Metacinema, also meta-cinema, is a mode of filmmaking in which the film informs the audience that they are watching a work of fiction. Metacinema often references its own production, working against narrative conventions that aim to maintain the audience's

suspension of disbelief Suspension of disbelief, sometimes called willing suspension of disbelief, is the avoidance of critical thinking or logic in examining something unreal or impossible in reality, such as a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for t ...

. Elements of metacinema includes scenes where characters discuss the making of the film or where production equipment and facilities are shown. It is analogous to

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction which emphasises its own narrative structure in a way that continually reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and stor ...

in literature.

History

Examples of metacinema date back to the early days of narrative filmmaking. In the 1940s, backstage musicals and comedies like '' Road to Singapore'' (

Victor Schertzinger Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include '' Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930), ''Something to Sing About'' (1937) with James C ...

, 1940) and '' Hellzapoppin''' ( H. C. Potter, 1941) exhibited a vogue for exploration of the medium of film at a time when Hollywood classicism dominated. Metacinema can be identified in art cinema of the 1960s like '' 8½'' (

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most ...

, 1963) or ''

The Passion of Anna ''The Passion of Anna'' ( sv, En passion – "A passion") is a 1969 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, who was awarded Best Director at the 1970 National Society of Film Critics Awards for the film. Plot The audience is ...

'' (

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known as "profoun ...

, 1969), and it can often be found in the self-reflexive filmmaking of the

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

in films like ''

Contempt Contempt is a pattern of attitudes and behaviour, often towards an individual or a group, but sometimes towards an ideology, which has the characteristics of disgust and anger. The word originated in 1393 in Old French contempt, contemps, ...

'' (

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...

, 1963) and ''

Day for Night Day for night is a set of cinematic techniques used to simulate a night scene while filming in daylight. It is often employed when it is too difficult or expensive to actually shoot during nighttime. Because both film stocks and digital image se ...

'' (

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more th ...

, 1973). Other examples include '' F for Fake'' (

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

, 1973) and '' Through the Olive Trees'' (

Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...

, 1994).Stam, Robert. ''Reflexivity in Film and Literature''. ''Community'' (2009–2015) is a sitcom which has elements of metacinema, particularly through the character of Abed Nadir (

Danny Pudi Daniel Mark Pudi (born March 10, 1979) is an American actor. His roles include Abed Nadir on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), for which he received three nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor i ...

) who makes comments about himself and his

friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Li ...

being in a sitcom, such as commenting that they are in a

bottle episode In episodic television, a bottle episode is produced cheaply and restricted in scope to use as few regular cast members, effects and sets as possible. Bottle episodes are usually shot on sets built for other episodes, frequently the main interior ...

in the bottle episode: '' Cooperative Calligraphy'' ( Series 2: Episode 8), and the episode '' Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples'' (Series 2: Episode 5) consists of Abed making his own metacinema film.

References

{{Film genres Film genres Films about filmmaking Metafiction Metafictional techniques