About
The 4th Wall is a term used to describe the line between reality and fiction. The fourth wall being broken means that a character in a fictional story has crossed the line between fiction and reality, either acknowledging the audience, show, or normally both.
Other characters from numerous media have broken the fourth wall, such as Deadpool from Marvel comics, Warner Bros’ Freakaziod, Pinkie Pie from MLP: FiM, and other characters from other media.
Origin
The Fourth Wall ’s origins go back as far as the 1800s, having the same meaning as it does today, still being an invisible “wall” between the audience and the actors. Such idea was formed by Denis Diderot, a critic and philosopher.
Spread
Breaking the fourth wall started to spread around during the time that the show Ed Edd and Eddy aired on Television
The show broke the fourth wall several times throughout the course of it’s lifespan until 2009 when the show was taken off the air.
The show breaking the fourth wall:
Notable Examples
Search Interest Over Time