Reading Comprehension

PT152 · S3 · P2 · Q9 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.

The author uses the term "realistic" throughout the passage to refer to which one of the following qualities of a film?

the quality that allows the
Weak Match
This answer is kind of tempting because it's emphasizing the narrative and the story, which is definitely something the author is associating with realism. But this idea that there is "a quality that allows the narrative structure to convey the story" reads like artsy-fartsy nonsense. We would probably be wise to keep this on a first pass, since it's not easy to pinpoint why it's wrong, but it's way harder to support this confusing language than it is to support the correct answer. The quality of a film that allows the narrative structure to convey the story would presumably be stuff like plot, dialogue, action?
11% picked this
Correct
the quality that allows the
Why this is right
This is very supportable based on the 3rd sentence of the passage, where the author defines 'a realistic story' as "one in which the world of the story is recognizably related to our own". This answer almost matches up word for word. It's a little frustrating that the question stem emphasizes how 'realism' is used throughout the passage, and it seems like the term takes on other flavors of meaning in the 3rd paragraph, none of which are captured here. But ultimately, it's hard to not consider this the best available answer when it sounds just like the way the author defines realism in the first paragraph.
Skill tested: Meaning in Context · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
78% picked this
the quality that allows the
Reversed Causality
The 3rd sentence of the passage says that the technical elements are employed to tell a realistic story. This answer is saying that realism is employed to allow the technical elements to contribute to the story. So it seems to be reversing the stated flow of causality. We use the technical stuff to hep achieve realism, whereas this says that we use realism to help empower the technical elements.
6% picked this
the quality that allows audiences
Unsupported Relationship Opposite, if Anything
The author never makes it seem like "realism" is a tool that allows the audience to determine the genre. The 3rd paragraph at one point says that "even the viewer aware of the film's genre cannot be unfazed by the break in 'reality'." This suggests that awareness of genre exists independently of whether realism is present.
3% picked this
the quality that allows the
Out of Scope: variety of structures
There's nothing in the passage we can match up with "realism allows a film to employ a variety of narrative structures". (A), (C), and (D) all said something confusing that referenced narrative / story. They all somewhat cancel each other out in that sense (if we were looking for a definition of 'realism' that included the 3rd paragraph's sense of 'doesn't abandon telling the story'.) Meanwhile (B) is firmly aligned with an actual line reference we can point to.
2% picked this

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