You Like That Fourth Wall? Nah...

Just read this on New TeeVee

Of all the consequences of our culture’s infatuation with reality programming, our increasing preference for “behind the scenes” shows — big air quotes there — is the most intriguing.

By “behind the scenes” I mean everything from literal fare like American Idol and SNL Backstage (the making of commercial personas) to mockumentaries like NBC’s The Office and CBS’ web series Clark and Michael (the making of the making of faux personas) to even, yes, YouTube itself (the making of “real” personas).

In preferring to be entertained by this process of making entertainment, it’s as if we’ve stepped back from original received experience — sitcoms that maintain that fourth-wall suspension of disbelief, for example — and embraced media that includes us. The camera is no longer a vessel for the audience, the camera is the audience. And since we are participants in the media, the camera has become a character. --Link

Awesome. Just more fuel for this bonfire we're building.