Self-study
P1
Film scholar David Bordwell refers to the years 1917–1960 as the classical era of filmmaking in Hollywood. ███
Intro Topic ·
Hollywood's classical era according to Bordwell
Early- to mid-1900s
Bordwell's view ·
Era's style focused on straightforward, realistic narratives
Filmmaking techniques were used to immerse the viewer in a realistic story
P2
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Exception to Bordwell ·
Musical films of the 30s
They don't just focus on plot-driven narrative; they also have musical sequences
Example of exception ·
Musical sequence in Berkeley film
Unrealistic ("fanciful") sequence departs from film's plot
Author's view ·
Musical filmmaking techniques serve other, non-narrative goals
Telling a realistic story is not the priority in musical sequences
Key question ·
Can musicals fit Bordwell's definition of the classical era of Hollywood?
Or do musicals contradict Bordwell's view?
P3
Bordwell's answer ·
Yes, musicals are still realistic in their own way
Musical audiences expect breaks from the plot, so including those breaks is "realistic"
Author's criticism ·
Bordwell's explanation is wrong
Even though audiences expect breaks from the plot, those breaks are still a departure from the "reality" portrayed in the film
expand criticism ·
Bordwell's view is too narrow
Too focused on fitting film styles into definitions while ignoring how audiences engage with films
Passage Style
Critique or debate
9.
The author uses the term ███████████ ██████████ ███ ███████ ██ █████ ██ █████ ███ ██ ███ █████████ █████████ ██ █ █████
a
the quality that ██████ ███ █████████ █████████ ██ ██████ ███ █████ █████ ████ ██ ███ ████
This is not how the author uses the word “realistic.” Instead, the author uses the world “realistic” to show that the world of the story is similar to the real world.
b
the quality that ██████ ███ █████ ██ ███ █████ ████ ██ ███ ████ ██ ████████ ██████ ████
The author
c
the quality that ██████ ███ █████████ ████████ ██ ██████████ ██ ██████████ ██ ███ █████ █████ ████ ██ ███ ████
This is not how the author uses the word “realistic.” Instead, the author uses the world “realistic” to show that the world of the story is similar to the real world. In this passage, “realistic” describes the world of the story, not the technical elements of filmmaking.
d
the quality that ██████ █████████ ██ █████████ ██████ ███ █████ ██ █████ ███ ████ ███████
This is not how the author uses the word “realistic.” Instead, the author uses the world “realistic” to show that the world of the story is similar to the real world. In this passage, “realistic” describes the world of the story, not the categorization of films into genres.
e
the quality that ██████ ███ ████ ██ ██████ █ ███████ ██ █████████ ██████████ ██ ████ █ █████
This is not how the author uses the word “realistic.” Instead, the author uses the world “realistic” to show that the world of the story is similar to the real world.