History Main / NoticingTheFourthWall

[[folder:Film]]

* A couple of characters in the later ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' books by Creator/StephenKing do this. Callahan angsts over it while some get pissed at the author for killing off their friends.

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'': Buzz Lightyear finally realizes he's a toy, and not [[CannotTellFictionFromReality the character the toy is based on]], when he sees a commercial advertising him. The "real" fourth wall is never touched, though.

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* The above quote from ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'', who is able to notice it because an overdose of "Brain Grub" grants him superhuman intelligence. He then uses his mental powers to make the show smarter, turning it into a boring intellectual program.

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'': Buzz Lightyear finally realizes he's a toy, and not the character the toy is based on, when he sees a commercial advertising him. The "real" fourth wall is never touched, though.

** Rob, after spending time in a metaficitonal PhantomZone for bad ideas and [[TimeTravel travelling through time]] (and the show's credits) via television remote, realizes the world he lives in isn't real. This makes him [[ArchEnemy despise Gumball]] even more, as Rob concludes Gumball being the hero is why he became a villain, and that he could be whoever he wanted [[HostileShowTakeover if he got rid of Gumball]]. (Gumball actually went to the Void twice and also heard Rob explain Elmore wasn't real, but remains ignorant of such because of VictoryGuidedAmnesia experienced after both incidents.)

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]

[[folder:{{Live-Action TV}}]]

[[folder: Music]]

* A common [[EpilepticTrees epileptic tree]] is that this happened to SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, causing him to GoMadFromTheRevelation. He has no problem killing innocent people because he knows they're not "real", and he does it entertainingly because he knows the audience will appreciate it.

* ''A Pack of Lies'', a short story collection by [=Geraldine McCaughrean=], has a frame story about a man in an antique store telling prospective customers improbable tales about the histories of the items on sale. As the book progresses, the other people who work in the store start noticing oddities and inconsistencies, and eventually discover that they themselves are just characters in a story.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Done In-Universe, when Timmy wishes the Crimson Chin out of his comic and shows him he's fictional, he suffers a HeroicBSOD. When he's returned to the comic, every panel is just him sucking his thumb in a fetal position.

* Pretty much the whole point of ''SophiesWorld''.

** A similar concept occurs in ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' where [[spoiler:Monika realizes she and every one else except for the player is in a game and tries to reach out to you, to the detriment of the other characters.]]

* One of the [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/sandrewswann-s-proposal proposals]] for the nature of [[Wiki/SCPFoundation SCP-001]] is that [[spoiler:it is the collective of writers and editors of the SCP Foundation website itself, portraying them as careless or malevolent gods who rewrite reality at a whim. [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou And they've prepared countermeasures to kill them if it becomes absolutely necessary]], even though they're aware this may destroy reality.]]

* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' features a scene in which Dark Helmet asks to watch a VHS copy of ''Spaceballs'' in order to find out what to do next. [[MindScrew He ends up watching himself watching ''Spaceballs''.]]

* Creator/GrantMorrison's ''Comicbook/AnimalMan'' often goes to "Comic Book Limbo," where all the no-longer-used comic characters live, and meets his creators. But whenever he leaves, he loses all memory of the visit.

* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' features a scene in which Dark Helmet asks to watch a VHS copy of ''Spaceballs'' in order to find out what to do next. He ends up watching himself watching ''Spaceballs''.

** Episode 6 decided to break the fourth wall's legs when [[spoiler:Chibi Pyrrha, whose canonical counterpart was gruesomely KilledOffForReal at the end of Volume 3, shows up and Chibi Nora telling everyone that "Nothing. Bad. Ever Happened. ''Ever''."]]

* There's a secret ending in TheNamelessMod where the player character learns he's just a character in a video game. He addresses the player and decides he's actually pretty cool with it, as giving people pleasure isn't a bad vocation. He'll see you next time you want a New Game.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': When Timmy wishes the Crimson Chin out of his comic and shows him he's fictional, he suffers a HeroicBSOD. When he's returned to the comic, every panel is just him sucking his thumb in a fetal position.

** "The Signal" centers on Elmore experiencing numerous anomalies that turn out to coincide exactly with a number of television signal interruptions. Just before Darwin and Gumball can conclude they're ''also'' a TV show, another jump sends them to an EverybodyLaughsEnding, which seems to have taken them off the topic.
** A combination of spending time in a metaficitonal PhantomZone for bad ideas and TimeTravel via television remote (which includes passing through the show's credits) make Rob realize the world he lives in isn't real. This makes him despise Gumball even more, as Rob concludes Gumball being the hero is why he became a villain, and that he could be whoever he wanted [[HostileShowTakeover if he got rid of Gumball]]. (Gumball actually went to the Void twice and also heard Rob explain Elmore wasn't real, but remains ignorant of such because of VictoryGuidedAmnesia experienced after both incidents.)

* The GenreSavvy DeadpanSnarker Digeri Dingo from ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'' has more fun with the fourth wall than any other character in the show. Subverted as he's not very concerned that he lives in a fictional cartoon.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory,'' Buzz Lightyear finally realizes he's a toy when he sees a commercial advertising him. This probably counts as an in-universe example, because what he doesn't realize is that he's a CGI animation.