Does the rule whereby characters shouldn't acknowledge that they're in a work of fiction have a name?
I wouldn't call it a 'rule,' at least not if you mean to imply it simply can't be done. I think it is sometimes referred to as 'breaking the fourth wall.'
I meant "rule" more as in "guideline" or "standard practice." I didn't realize it'd be counted as breaking the wall. Thanks! I'm writing a short play that could use some levity, and this is one of my personal favorite things to do.
Someone else may have a different name for it. I suppose depending on how you did it, it may not literally be 'breaking the wall,' though once they realize they are in fiction there is, by nature, a reader. Sounds like an interesting idea for your play. I agree that this sort of thing can be clever when done well.
From the other side, if the characters recognize that they are part of a fiction, does their acknowledgment make the piece metafiction since it is now referencing itself?
I don't know if there is a word for this; but there is a movie about it and it's named Stranger than Fiction.
Hi, In a play or tv show breaking the fourth wall is when a member of the cast addresses the audience directly. They do this for effect a lot for example on Mrs. Brown's Boys and Miranda. I'm not quite sure if this is what is meant by the OPP. Or if he means some sort of self recognition by a character that he is actually fictional. In a book however I can't recall any examples of breaking the fourth wall being done save when the character is also a narrator. The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Princess Bride both have narration interjected into them and it works well to bring the story home as a story. An account of something that "actually happened" in the first case, and an acknowledgement that the story is a fabrication in the other. Cheers, Greg.
I remember some of the old She-Hulk comic books in which she was clearly aware that she was a character in a comic book. She would sometimes get angry with the writer of the comic, even to the point of dragging him into the comic and tying him up while she looked for a new writer to write her stories. I don't remember if she ever addressed the reader directly, so I'm not sure if this would be properly called breaking the fourth wall. It does, however, qualify as metafiction.
Reminds me of Narrator/Cast conversation in movies like Dudley Do-Right (With Brandon Frasier) and George of the Jungle (More Fraiser) Just two examples that I have been amused by. Of course this has been done in nearly every medium, one of my favorite examples was in the Japanese anime Duel Masters where the main character Shobu announced that if they didn't have new writers by next season he was quitting, as he was tired of all the running sequences.
My favorite example of this is in the old Marx Brothers' film, "Horse Feathers", in which at one point Groucho looks directly into the camera and says, "Look, I have to be here. But there's no reason why you folks shouldn't go out into the lobby until this all blows over." I think it would be more a narration that becomes a personal commentary outside the story, such as: "Moved by her tears, Lester promised her that he would never abandon her. But, let's face it - men are notorious for not keeping their word."
Is that even a rule? Fiction would be pointless if the characters knew they were in a fictional world.
Not true. As people have pointed out, above, there are plenty of examples of this happening in fictional shows, stories, and so on.
no, it's not 'breaking the fourth wall'... that's when a character or the narrator addresses the audience/reader directly, as noted by others above... i've never come across a 'term' for having a fictional character be aware s/he is one... might be fun to dream up some... any ideas, anyone?
Some time ago, DefinitelyMaybe had a cool short story with a character talking to the author. It was interesting. As for the term, perhaps meta-awareness or The Red Pill Syndrome. For instance: Character X got the Red Pill Syndrome half-way through the novel and stopped caring for his own life; I think he knew the author wouldn't kill him off. Poor guy didn't realize God had to sell books.
Stranger than fiction? He does not acknowledge that he is in a fictional story; he is a real character who's real world is affected by a "fiction writer." The world he lives in is still real to him, and at no point does he acknowledge that it is a work of fiction, only that it is dominated by a higher power, which happens to be a fiction writer. Acknowledging that the character is in a fictional world is the equivalent of putting "he woke up, and it was all a dream" at the end of the story. If the character knows what they are doing has no bearing on the "real world" then your story is just a character playing a video game. The only purpose I can see to it is for some sort of bizarre comedy relief.
Pretty sure Breakfast of Champions by Kurdt Vonnegut, the author inserts himself directly into the story and basically apologizes to the character for treating them so badly. It seems like this is usually done for comedic effect or as satire. Groucho Marx is one of my favorite practitioners.
I suppose you are technically right, though he does meet the author of a work of fiction in which he is the protagonist and asks her to change the ending so that he does not die. Is this not an acknowledgement?
I would say yes. An indirect one, but perhaps indirect is more artful than, "Holy shit! I'm a character in a book!" And this example is metafiction on at least two counts.
