knowledge in the real

is the immersion in the reality of a film (for instance) in a way that we react in accord to that reality. For instance, we react to a creaking door in a horror film or a family comedy entirely differently.

We can further pinpoint this gap via a kind of 'knowledge in the real,' which determines the way actors act in different film genres. The persons included in the diegetic reality always react as if they knew in what genre of film they were. If, for example, a door creaks in a horror film, the actor will react by turning his head anxiously toward it... if a door creaks in a family comedy, the same actor will shout at his small child not to sneak around the apartment. (Zizek 1989 : 37)

knowledge in the real, n.Definitions

knowledge in the real