Deck 3: Narrative form

Question 1

A "point-of-view shot" is taken from

A) the filmmaker's optical standpoint.
B) a character's optical standpoint.
C) a remote location.
D) a point above the action.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The newsreel sequence in Citizen Kane

A) provides the only presentation of the events in Kane's life in chronological order.
B) presents a brief version of narrative events in roughly the same order as in the film as a whole.
C) summarizes events spectators have already seen in flashback and provides a crucial clue to the narrative's resolution.
D) finally gives the spectator an explanation of Kane's mysterious final word, "Rosebud."

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following statements is NOT true of the narration of George Miller's The Road Warrior?

A) The narration is mainly restricted to the hero Max's range of knowledge.
B) The narration provides shots from Max's optical point of view, as well as mental subjectivity.
C) The mysterious narrator's voice from the opening scene turns out to be that of Max as an old man.
D) The narration withholds information to create a surprise ending.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Ambiguity in Citizen Kane arises in part from

A) the reporter Thompson's concealment of what he learns about Kane's past.
B) the refusal of important characters to cooperate with Thompson.
C) the lack of clarity of some of the characters' motivations.
D) a small number of crucial lies told by the characters to Thompson.

Question 5

The opening scene of Pulp Fiction is an example of

A) expansion of temporal duration.
B) a manipulation of temporal order.
C) an imbedded narrative.
D) unrestricted narration.

Question 6

The ending of Citizen Kane is notable for

A) leaving the central mystery of the story partially open.
B) thoroughly resolving an unusually large number of plot lines.
C) suddenly introducing a newsreel that summarizes and clarifies the narrative causality.
D) daringly presenting unmotivated causes that finally allow Thompson to achieve his goal.

Question 7

What is the term for a chain of events linked by cause and effect and occurring in time and space?

A) narrative
B) plot
C) causality
D) parallelism

Question 8

Film Art's segmentation of Citizen Kane shows that its narrative is built around

A) a brief story duration.
B) a series of lengthy flashbacks.
C) the reporter Thompson's interviews with Kane.
D) Kane's series of successful political campaigns.

Question 9

Citizen Kane creates a narrative parallel between Kane's political campaign and

A) his attempt to promote Bernstein despite Thatcher's objections.
B) the montage sequence of Kane's first marriage deteriorating.
C) his attempt to make Leland into a famous drama critic.
D) his attempt to foster Susan's operatic career.

Question 10

"Depth" of narration refers to

A) how quickly story information is provided to the audience.
B) how many lines of action the plot weaves together.
C) how much information is presented by a nondiegetic narrator.
D) how much the spectator learns about the characters' psychological states.

Question 11

In a narrative, the sum total of all events in chronological order is the

A) plot.
B) range.
C) story.
D) outcome.

Question 12

Christopher Nolan created a unique manipulation of time in his film Memento by structuring the story in which of the following ways?

A) in three alternate cause-and-effect situations
B) in reverse chronological order
C) in random order
D) through five separate character perspectives

Question 13

The chains of actions that make up the narratives of classical Hollywood films typically depend on

A) psychological causes.
B) social causes.
C) natural causes.
D) restricted causes.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT an example of a way in which mental subjectivity might be portrayed in a film?

A) an internal voice that reports a character's thoughts
B) images of a character's memories
C) the use of slow motion to suggest hallucination
D) dialogue between characters

Question 15

Film Art argues that the search for the meaning of "Rosebud" in Citizen Kane is more than a gimmick because

A) Thompson's discovery of "Rosebud" is what permits the narrative to achieve complete closure.
B) the "Rosebud" motif creates parallelisms among all the flashbacks.
C) the search provides a cause that motivates an investigation into character traits.
D) "Rosebud" provides vital motivation about why Kane's mother sent him to live with Thatcher.

Question 16

As defined by Film Art, a film's "plot" is

A) everything visually and audibly present in the film.
B) the most important causal line of action.
C) the events as viewers mentally reconstruct them.
D) a brief summary of the film's action.

Question 17

In Citizen Kane, the event that causes the reporter Thompson to write a story on Kane is Kane's

A) second divorce.
B) inheritance of a mine.
C) death.
D) first divorce.

Question 18

Which of the following genres does NOT provide conventions used in Citizen Kane?

A) the musical
B) the detective story
C) the newspaper story
D) the Western

Question 19

In a narrative film, an element is nondiegetic if it

A) does not contribute to the cause-effect flow of the events.
B) is off-screen rather than on-screen.
C) is not part of the world of the depicted narrative.
D) is not directly presented in the plot but can be inferred.

Question 20

Which of the following statements is NOT true of the narration in Citizen Kane?

A) The multiple flashbacks narrated by different characters yield restricted, generally objective information about Kane.
B) For much of the film, the information presented by the narration is largely limited in range to the reporter Thompson's knowledge.
C) At the beginning and ending of the film, the narration moves outside the range of knowledge of any of the characters.
D) The flashbacks are used both to reveal and to conceal story information.

Question 21

The agent who tells the story in a film is called the

A) protagonist.
B) commentator.
C) antagonist.
D) narrator.

Question 22

In a film, the high point of the action that increases tension for the spectator is called the

A) climax.
B) resolution.
C) closing.
D) conflict.

Question 23

Plots based on searches might be considered examples of goal-oriented plots.

Question 24

A point-of-view shot is an example of perceptual subjectivity in narration.

Question 25

What is the term for how often a story event is presented in a plot?

A) parallelism
B) repetition
C) frequency
D) exposition

Question 26

Films such as Run, Lola, Run by Tom Tykwer and Peter Howitt's Sliding Door distort story time by providing alternative futures to the viewer.

Question 27

"Setup" refers to

A) preparation for shooting.
B) the first quarter of a film's plot.
C) the buildup just before the climax.
D) a plot twist.

Question 28

Howard Hawks's The Big Sleep is an example of objective, highly restricted narration.

Question 29

At what point in a film does most of the exposition usually take place?

A) just before the climax
B) during the resolution
C) near the beginning
D) immediately following the climax

Question 30

"Restricted" narration is commonly used in

A) mystery films.
B) documentaries.
C) classical films.
D) biographical films.

Question 31

In a narrative film, plot duration is always equal to story duration.

Question 32

Action that takes place before the plot begins is called the

A) exposition.
B) setup.
C) opening.
D) backstory.

Question 33

A complex character typically

A) possesses several varying traits.
B) faces multiple conflicts.
C) has difficulty making decisions.
D) overcomes obstacles.

Question 34

Narrative form can be used in documentary films.

Question 35

The opening scene of North by Northwest contains no nondiegetic elements.

Question 36

Classical filmmakers prefer that the end of a film

A) set up the possibility for a sequel.
B) bring closure.
C) leave some degree of mystery.
D) pose a question to spectators.

Question 37

The plot duration of Citizen Kane consists of roughly 65 years of Kane's life plus the length of Thompson's investigation.

Question 38

In Citizen Kane, the pattern of plot development is to move from flashbacks of Kane as an old man progressively back to flashbacks of him as a child.

Question 39

The process of narration involves

A) presenting story information in chronological order.
B) providing information that spectators would not otherwise have.
C) distributing story information to achieve specific effects.
D) interpreting events and actions for spectators.

Question 40

Alfred Hitchcock's approach to narration is to withhold as much information as possible from the spectator in order to create surprise.

Question 41

Characters are the most common source of causes in a narrative.

Question 42

[The following question can be used if you show your class a film that presents a distinct alternative to the classical Hollywood cinema.] Describe two significant ways in which the narrative of [film title] departs from the classical Hollywood cinema's tradition.Be as specific as possible in giving examples from the film.

Question 43

Groundhog Day is an example of a film with a "what-if" plot.

Question 44

A common pattern of plot development involves a character gaining knowledge as the film progresses.

Question 45

The onset of the conflict is the part of the plot that introduces the backstory and initial situation.

Question 46

A classical narrative usually involves a blocking element, or an opposition that creates conflict for the protagonist.

Question 47

Explain how Citizen Kane's narrative fails to achieve complete closure and discuss some of the effects this has on the spectator's understanding of the film.

Question 48

In classical films, characters rarely achieve their goals through changing their situations or attitudes.

Question 49

Discuss how causality operates in two or three scenes from [title of film shown in class].Be sure to describe how specific events motivate other events.

Question 50

Discuss at least two ways in which Citizen Kane's narrative adheres to conventions of classical Hollywood narrative and some of the ways in which it departs from that tradition.

Question 51

Describe at least two basic narrative traits of the classical Hollywood cinema, and give examples of each from Film Art, the lecture, and films shown in class.

Question 52

The locale of the plot is always the same as that of the story action.

Question 53

Non-character narrators are common in documentaries.

Question 54

An "omniscient" narrator usually has very little information about plot and characters.

Question 55

Explain the term narration, making reference in the course of your discussion to the concepts of range and depth.Use specific examples from Film Art, the lecture, and any of the narrative films shown for this course.

Question 56

Explain why it is often useful to compare the opening and closing of a film in analyzing its narrative.Give some specific examples from Film Art, the lecture, and any of the narrative films shown for this course.

Question 57

Explain the distinction made in Film Art between "plot" and "story" in narrative films.Use specific examples from Film Art, the lecture, and [title of film shown in class].

Question 58

Discuss some of the ways in which a spectator actively participates in understanding the narrative of a film.Give specific examples from Film Art, the lecture, and any of the narrative films shown for this course.

Question 59

Define the terms order, duration, and frequency as they apply to narrative time.Give specific examples of each from Film Art, the lecture, and any of the narrative films shown for this course.

Question 60

Discuss at least two ways in which Citizen Kane's plot differs from its underlying story.Be as specific as you can in giving examples of manipulations of temporal order, duration, and frequency.