Reading Comprehension

PT152 · S3 · P2 · Q12 David Bordwell

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Film scholar David Bordwell refers to the years 1917–1960 as the classical era of filmmaking in Hollywood.

Topic

Bordwell's definition of Hollywood's "classical period", as it relates to musicals

Framework

Challenge a Position

Main Point

Bordwell's explanation of how musicals fit within the realism of the "classical style" is not fully satisfying.

Summary

P1 - Introduction to Bordwell's "classical era"

This paragraph neutrally introduces Bordwell's characterization of the classical era -- basically, it was a realistic style that was all about telling a conventional story and making you forget that you were watching a movie. Stuff was only done to serve the interest of the narrative, not to call your attention to the fact that you were watching a work of visual art.

P2 - The Curious case of Musicals

It's weird that we don't get our central topic until the beginning of the 2nd paragraph, but the adjective "anomalous" is meant to have the same effect as our typical Purpose Pivot (usually using words like "but, yet, however, recently"). When we start with background and then pivot into something that feels like, "But this thing is different ... ", then we know that this different thing is what the author really wants to focus on.

This paragraph explains how musicals offer quite a challenge to the classical era definition, given that they have wacky musical numbers throughout the movie that are anything but realistic and don't have any purpose in advancing the story. The author innocuously asks whether musicals can be included in under the umbrella of classical era.

P3 - Bordwell's handling of "musicals" and the author's critique of that handling

Bordwell says,

The author ain't happy with this. She thinks it's really dodging the common sense issue that these musical numbers are totally un-realistic, and it also bothers the author that, as a viewer, you can plainly tell that the director is now just having fun as a visual artist, wants you to notice that, and doesn't any longer care about advancing the story.

The author is basically saying that even if an audience member said to themselves ahead of time, , the viewer would still notice the musical numbers as being a total break from reality.

The author concludes by trying to redirect the efforts of people like Bordwell so that they don't come back with crap they're currently selling, sayin' that musicals are realistic when they clearly aren't.

12.

The narrative structure of which one of the following hypothetical novels is most closely parallel to that of the musical films of the 1930s, as that genre is described by the author of the passage?

  1. a novel that depicts a

    Weak Match

    We do get a series of events (i.e. a story), but it's not saying there are periodic interludes of fanciful artistry. It's just saying that it's not connected well. The series of events doesn't provide meaningful connective tissue. In the musical films, the story has connective tissue, it's just we "take 5" from the story every now and then to be weird.

    19% picked this

  2. a novel that follows a

    Bad Match

    This doesn't have any gaps in the story where the book just gets weird.

    2% picked this

  3. a novel that follows a

    Bad Match

    This sounds a lot like (B) ... a bunch of separate vignettes that tie together in the end. Separate vignettes is not quite the same as periodic interludes. We weren't being told that in musical films, the audience is following four or five different storylines that all converge toward the end. We were told that they are following ONE main story, but that several times during the film, we have a gratuitous music video.

    5% picked this

  4. a novel that follows a

    Weak Match

    This is very close. Pausing throughout for fanciful flashbacks is exactly what we're looking for, but they're supposed to be tangential to the story (not helping with the story). Unfortunately, this one says that the flashbacks provide information relevant to the events, so these interludes actually do help move the story along.

    6% picked this

  5. Correct

    a novel that follows a

    Why this is right

    Pausing throughout for stylistically elaborate sections is similar to having random musical numbers sprinkled throughout. They're supposed to be tangential to the story, and this answer establishes that the story is about a single day, but these interludes are about thoughts and fantasies about life in general, so not integral to understanding the story of that day.

    Skill tested: Application · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    69% picked this

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