"What's a MacGuffin?" - MacGuffins: 101｜FACETS OF STORY
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- The Ark of the Covenant, The NOC List, The Holy Grail. . . What do these all have in common? They're all MacGuffins. But what is a MacGuffin? Learn today 'Facets of Story'.
Maybe the MacGuffin was the friends we made along the way.
LOL. For serious though, the MacGuffin is their so you can go on a journey to find friends along the way. The MacGuffin is Plot, the friends are Story. Story is what you should be going for.
The stolen money in Psycho is my favourite example.
Yes. I love how it literally gets thrown away at the midpoint after Marion dies. And then the Norman becomes our main character. Brilliant storytelling!
the orb from Venture Bros is one of my fave maguffins
When you stop caring half way through😂😂
LOL. The thing about MacGuffins that Hitchcock knew is that they are not the story. They just get you there. What happens to the characters along the way is the story.
A MacGuffin is a McMuffin, but one that's been dropped on the floor in the back prep room.
Then you have to bend down real quick and pick it up and put it in the bag before the manager sees you. It's the object you the main character are after, but the bad guy your manager is after also, to write you up.
LOL
Wayyyyy too excited about macguffins here.
Just the right amount, I'd think.
I like to think that all McGuffins are the same thing so I saw the prequal to Castaway where the contents of the package he delivers at the end is actually the thing that glows in the briefcase in Pulp fiction. Certainly makes for some surreal story lines!
That's a really cool idea! And I'm sure Hitchcock would approve.
Yeah, egg sausage and cheese MacGuffins. I’ve had that.
LOL
You got that from teen Titans go.
Movie - Ronin. The Silver case, the whole movie is about stealing the case for what is in it. However, that is only a ploy to get to the real purpose of the movie.
Haven't seen that in a while. What is the real purpose again?
@@EnterTranscend Mostly the purpose is to draw out the wanted man.
Wasn't McGuffin that TV family adventure show from the '90s starring that guy from StarGate? 🤔😜
The puppy in John Wick Chapter 1 is a Macguffin. No puppy, no movie. Maybe a new kind of Macguffin, but a Macguffin nonetheless.
The puppy is less of a macguffin and more the Inciting Incident that gets the story started. MacGuffins are pursued throughout the story.
Egg MacGuffin... mmm
Nice video!
Thanks, Glad you enjoyed it!
Ronin. Where does the damned ice skates case fall? The one nobody knows what's in until now.
That would be more of an Abrams style MacGuffin along with the briefcase from Pulp Fiction.
Does a story need a MacGuffin or is it just something you can add for more plot?
Many stories, like dramas for instance don't need to have a MacGuffin. But MacGuffins are very helpful for Action, Adventure, and Suspense films; Especially spy films. So no, you don't need a MacGuffin, but it can strengthen your story's momentum and sense of direction. However if your story is only about the MacGuffin it will be very thin indeed (such as with SW Episode IX).
@@EnterTranscend Well explained. The MacGuffin is a plot moving device. That can work well, especially if a grander issue emerges from the initial pursuit (which is then what makes the MacGuffin disposable: "We got something BIGGER to deal with!"). I think the critical factor is, whether it becomes disposable by a greater issue or not, the MacGuffin MUST be introduced as a reasonable, rational goal otherwise, as Heinlein would say, "You're peddling vacuum."
0:42 HITCKCOCK
He's the man!
That explain why GFs have always nicknamed me MacGuffin my whole life: Good to get them them where they are going but then they lose all interest and don't care. [ :-D HaHa ]
Oh my goodness, LOL!
The One Ring?
The one ring is kind of a MacGuffin because the bad guys are chasing it, but the good guys already have it so I would say for the good guys Mt. Doom is more of a MacGuffin, cause they're trying to get there. I hope that makes sense!
@@EnterTranscendHmmm, but in LoTR, the Ring and Mount Doom ARE genuinely important all the way through until the end. And the quest is not done until either the enemy gets the ring, or the good guys destroy it in Mount Doom. Doesn’t that take it/them a bit beyond being a MacGuffin?
That is a very good point. That goes into the territory of a Plot Coupon, which is a MacGuffin that does something for the plot. So like the holy grail in Last Crusade, that heals the dad once they get it, or the Sith Wayfinder in SW:E9 that shows that gets them to Exegol, or one of any of a lot of things in "D&D: Honor Among Thieves". Fantasy in general is full of Plot Coupons (I.e. magical items that move the plot forward). MyacGuffin 102 video will be all about Plot Coupons.
@@EnterTranscendHmmm, okay, I hear you. I don’t know though. For me the term MacGuffin implies something that fulfils a plot need, but lacks real importance. The word carries a sense of frivolity. I think that’s why Hitchcock used a silly sounding word for it - it means “it’s just some thing for everyone to scramble after, doesn’t matter what it is really”. The One Ring symbolises absolute power, and the battle for and against absolute power is the central theme of the whole epic. I think to include that is to overextend the bounds of MacGuffin-ness.
@@willmosse3684 That is a really good point. It's kind of tied into the theme 'power' as well as representing an addiction allegory for Gollum. I see what you're saying! Very interesting. It does rise above cause Tolkien's ties it to the theme itself. But just for the plot aspect of it, I'd call it a Plot Coupon (I.e. just how it functions)
This is all very wrong. A macguffin is a plot device that just arbitrarily keeps the story moving forward. Its the key they find that solves the problem the writer couldn't write out in a meaningful way. 100% wrong.
Definition of Macguffin: an object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance.
Its something NOT important to the story. So when the characters get out of a situation or advance the plot and it feels cheap, it was probably because they found a macguffin that let them advance in the plot.
It sounds like you're talking about a Plot Coupon, which is a MacGuffin that when you find it, does something. For example, the 'Sith Wayfinder' from 'Rise of Skywalker': once they find it it tells them how to get to Exegol. I agree that this is a very poor MacGuffin, because it takes most of the focus of the story and then by the time they find it it's time for the final badguy battle. A very poor use of a MacGuffin IMO.
The sold that at McDummies.
Egg MacGuffin with cheese
I absolutely hate JJ Abram's mystery box writing. It's lazy, shows contempt for his audience and absolutely wastes his audience's patience.
I couldn't agree more. If you haven't yet, check out my Mystery Box Video (and why they don't work): ruclips.net/video/IowqFT6PHbc/видео.htmlsi=qryZdcueojAoBV-l
Deadpool was after a MacGuffin one time with Spider-Man.
Do you remember what it was?
The maggufin led me to subscribe
Then it has done its job.
4:10 I have always wondered,
If the Ark of the Covenant made an army indestructible as stated in Indiana Jones {and incidentally the Old Testament}, how did the Israelites lose it to an invading army?
I would think anything that made an army unbeatable would be right up in the front line of defense.?
I'm not read up on my Old Testament bit maybe it had to do with disobedience. They lost their power. Again, just a guess.
Big fan if you can't tell by the user name lol
LOL! Learn anything new? Did I miss anything? (gotta ask the man himself you know.)
@@EnterTranscend you hit the nail on the head lol, thanks for talking about the new types of macguffins too😁
Can’t lie Lucas Macguffin clears 😂
Why do you say that? Do you love to care about your MacGuffins? If so, yeah, Lucas is the way to go!
It worked: R2D2 was so adorable, audiences were drawn to like him. The Death Star *schematics* were the "important thing" but we cared b/c they were IN R2D2.A savvy crafting, there!
@@dennisanderson3895 Savvy craft indeed!
👍👍👍❤❤❤
Glad you liked it!