor and the audience (with [[Neil Patrick Harris|Bobby]] at one point even reaching out and [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|poking]] the conductor.
▲* In ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace]]'', the character Johnathan Brewster is described as looking like Boris Karloff. Guess who played Johnathan in the original production?
▲* In Eugene Ionesco's ''Rhinoceros'', we get this exchange:
▲{{quote|'''Jean:''' Instead of squandering all your spare money on drink, isn't it better to buy a ticket for an interesting play? Do you know anything about the avant-garde theatre there's so much talk about? Have you seen any of Ionesco's plays?
▲'''Berenger:''' Unfortunately, no. I've only heard people talk about them. [...]
▲'''Jean:''' There's one playing now. [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|both turn to stare at the audience]] Take advantage of it. }}
== Web Comics ==
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* In the final chapter of ''[[Sailor Nothing]]'', one of the main villains gives a [[Hannibal Lecture]]/[[You Bastard]] speech that can be taken as him addressing either the characters or the audience.
* Done in an episode of ''[[Potter Puppet Pals]]'' where Harry says towards the end, "...leave a comment, or submit a video response. And remember to subscribe!" It is presumed he's saying it to the audience before the camera cuts to Ron and Hermione, who look very confused.
== Western Animation ==
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** The beginning of the 200th episode has Kyle and Cartman exchanging insults. Stan tells them to stop, saying "all you're doing is rehashing a bunch of old stuff!"
** The 201st episode had the boys saying that it was silly people would care more about knowing who Cartman's father is than showing Muhammad. He is in fact referring to the show's fanbase.
* In the ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' TV show, when [[Stan Lee]]'s resident [[Author Avatar]] for the show hears Spidey's comment on how catchy ''Amazing Spider-Man'' (the original title for the comics in their earliest incarnation) sounds, he promptly writes it down, saying that it could be big. Then Spidey says that it would be less than [[The Spectacular Spider-Man|spectacular.]]
* In ''[[The Boondocks]],'' Bushido Brown tells Huey, "Man, you come straight out of a comic strip." (A [[Shout-Out]] to a line from ''[[Enter the Dragon]]''). [[Animated Adaptation|He literally does]].
* ''[[Futurama]]'' pushes this as far as it can go in ''Bender's Big Score'' with the Fox...er, [[Fictional Counterpart|"Box Network"]]. After being told that ''Futur--''... Planet Express has been uncancelled, Leela stands in front of a pile of ventilation machines and asks "but what does this mean for our many fans?".
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** In ''The Beast With A Billion Backs'':
{{quote|'''Harold Zoid''': I got a part in a fancy DVD-movie! It's only one line but I'm gonna ham it up like you wouldn't believe!}}
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' is surprisingly shy with these, perhaps because creator [[Matt Groening]] was adamant about the show maintaining its own reality and not resorting to fourth wall gags. Still, a few nods slip through. In the first clip show, Bart abruptly sets up a clip of an Itchy and Scratchy episode, which has nothing to do with what is being talked about. After it plays, Marge asks Bart why he brought that up. Bart replies, "It was an amusing episode....''of our lives''."
** In the same episode, Grampa Simpsons described comas as such: "It's like one of those TV shows where they show a bunch of clips from old episodes."
** And when they think the family is cured of its dysfunction, Lisa muses "Could this be an end to our series ... of events?"
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** Part 1 of ''Who Shot Mister Burns?'' ends with the following:
{{quote|'''Dr. Hibbert:''' "Well, I couldn't possibly solve this mystery. Can ''you''?" *points at camera*
<nowiki>*</nowiki>[[Beat]], then camera pans to show that Hibbert is pointing at Chief Wiggum*
'''Wiggum:''' "I guess I'll give it a shot. I mean, it's my job, right?" }}
* Happens in ''[[My Life as a Teenage Robot]]'', when Tuck, [[It Makes Sense in Context|convinced that he's indestructible]], decides to drive turbo-charged tricycle down a nearly vertical ramp, over City Hall, and into a pool of sharks. Jenny insists she won't save him this time.
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'''Brad''': Yeah, once you [[Jumping the Shark|jump that shark]] the show's over. }}
* ''[[Family Guy]]'' does this ALL THE TIME, especially in earlier episodes where they would talk about being able to stay on their current network.
* ''[[Ben 10:
{{quote|'''Kevin''': This is the stupidest show ever.
'''Ben''': This isn't a good one to start with. It's not Sumo Slammers Classic; it's Sumo Slammers: Hero Generation! It's a sequel to the original series, but they kinda messed it up. It's set five years in the future and the bad guy is friends with the good guy. }}
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* In the eleventh episode of ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]'' Conner gets angry at M'Gann, when she's trying to help him with his daddy issues, and states that they "don't live in a fantasy world where all problems are solved in 30 minutes."
* In the [[X-Men: Evolution]] ''Spyke Cam'' Evan is given a video camera to do a class project. So he tapes Kitty and Rogue having an argument, Rogue catches him, and threatens straight into the camera (and speaking directly to the viewer) that if she sees any video on her on the camera "They're gonna be calling you [[Groin Attack|Spike-less."]]
* [[Hawkeye]] joined the Avengers in ''[[The Avengers: Earth's
* On ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'', Doofenshmirtz engages in [[Conversational Troping]] by comparing the misunderstanding between him and his daughter to a crazy sitcom. Then he says, "This isn't a sitcom, [[This Is Reality|this is real life]]!" He and Perry then [[Aside Glance|glance uncomfortably in the direction of the audience.]]
* Used once in ''[[Recess]]'' when Gretchen wins a NASA contest because of her essay, and thinks she's going to be going on the space shuttle. This comes to T.J.'s attention, who's life long dream is to go on one of those, so he puts her through "training". One part has her having to swing from a rope attached to the top of the swing set while a group of other kids throw dodgeballs at her, and she starts fooling around before they do, prompting T.J. to say this:
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