MacGuffin - A Concept Popularized by Alfred Hitchcock - What is It?
MacGuffin - A Concept Popularized by Alfred Hitchcock - What is It?
From Wikipedia:
"In fiction , a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin or maguffin ) is a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or another motivator that the protagonist pursues, often with little or no narrative explanation. The MacGuffin's importance to the plot is not the object itself, but rather its effect on the characters and their motivations.
The MacGuffin technique is common in films, especially thrillers . Usually, the MacGuffin is revealed in the first act , and thereafter declines in importance. It may reappear at the climax of the story but sometimes is actually forgotten by the end of the story.
Alfred Hitchcock popularized the use of the MacGuffin technique. Examples from Hitchcock's films include plans for a silent plane engine in The 39 Steps , radioactive uranium ore in Notorious , and a clause from a secret peace treaty in Foreign Correspondent . Many other films have also deployed this technique; for example, the Maltese Falcon in the 1941 film of the same name , the meaning of "Rosebud" in Citizen Kane (1941), the Heart of the Ocean necklace in 1997's Titanic , the letters of transit in Casablanca (1942 film), and the "Rabbit's Foot" in Mission: Impossible III (2006)"
Can you come up with MacGuffins used in the movies, other than those described above? My submissions are the ring in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the stolen money in Night of the Hunter and the map to find Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode VII. Please post what you identify as MacGuffins in movies.
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Please post what you identify as MacGuffins in movies.
I am thinking on this one. Should be easier than I am making it.
A lot of the easiest ones have already been named in my article, but of course there are many - after all, there are thousands of movies, although not that many DO make use of MacGuffins.
The Goblet of Fire in the 4th Harry Potter book.
Yes, and the Holy Grail is the MacGuffin in many movies. Two of them are The DaVinci Code and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
I actually thought of Indiana Jones earlier, than didn't have time to post and forgot. Pretty much every artifact Indie went after was a MacGuffin.
Right - the ark, the crystal skull....
I really have to think on this, but it sounds like a fun game
Wally World in Vacation?
Could be. I don't remember watching the movie, but individuals HAVE been identified as MacGuffins in some movies.
Wally world is a fictional amusement park. The premise of the movie is a family trip trying to get there.
Oh. then I never did see that movie or I would have known. I believe that Trout Giggles is correct, because I think that would be a MacGuffin in the circumstances you related.
And when they finally get there (thru many miles of trials and tribulations), it's closed.
LOL. Then I'm glad I didn't see the movie. I have enough frustrations and disappointments of my own.
Yeah, but the frustration becomes part of the comedy.
Well, a lot of the time my frustrations and disappointments are of my own making and actually are pretty laughable themselves.
Hi, Buzz. I took a self-imposed month off from NT for several reasons and am happy to see that your article is the first I saw today. It was quite recently that I learned about MacGuffins. Hitchcock coined the word, and he was a master.
Here are my contributions:
"Rebecca" - The first Mrs. De Winter
"Marnie" - The color red
"Dial M for Murder" - The spare key
"Rear Window" - Whatever is buried in the yard
"North by Northwest" - The true identity of George Caplan
Welcome back. I've done that as well.
Excellent choices. I just watched Dial M for Murder. In Rear Window one does not know anything was buried there until much later on, but what pervades the whole movie is the suspicion about the neighbour.