What it is…
Any uncredited appearance of a personality in a film not belonging to its world in any direct manner. The personality may be real (actors, directors, celebrities from other fields) or fictional (literary legends, cultural symbols, franchise members) and may be seen in the film in flesh or in representation (photographs, silhouettes, posthumous graphic reconstruction).
Whyit is special...
A Cameo Role presents an uncanny moment in film viewing because the invocation of a real-life personality comes across as a strong contrast to the artificiality of the rest of the film. It is at this juncture that the fictional and real worlds collide and tease us as to how we should respond to this rendezvous. Does this expose the make-believe nature of the film or does it seal the film's claim of unfolding in the real world?
When it is deployed...
Many times, cameos are placed within a movie to flaunt the worth and influence of the star or the filmmaker. The slew of Cameo Roles in films such as Robert Altman's The Player (1992) and Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om (2007) is direct evidence of the weight of these directors within their industries. Although cameos could well be planted in “serious” films, there is always a thin comic undercurrent in their placement and subsequent recognition.
Where to find it...
In a scene at a ticket counter in Annie Hall (1977), a neurotic Alvy (Woody Allen) picks up an argument with a man who name-drops Marshall McLuhan. The man claims that he teaches a course on media and has every authority to speak about McLuhan. Upon this Alvy pulls Marshall McLuhan himself from behind the curtain, who bluntly rubbishes the man. Alvy turns to the audience and muses: “Boy, if life were only like this.”
HOW it is used:
Signature/Tribute
Directors are known to make cameo appearances in their own films as a token of authorship of the work. Such entries are often fleeting, sometimes even unperceivable, and spotting them becomes a sort of sport among aficionados. Less frequently, filmmakers cast other filmma akers in cameos as a mark of respect and as tribute to their influence.
Breaking boundaries
Since a Cameo Role usually breaches the boundary between the external world and the film’s, it is used to call to attention the construction of the film itself. Such appearances may make the work self-referential, tie it to other works of similar kind, dissolve the film’s realist boundary to impart a fantastical dimension, or simply exhibit a little playfulness. Such instances may also provide a hint for the audience as to how to approach the film.
