Self-Reflexivity in Buster Keaton's "Sherlock Jr." (1924)

Considered one of the great actors and filmmakers of the silent film era, Buster Keaton is a beloved figure for cinephiles. In his 1924 film Sherlock Jr., Keaton became one of the first filmmakers to explore the idea of a film within a film, something he achieved with his self-reflexive technique. 

Keaton stars as a movie theater projectionist who tries to win the heart of a girl with a $1 box of chocolates. The "local sheik" steals the pocket watch of the girl's father and pawns it, using the money to buy the girl an even better box of chocolates. He then slips the pawn shop receipt into the projectionist's pocket.

The example of self-reflexivity that is most obvious begins 17 minutes into the movie, as the projectionist falls asleep on the job. In a dream state, he imagines himself in the movie, while the other actors are counterparts to the girl, the sheik, the girl's father, and the father's hired work.

The dreaming movie theater employee's astral projection spots the sheik and the girl in the movie – he is the villain, who later steals her pearl necklace much like he stole the pocket watch in real life. The projectionist puts on his hat and walks up to the screen and into the movie, but he is thrown out by the villain. He returns to the movie, but is continuously shocked and thrown back by changes in the movie's scenes. The projectionist's sleeping body twitches to the cymbal heard in the real movie's music. This continues to play out for much of the movie. In the end, the girl realizes who the in-real-life culprit is and forgives Keaton.

Keaton's self-reflexive techniques are especially effective. The viewpoint of the audience is within the audience in the movie theater that the projectionist works at, furthering the "film within a film" concept. While the overall movie is not as compelling in 2013 due to its lack of modernity, Sherlock Jr. is cleverly constructed and consciously self-reflexive.