Don't break the 4th wall, just make it disappear
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the concept of breaking the fourth wall, originating from a literal separation between actors and audience, and evolving into modern storytelling techniques. It discusses how art evokes emotions, either through empathy or direct experience, using examples from various media, including Naruto and the series 'Furin.' The video highlights how subtle storytelling techniques can dissolve the fourth wall, enhancing emotional connection and investment in characters, ultimately enhancing the viewer's experience.
Takeaways
- 🔍 Breaking the fourth wall refers to addressing the audience directly or showing meta self-awareness.
- 📜 The term 'fourth wall' originates from French philosopher Denis Diderot, describing the invisible wall between actors and audience.
- 🎭 Modern definitions of the fourth wall include any degree of separation between the audience and the art.
- 🤝 Emotion in storytelling comes from empathy and connecting with a character's world, often experiencing emotions alongside them.
- 📺 Examples include scenes in 'Naruto Shippuden' where the audience experiences emotions along with the characters.
- 🎮 Video games and virtual reality also remove the separation between the audience and the story.
- 📚 Stories use mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors to reflect back on life, see new perspectives, or deeply engross the audience.
- 🧠 Human responses to art are influenced by cultural norms and biological instincts, affecting our emotional reactions.
- 🎵 Music and visual art evoke emotions through cultural familiarity and instinctual responses.
- 📈 The psychology of art shows that humans have inherent biases, like a preference for the left cheek in faces or comfort in lighter landscapes.
- 😨 Horror movies and high-stakes storytelling can evoke real fear and relief, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.
- 🧙♂️ In the series 'Frieren,' the subtle breaking of the fourth wall enhances the connection and emotional experience with the story.
- 🧠 Art evokes emotion through both embodied feelings and cognitive empathy, often intertwining these experiences.
- 🌟 Long-running series like 'One Piece' and 'Naruto' build deep emotional connections over time, allowing frequent emotional peaks.
- 📚 'Frieren' uses subtle fourth wall techniques to create a shared experience between the audience and the characters.
- 🧑🏫 'Frieren' employs the educational concept of the zone of proximal development to show character growth and development.
- 👩🏫 Effective teaching in 'Frieren' involves pushing characters slightly beyond their limits to foster growth.
- 🏆 The series 'Frieren' is praised for its animation, writing, characters, world-building, and subtle storytelling techniques.
Q & A
What does the term 'fourth wall' originally refer to?
-The term 'fourth wall' originally refers to the invisible wall between the actors and the audience in a theater, as attributed to French philosopher Denis Diderot.
How does the video argue a modern definition of the fourth wall?
-The video argues that the modern definition of the fourth wall represents any degree of separation between the audience and art, extending beyond direct address or meta self-awareness to include other ways of removing the barrier.
What example from 'Naruto Shippuden' is used to illustrate experiencing emotion alongside a character?
-The example used is the scene where Shikamaru is mourning the loss of a close one, where the audience doesn't just empathize with him but experiences the emotion alongside him.
How are mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors used as metaphors in storytelling?
-Mirrors allow people to reflect on their own life, windows offer a view into someone else's perspective, and sliding glass doors let the audience step into the story and experience emotions alongside the characters.
What is the core purpose of art according to the video?
-The core purpose of art, according to the video, is to evoke emotion.
How does the video describe the two ways people feel emotion in art?
-The video describes the two ways people feel emotion in art as 'embodied feeling,' which comes from instinctual and bodily responses, and 'cerebral feeling,' which comes from empathizing and putting oneself in a character's shoes.
What are the 'five elements of storytelling' mentioned in the video?
-The five elements of storytelling are characters, conflict, plot, setting, and theme.
How does the video describe the character of Fain from the series discussed?
-Fain is described as a long-living elf mage who functions as a safety net in the story, making it feel like a slice of life with rarely any substantial real risk.
What educational concept does the video relate to Fain's teaching methods?
-The video relates Fain's teaching methods to the 'zone of proximal development,' where growth occurs just outside one's comfort zone but not so far as to cause panic or giving up.
Why does the video argue that making the fourth wall disappear enhances storytelling?
-The video argues that making the fourth wall disappear enhances storytelling by allowing the audience to experience emotions and events alongside the characters, creating a deeper connection and investment in the story.
Outlines
🎭 Understanding the Fourth Wall
The term 'fourth wall' originates from the French philosopher Denis Diderot, symbolizing the invisible barrier between actors and the audience. Modern interpretations extend this to any separation between the audience and art. Breaking the fourth wall involves direct audience engagement or meta-self-awareness, but it can also be subtler, evoking emotions by allowing the audience to experience alongside characters, as seen in scenes from 'Naruto Shippuden'. The series 'Exploring Furīn' delves into these concepts, examining how storytelling can transcend empathy to offer shared experiences.
🖼️ Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors
Stories can act as mirrors, reflecting our lives, or windows, offering new perspectives. The concept of the sliding glass door suggests a deeper engagement, where audiences not only empathize but also experience emotions alongside characters. This video from 'Exploring Furīn' discusses this phenomenon, highlighting how the show's storytelling allows for such deep connections. The script touches on the importance of empathy and the role of psychological and cultural norms in shaping our emotional responses to art.
🎶 Psychology of Art and Emotion
The human brain is influenced by cultural norms and instinctual responses, impacting our emotional reactions to art. For instance, most people prefer 12-tone music over microtonal music due to cultural exposure. Similarly, humans have a natural preference for light over dark landscapes and a bias towards the left cheek in faces. These ingrained preferences extend to various forms of art, including music and visual media. The video explores how these biases shape our emotional engagement with art and storytelling.
😔 Body and Mind in Emotional Responses
Art evokes emotions through both the body and the mind. Embodied feelings arise from direct sensory experiences, such as music, while cognitive emotions stem from empathetic connections with characters and narratives. The video explains how storytelling often blends these approaches to create powerful emotional experiences. For example, horror movies elicit real fear despite being fictional, while the death of a beloved character can cause genuine grief. These responses highlight the deep human need for connection and the immersive potential of well-crafted stories.
⚔️ The Subtle Disappearance of the Fourth Wall in 'Furīn'
The video analyzes how 'Furīn' subtly removes the fourth wall by aligning the audience's emotions with the characters' experiences. Unlike traditional stories that rely on conflict, 'Furīn' creates tension through character development and the gradual removal of safety nets. This approach enhances the audience's investment and emotional engagement. The discussion includes the concept of the zone of proximal development, where optimal growth occurs just beyond comfort zones. The episode's climax, where characters face challenges without their usual safety net, exemplifies this technique, making the scene more impactful.
🌟 Character Growth and Emotional Investment
The final paragraph focuses on the growth of two young characters, Stark and Fern, in 'Furīn'. Stark confronts his fears by battling a shadow of his former master, while Fern steps out of her comfort zone to realize her potential. The audience shares the characters' anxiety and triumphs due to their deep investment in the story. The video praises the series for its subtle storytelling techniques, outstanding animation, and ability to make the fourth wall disappear, enhancing emotional connections and redefining the fantasy genre.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Fourth Wall
💡Empathy
💡Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors
💡Embodied Feeling
💡Cultural Norms
💡Instinctual Responses
💡Zone of Proximal Development
💡Body and Mind
💡Symmetry
💡Fear
Highlights
The term 'fourth wall' is generally attributed to the French philosopher Denis Diderot and originally represents the invisible wall between actor and audience.
Breaking the fourth wall typically means directly addressing the audience or demonstrating meta self-awareness.
There are other ways for media to remove the barrier between the audience and the art, such as creating experiences that audiences share with characters.
Stories can cause audiences to stop empathizing with characters and start experiencing emotions alongside them, enhancing the storytelling impact.
Examples of historic ways the fourth wall was broken include Shakespeare's plays where actors actively talked to the audience.
Modern methods include video games where the player controls a character and influences the story, reducing the separation between the audience and the narrative.
Virtual and augmented reality are pushing the boundaries of storytelling by creating immersive experiences.
The core purpose of art is to evoke emotion, often relying on empathy to connect the audience with the characters and story.
Human brains are influenced by cultural norms and biological instincts, which affect how art is perceived and the emotions it evokes.
Symmetry is appealing to humans, and there is a bias towards the left cheek of the face, as shown by the composition of Marvel posters.
The emotions evoked by art can be categorized into 'body' emotions (instinctual and immediate) and 'mind' emotions (cerebral and reflective).
Storytelling often uses both body and mind to evoke emotions, but core enjoyment comes from stepping out of one's own perspective to empathize and invest.
Fear in horror movies often feels real due to the body's adrenaline and cortisol responses, despite knowing there is no real danger.
The series 'Frein' subtly removes the fourth wall by making the audience experience discomfort alongside the characters when their safety net, Fen, leaves them.
The fight scene in 'Frein' is enhanced by this subtle fourth wall removal, making the audience share the characters' concerns and emotions.
Transcripts
when people talk about breaking the
fourth wall more often than not they're
referring to something like this
oh oh hello or this it's
over go home but you probably don't
think of
this give me a second and I'll explain
the term the fourth wall is generally
attributed to the French philosopher
Deni dito and its original definition
comes from a very literal Place
representing the invisible wall between
actor and an audience but today I'm
arguing a more modern definition that
the fourth wall represents any degree of
separation between the audience and art
breaking the fourth wall generally means
directly addressing the audience or meta
self-awareness but there are other ways
for media to remove that barrier emotion
in storytelling primarily comes from a
place of empathy connecting and seeing
into a character's world but every so
often in stories audiences aren't
experiencing emotion because a character
is they're experiencing something thing
in conjunction with the characters take
for example this scene from Naruto
shapin where Shikamaru is mourning the
loss of a close one when I was watching
this I didn't just empathize with
Shikamaru I was having an experience
alongside him but sometimes stories come
along and get rid of the fourth wall in
a more subtle way one you might not
notice unless you were paying close
attention this is a running series
called exploring furin my name is pay
and today we're talking about when the
audience stops empathizing and and
starts
experiencing so the fourth wall is
actually a really interesting thing we
can look at historic ways that the
fourth wall was broken like Shakespeare
plays where actors were actively talking
to the audience or on the opposite side
of the spectrum more modern ways like
video games that tell a story when
someone's controlling a character and it
influences the story there's once again
a removal of that separation or even a
level beyond that to the most extreme
virtual and augmented reality are
already influenced the way some stories
are being told but all stories are built
off of a foundation of the history of
Storytelling before it there are tons of
established rules and systems that most
people follow and some subvert to create
engaging stories but all of these rules
eventually come down to what I argue is
the core purpose of art to evoke emotion
and emotion in storytelling as a form of
art is built primarily around a
foundation of empathy there's a
necessary degree of investment in the
characters and story now all art takes
advantage of the human brain to evoke
emotion but before we get into the
psychology of art let's understand why
I'm bringing up any of this in the first
place so obviously I have this running
series called exploring furin and if we
include this video I've released 14
different essays using Fein as an excuse
to talk about things I find interesting
if any of you guys find yourself back
after watching one of my previous videos
consider subscribing I'm going to keep
releasing these weekly I've Loosely been
approaching the first season of fre and
chronologically so for this video I
found myself rewatching episode 9 which
has one of my favorite fights from the
entire first season and I noticed
something in this episode that I never
really thought about which I've since
learned can be referred to as mirrors
windows and sliding glass doors mirrors
and windows are a little bit more
intuitive stories can allow people to
reflect back on their own life or see
into someone else's you can see yourself
in some characters and experience
completely New Perspective in others but
what I'm talking about today is more
rooted in that idea of the sliding glass
door in the more traditional sense I've
seen this metaphor used to refer to when
people are really engrossed in a story
but in my case I'm not talking about
when you feel an emotion as an extension
of just empathy but specifically being
able to empathize and personally
experience an emotion alongside a
character I think this episode of frein
does that in a way I've never seen
before but before we analyze that
episode I want to start first by
explaining some of the things I've
learned about the psychology of art
completely independent of individual
personality the human mind is influenced
by certain norms and standards cultural
and biological influence Es are deeply
ingrained from an early age some people
work hard to break away from these
social norms or instinctual responses
but even in breaking away they're still
influencing people and that's only
talking about the standards we're aware
of take for example music taking a look
at the demographics of my audience most
of you will be used to 12-tone music
People's First Time listening to
microtonal music will sound jarring and
off-putting seriously look it up most of
you will hate it but it's actually this
whole world that's super interesting
this is an example of cult cultural
norms the reason we know this is cu
there's many other societies all across
the world that don't subscribe to the 12
tone technique human taste is heavily
influenced by what we're used to whereas
on the other side of the spectrum human
beings have deeply ingrained instinctual
biological responses this study for
example found that light Landscapes are
significantly more comforting than dark
paintings this is based off of the
instinctual response to self- preserve
we're afraid of the dark because we
can't see what's in it while this may
seem obvious there's lots of rules that
are less intuitive that also are based
in instinctual response Studies have
also found that symmetry is appealing to
humans or that we have a bias towards
the left cheek of the face seriously
there's compelling scientific evidence
that independent of culture human beings
value the left side of the face more in
this selfie study they found that people
even did the reverse in mirrors where
they would value the perceived less side
of their face which was really their
right because of the mirror's reflection
as soon as you start noticing it you'll
see it all over the place take for
example these Marvel posters where 19 of
the characters 20 if you include the
raccoon are facing with their left cheek
forward whereas only eight characters
are facing with their right cheek
forward a big portion of them are tiny
and in the background or it seems like
they're there to create a more balanced
image which by the way is just another
rule the point is to highlight the fact
that while light and dark images feels
really obvious there are tons of
examples that are less obvious lots of
rules with lighting a film have nothing
to do with creating a natural image and
more so to do with creating a compelling
one which ultimately leads to the next
point of this video the two different
ways people feel emotion and art the
terms I've used when discussing this in
the past are body and mind take a second
to listen to this
music most likely the emotions you're
feeling are not coming from a cerebral
place you don't have to put yourself in
someone else's shoes or empathize with a
character this is what I would call
embodied feeling now if I were to ask
you to think about the most tragic piece
of mea you've ever consumed see that
comes from the mind in reality there's
overlap between these two they don't
exist in a vacuum and any art can find a
way to participate in both or either and
sometimes it can be completely
determined by the audience member's
interpretation I think storytelling
often uses both the body and mind to
evoke emotions but core to enjoying a
story is the ability to step out of your
own to empathize and invest but
sometimes when consuming in a story you
stop empathizing and you start
experiencing the most most obvious
examples of this are built around
adrenaline and cortisol the stress
hormone when people watch scary movies
independent of how aware of the fact
that they are in no real risk the fear
they feel often feels very real the
experience of a jump scare is startling
completely independent of empathy
sometimes those things feel cheap like
their tricks but there are other ways in
which you can experience a story as well
the death of a character you love can
result in very real grief I'm not saying
people can't differentiate between
reality and fiction but it's genuine
genuinely sad to lose a character you
love when a story you're really invested
in is fighting to save the world it's
easy to feel relief when things work out
in the end there's a deep human
instinctual need for connection it's
also something that independently people
me included just seem to Value so to
actively experience an emotion that runs
in conjunction with a character you're
supposed to be empathizing with it adds
a lot to the experience these moments
are often the byproduct of extreme
emotion the two examples I've given so
far are the death of a character you
loved and the fight to save a world
those moments take a lot of time to
properly set up the average story
generally gets to do that a couple times
there's longer series like one piece and
Naruto that get to do it often but
that's because they have thousands of
episodes to work with and tons of
downtime between those moments but it
turns out that's not the only way to do
it sometimes writers make the fourth
wall disappear in a subtle way I'm sure
more people have done it but I really
can't come up with another example
outside of this episode of furin not
because I don't think it's been done
before but because I think its subtlety
gets in the way of its recognition so
let's finally talk about furin there's
this thing called the five elements of
Storytelling that I've talked about a
couple times characters conflict plot
setting and theme I think you can look
at any story and take those five
elements and put them in order from
least to most important I've argued in
the past that fine is not a story built
around conflict in some ways it almost
feels like a slice of life as Stakes are
sparse and there's very rarely a real
threat and part of the reason for that
is the story is built around this long
living elf Mage who saved the world so
in a similar vein to stories like one
punch man she functions as a safety net
someone so capable that there never
seems to be any substantial real risk
and across the first Nine episodes the
audience is conditioned to rely on that
now this feeling runs in conjunction
with two characters in our story Fern
and Stark they're party members
accompanying Fen and when the stakes
rise and they're forced into a fight
that's really dangerous and F and leaves
the audience and the characters have the
same experience not one built around
crazy high emotions but a discomfort
because we all lost the safety net
something I love about this is it's not
the breaking of the fourth wall it's
making it disappear it's opening the
sliding glass door and enhancing the
ability to connect with the story it's
subtle which means it's probably more
common than I realize and I think it
makes this fight scene which has tons of
significance to the story even better
it's built around these major
breakthroughs for two young characters
that I was already incredibly invested
in Stark has to face a very real fear in
an incredibly clever way essentially
having to fight a shadow of the master
that gave him his scar someone whose
strength he's terrified of Fern has no
idea her capability because it's always
existed in such a vacuum with such
extreme safety in actually a really
interesting way fan is a great teacher
there's this idea in education called
the zone of proximal development the
optimal place to grow is outside of your
comfort zone but not so far that you
panic or give up some people will call
this X+ One X being your limit and then
a little bit beyond that and I think
that the way that fan teaches Fern and
Stark is an excellent example of this
Fern actually explains it to Stark when
they first meet growth is often the
byproduct of consistent effort and then
an eventual leap of faith and part of
what makes the scene so effective is the
audience has been conditioned to also
rely on Fen so when she goes off on her
own and leaves Fern and Stark to deal
with this issue I found myself having
the exact same concerns the characters
did and it enhanced the scene there are
a million things to praise in the series
from the outstanding animation that is
used very sparingly to the writing
characters World building and remarkable
exploration of Trope it's legitimately
changed my mind on one of my least
favorite genres fantasy because there's
all the these things they do that are
really subtle that add a
lot like when they make a scene even
better by making the fourth wall
disappear
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