Reading Comprehension

PT155 · S3 · P1 · Q3 Screening Nonfiction Films

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The following passage is adapted from a 2001 article by a film historian.

Topic

Retrospectives for early nonfiction films

Framework

Challenge a Position, Problem / Solution

Main Point

Early nonfiction films shouldn't be shown together in retrospectives since it will not cast them in their best light and grouping them together creates an exhibition that is inauthentic compared to how they were viewed in their day.

Summary

P1 - Background Info Leading into the Problem

This paragraph discusses the goal of art exhibitions to "collect the similar" and explains how in film that manifests as 'a retrospective'. It ends with one of our big 4 Pivot words (but, yet, however, recently) suggesting that notable retrospectives on early nonfiction films will be our primary topic.

P2 - Description of the Problem

The author begins with another big 4 Pivot word, "But", and he even uses the first-person pronoun "I". This first sentence of the 2nd paragraph appears to be our thesis: collecting the similar is not a great idea for early nonfiction films. He explains why doing so will result in a boring event that doesn't resemble the way these films would have been presented in their time.

P3 - Author's Criticizes the Irony of the Problem

This paragraph establishes that the people responsible for the problem are deeply concerned with authenticity when it comes to restoring the films themselves, but should be more concerned with authenticity when it comes to putting on retrospectives that better resemble the carefully curated night of mixed programming, of which these early nonfiction films would have been a part.

3.

The author would be most likely to reject which one of the following principles?

  1. Works of art should be

    Compatible

    The author is fine with presenting works of art authentically. She is urging people who do screenings of early nonfiction films to be more authentic in terms of the presentational context (a night of mixed programming).

    9% picked this

  2. Correct

    Dissimilar works of art should

    Why this is right

    This principle is easy for any average person to reject. It's so harsh. We should never, ever display any two pieces of dissimilar work together? Rejecting this principle means that you believe, "there could be at least one case in which it would be fine to display dissimilar works of art together". Beyond how extreme this answer is, the author would also reject it because she's urging those who screen early nonfiction films to better replicate the way early nonfiction films were incorporated into a broader night of mixed programming. Since she thinks the appropriate way to screen early nonfiction would be to replicate a mix of drama, comedy, travelogue, and news films, she is clearly tolerant of displaying dissimilar works together.

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

    72% picked this

  3. Contemporary exhibitions of works of

    Compatible

    Rejecting this principle means the author would be saying "modern exhibitions should not be informed by X". We can't support that the author thinks, "a contemporary exhibition should not take into account any awareness of how past exhibitions collected works together". If by "previous exhibitions" we can be referring to the "original exhibitions" of these films, then we know the author wholeheartedly agrees with this principle. In other words, our author definitely wants contemporary screenings of early nonfiction to be informed by an awareness of how the those nonfiction films were originally exhibited, as part of a night of mixed programming. If this answer is only referring to past screenings, not the original exhibition, then we would just say this passage makes no comment, since it never discusses previous screenings.

    6% picked this

  4. Art exhibitions should never be

    Compatible

    In this passage, the author is urging people who do screenings of early nonfiction films to give more regard to the fact that these films were part of a deliberately curated night of mixed programming. In the final paragraph, the author complains that when screenings just stack early nonfiction back to back: films are presented in an inauthentic setting, utterly shorn of the program that once gave these films life and context, a setting that allowed particularly films to shine, but also to balance and react against other kinds of film. Here, the author is expressing an appreciation for how each part contributes to the whole. So her sentiment aligns with this principle. (This principle is certainly said very strongly, so the author might disagree with never, but we don't have any support in the passage for the author arguing that an exhibit sometimes shouldn't think about how the parts connect to the whole.)

    6% picked this

  5. Art exhibitions should sometimes collect

    Compatible

    Rejecting this weakly worded principle means believing that, "Art exhibitions should never collect works that all by the same artist". Our author is never saying that we should never collect works by the same artist. She is only saying that in the case of early nonfiction films, it's not a good idea to do screenings consisting of nothing but early nonfiction (whether they're all from the same artist or from different artists).

    7% picked this

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