Fourth Wall and House of Cards

Breaking the fourth wall is a tactic that was first used in theatre and is still used in both theatre and cinema actively. There is a lot of examples in realistic theatre and in popular movies such as Annie Hall, which is directed by Woody Allen, The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese. Yet, my example and, for me most interesting one, is used in a Netflix series called House of Cards.

House of Cards is a political drama that contains a journey of a Congressman becoming to President of the United States. Our main character Frank Underwood is a pragmatic politician who does brutal acts and uses manipulation as a tool to attain power. While he does that, whenever he will do bad things such as kidnapping, murder, or bribery, Frank Underwood includes us for doing that he breaks the fourth wall, and the series is earning interactive part.

For instance, in the second season, Frank Underwood gives the order to murder a journalist who is seeking power and cooperating with Frank Underwood. Before he gives the order, he talks with the audience, and until the murder happens, he never speaks to the audience. By doing this, he makes the whole audience a part of that murder, and in my opinion, this is a very creative way to break the fourth wall.

Obviously, I didn’t watch all of the samples of breaking the fourth wall, and probably the directors of House of Cards were inspired by another work. Still, as I told before, this is a very creative way of breaking the fourth wall if I compare it to other examples that I watch. I can’t wait to watch other movies and maybe direct a film about breaking the fourth wall.