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Fourth Wall Myopia vs. Viewer Myopia (aka Viewer Awareness Advantage)

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Softy Since: Nov, 2010
#1: Jun 26th 2021 at 3:32:40 PM

We have two tropes: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FourthWallMyopia https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AudienceAwarenessAdvantage

I've been pointing to the first one because the description is great, and only today found that the second one exists.

These seem to be talking about the same thing — that is, viewers forgetting that the characters in the story don't have the kind of knowledge that the viewers do, and being frustrated or critical of the characters' behavior as a result.

Am I missing something here? Both pages have existed for many, many years with seemingly no one calling attention to them being duplicates (that I could find). At the very least they deserve to be mentioned on the Canonical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions.

Blegh Since: Jan, 2021 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#2: Jun 26th 2021 at 5:30:01 PM

I can't think of a major difference between them. They also seem very closely related to Dramatic Irony.

Softy Since: Nov, 2010
#3: Jun 27th 2021 at 4:43:28 PM

Dramatic Irony is different in that it's often intentional on the part of the author. It's a dissonance that's meant to be understood and appreciated. The Myopias are unintentional and hamper the understanding of the story. I suppose they are a kind of "evil twin" of dramatic irony.

EmeraldSource Since: Jan, 2021
#4: Jun 27th 2021 at 6:09:51 PM

Fourth Wall Myopia seems to focus more on the story details the viewer has due to having greater viewpoint on the story and the benefit of hindsight. So the audience hates the main character decided to Shoot the Shaggy Dog because a way out of the dilemma was a lot closer than they knew.

Audience Awareness Advantage leans more towards the viewer having a different perspective on the narrative mechanics, so obvious Foreshadowing towards the identity of the villain (ie a close-up as a character says "I'm full of surprises") is overlooked by the character because they do not perceive their life as a mystery story trying to be unraveled.

This is broadly speaking. Fourth Wall Myopia is the more common trope. I don't see much of an issue merging or keeping them separate.

Edited by EmeraldSource on Jun 27th 2021 at 6:10:18 AM

Comics are just words and pictures. You can do anything with words and pictures.
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