Sta.sh
Theme
Total prizes reach 1000 
!!!! 
But of course there are always the rules......
Please please please fave the journal!
Make another journal about this giveaway and provide a link of that journal in the comments (this will help spread the word about this giveaway)
this journal 
Rules
Should be about School Times!
oints:
, comment and watch!
Lately there has been a HUGE increase of "breaking the fourth wall" jokes on most animated shows.
"The simpsons", "Family guy", "The Cleveland show", "American dad" etc. They all do it now, the question is żwhy?
a couple of years ago this was not only not something that was regularly used, but used briefly and with a justification. It was not just thrown there to fill in.
These days however, Cartoon shows seem to rely way too much on these types of jokes.
Almost as if it were the only thing that can keep the viewer interested on the "plot" of the episode.
They literally use these types of jokes about 3 to 5 times (yes, literally!).
It perhaps may be naive of me but I always prefered to think of these characters and the situations they go through (as ridiculous as they may be) and what they expirience in their regualr lives is what actually happens inside the crazy cartoon world the viewers love.
Seeing the characters talk to the viewer, make mistakes and have to re shot a scene and blatantly acknowledge that what they are saying is scripted and that everything that happens is fake, that they do not agree with what their character say, think or do just ruins it for me.
Perhaps Im immersing too deep into this.
But do you like this or do you also find it unappealing?
| Deviant Login | Shop |
 | Join deviantART for FREE  |
Take the Tour  |
Please re-read the beggining of the journal.
It says: "Lately there has been a HUGE increase of"
I never even implied there was any inovation in it.
Im merely questioning why it has gotten out of control and in such a terrible way as of lately.
It's also trendy
It's also boring
But now it's being used due to lack of ideas, of creativity! Back on those shows, breaking the fourth wall happened usually when it had a good reason, a good joke behind it. Now it happens all the time, because only happening is supposedly funny in these writers minds. It's a cheap trick now.
It CAN be used in a good way, they're just doing it wrongly and too much of it. And if it's being openly used on the Simpsons, it just shows how much The Simpsons sank. It's sad to see that one of the best american cartoons of all time (in my opinion at least) is now one of the unfunniest things I've seen. After seasons 6-7 the thing started to die, simply... (again, my opinion!)
I write an action comedy comic book, and I think it can be a great idea to use a joke or theme over and over. The problem is, you can only do that if it works! You can break any rule or any wall you want to almost, IF you do it right... but breaking the 4th wall backfires so much. I don't think it's so much a cheap trick as it is a failure to properly handle a technique that needs special handling because it's proven to be prone to backfire with viewers. If you could get it perfect most of the time, you could get away with doing it a lot!
Yes, some people think we're just nostalgic, but The Simpsons was a much funnier show, when it was about their family issues. The writers were definitely better.
I agree with you there, breaking the 4th wall must be done very well, it backfires a LOT indeed! If it's well done, it can be done over and over again, the problem is doing it badly, like it mostly is, wether with The Simpsons or other cartoons.
Fortunately, it was working because people were used to it, hehe