Motion Pictures

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

TopicsPrimary PurposeHumanities

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Passage

Most writings on the subject of motion pictures, including those scrutinizing the structural characteristics, aesthetic qualities, and effects of motion pictures on audiences, have traditionally been relatively abstract and have not considered what a filmʼs audiences actually see. In fact, various external factors intervene between the filmmakerʼs intent of a film and, consequently, the viewerʼs perception of it.

In the process of distribution, a film can be mutilated in many ways. The damage is most obvious when films in one language are shown to audiences that speak a different language. Subtitling may be simply incompetent, full of mistakes, or used for actual censorship. Dubbing—a significantly more profound intervention—can be even original titles, a practice that often creates false expectations and distorts the works intent.

When a film is shown on television or video, it suffers the most extensive deformations. In addition to causing a loss of image size and definition, current mass-market television and video technology is harmful in other ways. These intrusions include advertisements that break the intended continuity, the superimposition of images—such as station obtain more commercial time, are almost imperceptible but nonetheless detrimental to the integrity of a film.

It seems that audiences and even most film critics have tacitly accepted this situation—they rarely speak about it. This may be partly because of the special nature of film. In many other arts it is obvious that reproductions of a work are not the work itself, and they are not treated as expectations with regard to the more or less faulty versions that are often available to viewers.

What this question is testing

Primary Purpose

Your task

Pin down exactly what the question asks about the passage — a detail, the author's view, the structure, or the main point — before looking at the choices.

Common trap

Answers that restate a true detail from the passage but don't answer the specific question being asked.

Winning move

Anticipate the answer in your own words from the passage, then find the choice that matches that prediction.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question

In the passage, the author primarily

Answer choices

Out of Scope2% picked this
provide evidence against a claim that is often made in the criticism of a
Out of Scope: evidence against a claim The author seems to have her own agenda. She's here to complain about the ways in which we tolerate alterations of film. The central purpose of this passage is not reacting against some claim. (This answer feels more like a Challenge Position passage, but this passage seems more like a Problem w/o Solution).
2%
Unsupported Causal Claim Unrelated to Goal0% picked this
establish that changing the materials used in a particular art form would enhance public appreciation
This looks nothing like Call Out a Problem. It feels more like Make a Recommendation. Where in the passage did the author say that "if filmmakers change the materials they're using, it would enhance public appreciation of film"? The author's agenda was to enhance film appreciation (by the public and by critics) by encouraging us to preserve the original film as intended. There's nothing about "changing materials".
0%
Out of Scope: refute a view1% picked this
refute a commonly held view regarding the detrimental effects of criticism on a
The author seems to have her own agenda. She's here to complain about the ways in which we tolerate alterations of film. The central purpose of this passage is not reacting against some view. (This answer feels more like a Challenge Position passage, but this passage seems more like a Problem w/o Solution).
1%
Correct94% picked this
describe a problem that is generally overlooked in the criticism of a
Why this is right
"Describe a problem" certainly aligns with our Problem w/o Solution framework. The author wrote this passage to complain about the ways in which we tolerate alterations of film. Is that a problem that's "generally overlooked"? Yes! The very first sentence says that "most writings have not considered what audiences actually see" (i.e. they haven't considered that what audiences see is often an adulterated version of the original film)
Skill tested: Primary Purpose · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
94%
Out of Scope3% picked this
explain why a particular art form is the target of
Out of Scope: explain why it's criticized The author is here to complain about the ways in which we tolerate alterations of film. This answer sounds like she was offering a Causal Explanation for why film is the target of negative criticism. There's no part of the passage where it sounds like "the art form of film" is negatively criticized. The closest we get to that is in the second to last sentence, where the author suggests that "since we ignore these alterations that have taken place before an audience sees the film, we are often unfairly subjecting films to critical judgment based on some altered form, not the actual work the filmmaker created and intended." But that has nothing to do with saying that "the art form of film is the target of negative criticism".
3%

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