Self-study
P1
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 film's audiences actually see. ██ █████ ███████ ████████ ███████ █████████ ███████ ███ ███████████ ██████ ███ ███ ██████████ ███████████ █████ ████████ ███ █████████ ██ █ ████ ████ █████████████ ███ ████████ ██████████ ██ ███
Intro topic ·
Audience experience differs from filmmaker's intent
P2
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Problem ·
Film distribution has negative effects
Problem: detail 1 ·
Translation issues
Subtitles, dubbing, and reediting can all alter a film in negative ways
P3
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Problem: detail 2 ·
TV and video distribution
Problems include changes to image size and quality, introduction of ad breaks, visual and audio interruptions, and increased projection speed
P4
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Problem: detail 3 ·
Audiences and critics accept problems 1 and 2
Author's explanation ·
Film is a unique art form
Contrast ·
film to other art forms
In film, unlike in other art forms, an ideal reproduction is considered another legitimate "instance of the work"
Elaborate on problem ·
Ideal reproductions rarely occur
Implication of problem ·
Unfair to assess films based on altered reproductions
Another implication ·
Film reviews don't represent the version that viewers will see
Passage Style
Problem-analysis
Single position
4.
Which one of the following ██████ ██ █████ ████ ██████████ ███ ████████ ████████ ██████████ ███ ████████████ ██ █ ████ ███ █████████████
a
Almost all filmmakers █████ ████ ███████ ███████ ███████ ██ ███ ████████████ ██ ███████ ████████ ██ █████ ██████
If some filmmakers approve of the alterations, then that potentially cuts against the author's argument.
b
Mass-market television and █████ ██████████ ███ ████████ ████████ ██ ███ ███████ ██ ███████ █████ ██ ████ ████ ███████ ██ ███ ██████████ ██ ███████████
If we presume that the author is right, i.e., modifications of a film for distribution does compromise the film’s integrity, then (B) tells us that modern technology mitigates the problem. But we’re suppose to strengthen the author’s argument that there was a problem to begin with. (B) doesn’t do that.
c
Many professional commentaries ██ ███████ ████████ ███ █████ ██ █████ ██████████ ██ █████████ ███████ ████████ ██ █████ ██████
And is there an analogous problem in those domains of art? (C) is silent. (C) requires us to supply the unwarranted assumption that in those other domains of art, it’s also a problem that professional commentaries are based on altered versions of the work.
d
Almost all viewers ██ █████ ███ ███████ ██ ███ ████████████ ████████████ ████ ███ ███████ █████ █████ ██████
One aspect of author's argument is that professional commentaries could be skewed because they are based on an altered version of the film. Whether film viewers are aware of professional commentaries has no impact on that argument.
e
In almost every ████ ████ ███ █ ███████████ ███ █████ ██ ███ ██████████ ███ ████████ ██ ███ █████████ ██ ██████████ █████████████ ██ ███ ██████ ████████ ██████
The author describes