fourth wall

fourth wall
  refers to the imaginary, illusory invisible plane through which the film viewer or audience is thought to look through toward the action; the fourth wall that separates the audience from the characters is 'broken through' when the barrier between the fictional world of the film's story and the "real world" of the audience is shattered - when an actor speaks directly to the viewers by making an aside
  Examples: the conclusion of The Great Train Robbery (1903) when the gunman fires directly at the audience, Woody Allen's asides in Annie Hall (1977), the end of GoodFellas (1990), and all throughout Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Glossary of cinematic terms . 2015.

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  • Fourth wall — The fourth wall is the imaginary wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theater, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. It was made explicit by Denis Diderot [ The Fourth Wall and the Third Space by John… …   Wikipedia

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  • fourth wall — noun : an imaginary wall (as the opening of the proscenium in a theater) that keeps performers from recognizing or directly addressing their audience * * * Theat. the imaginary wall of a box set, separating the actors from the audience. [1800 10] …   Useful english dictionary

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  • fourth wall — noun Date: 1807 an imaginary wall (as at the opening of a modern stage proscenium) that keeps performers from recognizing or directly addressing their audience …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • fourth wall — Theat. the imaginary wall of a box set, separating the actors from the audience. [1800 10] * * * …   Universalium

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