Reading Comprehension

PT153 · S1 · P1 · Q3 Motion Pictures

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

  • Save & drill this skill — build targeted practice sets from questions like this one

  • Video walkthroughs — watch every question solved step by step

  • 81 official LSATs — as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Start practicing free

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.

Topic

The impact of distribution and presentation on the integrity and perception of motion pictures.

Framework

Problem / Solution

Main Point

The way films are distributed, translated, edited, and especially shown on television or video often alters the intended experience, yet this is rarely acknowledged—creating problems for both audiences and critics. Most Valuable Sentence: The last paragraph, especially:

P1: The Usual Approach Overlooks the Audience’s Real Experience

Most discussions and analyses of movies ignore what audiences actually see, focusing too much on abstract qualities. But lots of outside factors come between what the filmmaker intends and what the audience ultimately experiences.

P2: Specific Ways Distribution Alters Films

Distribution can seriously change films, especially with foreign films. Subtitles and dubbing can introduce errors, censorship, or big changes. Sometimes films are re-edited or given new titles that misrepresent their original intent.

P3: Television and Video Transformations

When movies are shown on TV or video, they're altered even more. Not only do you lose picture quality and size, but you get commercials, on-screen graphics, and interruptions that mess with the flow. Other changes, like slightly speeding up a film to allow more ads, are subtle but still damaging.

3.

It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

  1. Correct

    Films should be projected at

    Why this is right

    While the extreme language of "precisely the speed at which they were designed" is an initial turn-off, this author is a stickler for trying to faithfully represent the original vision of the filmmaker; that's the main point of the passage. The final sentence of the 3rd paragraph is our support: Some alterations, such as a subtle increase in the projection speed of a televised movie to obtain more commercial time are almost imperceptible but nonetheless detrimental to the integrity of a film. Since the author thinks that "subtle increases" are detrimental, he would insist that the film be projected at precisely the intended speed.

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

    74% picked this

  2. Filmmakers should accept the fact

    Opposite

    The second to last sentence of the passage goes against this answer. It sounds like the author is concerned that criticisms will be directed against the filmmaker, not the distributor: Professional analysis, interpretation, and evaluation may be unfair to filmmakers when - as is surprisingly often the case - they are based on a version that has already been seriously altered.

    3% picked this

  3. Film critics should acknowledge that

    Too Strong: inevitable

    This flies in the face of the author's main point. He is sending out a warning to the world that is saying, "It sucks that we tolerate all these mutilations of the filmmaker's actual intended artistic output". He does not want to just accept this with resignation; he wrote the passage in order to rail against it. So he wouldn't say, "we should just accept that these mutilations are inevitable." He'd be more likely to say "we should stop doing these mutilations" or maybe something like "film critics should appreciate that the work they're judging may have been subject to mutilations."

    22% picked this

  4. Film commentaries should not be

    Opposite, if anything

    The first sentence of the passage is a complaint: most writings (commentaries) on film have traditionally not considered what a film's audiences actually see. This sentence isn't exactly about audience reactions to films, but it reflects the fact that the author thinks that film commentaries should be taking into account the audience's perception of the film. Even if this doesn't seem like counterevidence undermining this answer, we still wouldn't be able to find any support text that matches this answer. The author never chastises film commentaries for worrying about audience reactions to a film.

    0% picked this

  5. Films should be viewed only

    Too Strong: only

    The author never says anything about the size or lighting of viewing conditions. The author wants the actual film to be as close to the original as possible in terms of sound / aspect ratio / speed / title / visuals. But if a "director's cut" of a movie (i.e. a copy in which none of those things were changed) were to be shown in a small screening room at a library or some rich person's house, this author wouldn't have any strong objections. This is simply too restrictive an idea, especially given that the author never emphasized viewing conditions such as "dark room + pretty big theater".

    1% picked this

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

Save and practice this skill
LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free