Self-study
The following passage is adapted from a 2001 article by a film historian.
P1
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Question ·
Which works of art should be shown together?
Answer 1 ·
Group art according to artist
E.g. Rembrandt paintings
Answer 2 ·
Group art according to theme/period
E.g., Modernist art
Similarity ·
Both answers use common characteristics to group art togther
Analogy ·
Film retrospectives are like art exhibits
Similar works of film are grouped by a common feature and screened together
narrowing topic ·
Early nonfiction film retrospectives
P2
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Main point / author's criticism ·
Early films shouldn't be grouped by similarity
Premise: such films were never originally shown this way
Support criticism ·
Original format for screening films
Author gives more detail: instead of grouping similar films together, cinemas originally showed different films together in "mixed program"
P3
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target of criticism ·
Film archives and retrospective festivals
Their priority is to showcase how films supposedly originally looked; author implies this shouldn't be sole priority
support criticism ·
Authenticity in how films were originally grouped is important
Screening films in mixed-program format adds context and improves viewing experience
clarify main point ·
Exhibition of early films shouldn't ignore the context in which they were originally viewed
Passage Style
Problem-analysis
Single position
5.
The author most likely intends
a
call into question ███ █████████ ██ █████ ███ ███████ ██ ██ █████ ████ ███████████
Misdirection. Although the author uses the word “allegedly,” which calls into question the sincerity of such early film lovers, this isn’t the purpose of this sentence. The author is trying to drive home the point he’s trying to make throughout P3: film presenters in the early 20th century followed a certain format, and film exhibits shouldn’t ignore that format (shouldn’t “forsake” those presenters’ “insights”). The author’s implying that film exhibits should follow the same format that early film presenters used.
b
carry an implication █████████ ███ ██████ ███ ██ ██████████ █████ ██████████ █████
The author is trying to drive home the point he’s trying to make throughout P3: film presenters in the early 20th century followed a certain format, and film exhibits shouldn’t ignore that format (shouldn’t “forsake” those presenters’ “insights”). The author’s implying that film exhibits should follow the same format that early film presenters used.
c
trace the historical █████ ██████ ███ █████████ █████████ ██ █████ █████████ ███████ ████ ██████████
This is what the author does in P2: he explains what was done. The final sentence of the passage, meanwhile, is about what the author thinks should be done now.
d
suggest that it ██ █████████ ████ █████ ███ █████ █████ █████ ██ ████ ███ ███ ████████ ████████ ████ ███ ████
The author never suggests that film lovers should find the earliest versions possible. His argument is that early nonfiction films should be exhibited alongside other kinds of early films. He’s not interested in how old the versions of those films happen to be.
e
challenge the notion ████ █████ ████ ███ ████ ██ █████ ██████████ ██ ████████████ █████████
The author doesn’t challenge this notion. He argues that in order to better understand and appreciate early film, those films should be exhibited a certain way.