The Fourth Wall

[Jack]

I was wondering, what is the definitive definition of "the fourth wall?" I've heard it referred to as many things.


Jack :confused:

[Joe Tully]

The definition is the imaginary wall between the audience and whatever's going on on the screen or theater. So, when Bugs says, "Is there a doctor in the house" or "I do this kinda stuff to him all through the picture," it is breaking down the fourth wall. Think about it this way: looking at a stage, the characters that are on the stage only can interact with 3 walls. The fourth wall is nonexistent and allows the audience to watch the characters. This has the same meaning for a movie or cartoon.

I have also heard Duck Amuck and other cartoons in which the line between animator and cartoon is referred to as breaking the fourth wall, but I am not sure if this is completely accurate, strictly speaking. It is breaking the wall between the animator and cartoon, but I don't think that this is really an example of the fourth wall. The fourth wall is a term from theater from before movies and cartoons popped up.

[Jack]

Originally posted by Joe Tully
I have also heard Duck Amuck and other cartoons in which the line between animator and cartoon is referred to as breaking the fourth wall, but I am not sure if this is completely accurate, strictly speaking. It is breaking the wall between the animator and cartoon, but I don't think that this is really an example of the fourth wall. The fourth wall is a term from theater from before movies and cartoons popped up.
Thank you, Joe Tully. Those references to "Duck Amuck" are what had always confused me about "the fourth wall." So basically, the fourth wall is "broken" when the character realizes or knows he is being watched by an audience? If so, then it isn't the interaction with the animator in "Duck Amuck" that breaks the fourth wall, but Daffy's assertion that he is in a cartoon, right?



Jack :D

[Joe Tully]

Yeah, I guess I'd agree with that, Jack. Being aware of his cartoon-ness would count as breaking the fourth wall. I think that's not really an ideal example of breaking the fourth wall, but it essentially does the same thing.