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META-REFERENCE
Meta-reference, a meta-fiction technique, is a situation in a work of fiction whereby fictional characters display an awareness that they are in such a work, such as a film, television show or book. Sometimes it may even just be a form of editing or film-making technique that comments on the programme/film/book itself. It is also sometimes known as "Breaking the Fourth Wall", in reference to the theatrical tradition of playing as if there was no audience, as if a wall existed between them and the actors.
Early uses of meta-reference
Meta-reference can be traced back to traditional asides to the audience in theatrical productions, a feature of dramatic presentation which dates back at least to the time of Aristophanes, who in his comedy "The Frogs", has a place where, in the underworld, the following dialogue takes place;
Dionysus - But tell me, did you see the parricides / And perjured folk he mentioned?
Xanthias - Didn't you?
Dionsyus - Poseidon, yes. Why look! (points to the audience) I see them now.
These asides are an early form of the technique of "breaking the fourth wall", of which meta-reference is a major form. Several of Shakespeare's plays begin or end with references to the actors and the play itself, most famously A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which Puck concludes with a speech which includes the lines:
- If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended
- That you have but slumber'd here while these visions did appear.
The oldest use of meta-reference in cinema is possibly in the Marx Brothers' movie Animal Crackers, in which at one point Groucho speaks directly to the camera, saying, "Pardon me while I have a strange interlude."
The long-running 1950s and 1960s radio comedy series The Goons frequently made use of meta-reference. In one episode, for example, Eccles reported that he never appeared in a scene with Moriarty because both characters were played by the same actor. The series' announcer, Wallace Greenslade and musicians Max Geldray and Ray Ellington were occasionally called upon to act as minor characters, and their efforts were often derided on air by the other characters.
The oldest meta-references in television are probably in the comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which prominently featured them. Meta-references in Flying Circus include:
- a group of people lost in a jungle, who are rescued when they realize someone is filming them
- characters who think the sketch they are playing is silly and decide to stop
- a TV host, who experiences repeatedly shown film clips as déjà vu
- a group of inquisitors who are in a hurry, because the credits are rolling and the show is about to end
Included is a list of Meta Reference Examples
See also
External links
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