Technology: Breaking the Fourth Wall

When a narrator or character draws attention to the fact that the story is not real

Related terms: Comic Wink

View Version History for This Term

What Strange Paradise
Experience: I want to propose a new experience term
Narrative Technology: Breaking the Fourth Wall
The narrator relates the story in English, with occasional references to the fact that many characters don't know the language and worry about the impact this will have on their chances of survival. This made me very aware that this global crisis was being made intelligible for me (a person distanced from it).
Contributed by: mi
February 16, 2026
I Love Lucy
Experience: Thinking "What If?"
Narrative Technology: Comic Wink
The show prompts audiences to consider what it would be like if women had jobs or if marriages were inter-ethnic, while assuring them that it is all just a harmless joke
Contributed by: angusif
January 9, 2025