“The Maltese Falcon” (1941) and “Dude, Where's My Car?” (2000) utilize the same primary plot driving technique known as a “MacGuffin”
An object is sought for various reasons which renders challenges and other events for the protagonists and antagonists
#Film
@RussSharek Just goes to show how even vastly different films use some of the same storytelling devices. The time period and execution are the biggest differences in most films of any kind ;)
Indeed.
It's got me thinking about other MacGuffin driven films.
The latest Avengers film qualifies, I suppose.
@cypnk Plus, the object itself could be replaced by a brick with little effect on the plot. The main driver is that everyone wants it.
@Nezchan Yup, in Pulp Fiction, it was a lightbulb in a briefcase
@cypnk Wasn't there something similar in Repo Man? It wasn't really all that relevant what was in the trunk, just that it was something amazing.
@cypnk @Nezchan
There is a strong argument that the briefcase in #PulpFiction contains a #Silmaril.
http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/26/a-history-of-the-silmarils-in-the-fifth-age/
@cypnk I think a MacGuffin TV set makes an appearance in Wu Ming's "54", too.
@steko Yeah, the TV is another great example
@cypnk I distinctly recall sitting in the movie theatre post-Y2K and saying "good thing we survived, otherwise we'd have missed the Maltese falcon of our time!"
@cypnk
Despite it being painfully obvious, I don't I'd ever have connected those two films.