Question 1

What does it mean when the stakes rise in a movie?

Accepted Answer

A)   that the movie becomes more profound and complex
B)   that the movie provokes its audience to accept controversial political doctrines
C)   that as the movie progresses the protagonist confronts greater risks
D)   that as the movie progresses the protagonist becomes more significant
E)   that as the movie progresses the antagonist gains in strength over the protagonist C

Question 2

Which of the following can be said about different types of narration?

Accepted Answer

A)   Restricted and omniscient narration cannot be used within the same film.
B)   Restricted and omniscient narration can be used within the same film depending on the needs of the story.
C)   Restricted and omniscient narration can be used within the same film, but only along with a third-person voice-over narrator.
D)   Restricted and omniscient narration can be used within the same film, but only along with a first-person voice-over narrator.
E)   Restricted and omniscient narration can be used within the same film, but only if there is no voice-over narrator. B

Question 3

Using a hypothetical example, explain how story and plot can overlap in creative ways.

Accepted Answer

Possible example: A film noir in which a fallen high-stakes gambler recounts his life presents his remembrances in nonchronological order. The remembrances consist of story elements that allow the audience to understand the character, but they are structured by the plot to evoke the associative properties of memory.

Question 4

What is an antihero?

Accepted Answer

A)   a rival to the protagonist
B)   an unsympathetic character in pursuit of a less-than-noble goal
C)   a round hero possessing potentially fatal flaws
D)   a hero who resorts to violence in pursuit of his or her goal
E)   a flat hero who does not possess the nuances audiences expect in a richly compelling main character

Question 5

What is narration?

Accepted Answer

A)   the story
B)   who or what tells the story
C)   fiction films
D)   the act of telling the story
E)   a cinematic structure in which the filmmakers have selected and arranged events in a cause-and-effect sequence occurring over time

Question 6

Which of the following films was greatly influenced by Citizen Kane in terms of plot structure?

Accepted Answer

A)   Great Expectations
B)   The Social Network
C)   127 Hours
D)   Pulp Fiction
E)   Gladiator

Question 7

Which of the following describes the order of the story events in Stagecoach?

Accepted Answer

A)   chronological
B)   nonchronological
C)   both chronological and nonchronological
D)   obscure
E)   unknown

Question 8

What is the primary function of secondary characters?

Accepted Answer

A)   to provide comic relief
B)   to question the morality of the protagonist
C)   to move the story forward or flesh out the motivations of the protagonist
D)   to narrate the story
E)   to frustrate the protagonist's quest

Question 9

A film that contains unrestricted access to all aspects of the narrative, providing any character's experiences and perceptions as well as information that no character knows, is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)   restricted narration.
B)   third-person narration.
C)   omniscient narration.
D)   first-person narration.
E)   Hitchcockian narration.

Question 10

How is the restricted narration of The Black Swan unreliable?

Accepted Answer

A)   The film's story is told entirely from the point of view of a protagonist who is losing touch with reality.
B)   The film's story is narrated by a sarcastic third-person narrator.
C)   The film's story is continually shown from dual perspectives: the protagonist's and that of the people who think she is insane.
D)   The film's story is told in a highly stylized and heavily frenetic fashion.
E)   The film's story is told in nonchronological order.

Question 11

What is a backstory?

Accepted Answer

A)   the exposition of a movie
B)   the first draft of a movie
C)   a fictional history behind the situation existing at the start of the main story
D)   the presentation of events in reverse chronological order
E)   the experiences or events that spin the action in a new direction in a movie

Question 12

What is an antagonist?

Accepted Answer

A)   the person, people, creature, or force responsible for obstructing the protagonist
B)   an extreme antihero
C)   a moment in the narrative structure that spins the story in a new direction
D)   a catastrophic nature disaster that provides the climax to many films
E)   a badly written second act

Question 13

Why was the structure of Citizen Kane so difficult for audiences of its time?

Accepted Answer

A)   It demanded that they care for unsympathetic characters.
B)   Its distinction between past, present, and future events was highly ambiguous.
C)   It asked the audience to fill in plot details and order the story out of an elliptical narrative.
D)   It covered too much historical time for an audience to properly process.
E)   It never explicitly stated when the events in the story took place.

Question 14

Which of the following demonstrates the effective use of third-person narration?

Accepted Answer

A)   We enter the thoughts of the protagonist as she relates to the audience in voice-over what she is truly feeling.
B)   We are addressed by the protagonist when he makes an aside to the camera after a particularly embarrassing moment.
C)   We are addressed by an omniscient yet unseen voice who explains to the audience the various motivations of multiple characters.
D)   We are addressed by the filmmaker herself as she provides a warning to sensitive viewers before the movie story proper begins.
E)   We are addressed by several characters over the course of a highly unusual narrative.

Question 15

Narratives are fiction films, as opposed to

Accepted Answer

A)   other movie genres, like horror and the musical.
B)   other movie techniques, like chiaroscuro lighting.
C)   other movie modes, like documentary or experimental.
D)   other movie terms, like mise-en-scène.
E)   other movie eras, like the silent era.

Question 16

What is the difference between story and plot?

Accepted Answer

A)   Story contains only the present events of the film; plot contains past and future events.
B)   Story contains only explicitly presented information; plot contains explicit and implicit information.
C)   Story contains no diegetic elements; plot contains only diegetic elements.
D)   Story contains the explicit and implicit events of the film; plot contains the explicit events in a specifically selected arrangement.
E)   There is no difference.

Question 17

What is the primary narrator in every movie?

Accepted Answer

A)   the camera
B)   the protagonist
C)   the director
D)   the screenwriter
E)   the omniscient, third-person storyteller

Question 18

Which of the following would NOT be considered a major event in a film?

Accepted Answer

A)   An aspiring actor asks a man on the street for the time as he rushes to get to rehearsal for which he might be late.
B)   A hermit receives an e-mail from a former friend that forces him to choose whether to see the other.
C)   A boxer is asked to throw a fight: This is against his principles, but it will allow him a shot at the heavyweight championship bout.
D)   A captain in the army is ordered to demote a soldier he knows is actually being treated unfairly.
E)   A writer catches her best friend cheating on her husband, who is also the writer's friend.

Question 19

What does the repetition of a story element signal?

Accepted Answer

A)   that the filmmakers have made a continuity error
B)   that the element is relatively insignificant because it is overemphasized
C)   that the element is relatively important because it is part of a pattern
D)   that the element can be removed from the film and made an object of study on its own
E)   that the element is one of the director's "trademarks" placed in the narrative for only die-hard fans

Question 20

What is story duration?

Accepted Answer

A)   the amount of time that the implied story takes to occur
B)   the amount of time it takes to summarize the story to someone who has not seen the film
C)   the elapsed time of those events within the story that the film explicitly presents
D)   the amount of time it takes to shoot the film
E)   the movie's running time on-screen

Exam 4: Elements of Narrative