Markup View

Author: berr

Jan 28th 2010 at 7:08:59 PM

Agree with Cidolfas, although I would call it a sister trope, not a subtrope. This is not LeaningOnTheFourthWall.  This is an old Dramatic Acting Trick (like MilkingTheGiantCow) that is related, but completely distinct from Leaning On The Fourth Wall as described in that page.

Leaning On The Fourth Wall is the sort of thing you see in medicine advertisements and parodies.

PatchingUpTheFourthWall as described by the original troper is when a character ''adresses the audience but it's really a fake-out or writer's joke'' and he's actually addressing someone in-story.  It's actually a more rigorous Fourth Wall because it implies the writer is trying to maintain complete in-story versimilitude while allowing for a fourth-wall in-joke.

Whereas Leaning On The Fourth Wall makes no sense in real life except in context of the characters being in a show.

The GangsOfNewYork example is the best one I can think of for this trope, and highlights the distinction perfectly.  That's what caught my attention which is why I undeleted it.