During and immediately after a war, Hollywood films typically trumpet

Question

During and immediately after a war, Hollywood films typically trumpet the glory of sacrifice and unquestioning patriotism. Ten to fifteen years later, however, morally  fraught  and sometimes  pacifistic  movies about the conflict typically emerge. For example, after America joined World War I in 1917, the still infant film industry  glorified  the fight against “the Hun.” But by the early 1930s, films such as  All Quiet on the Western Front  did not shy away from depicting the horrors of combat and the disillusionment of soldiers. After World War II began, the cycle repeated itself.  Guadalcanal Diary , produced during the second world war, portrayed “the ultimate sacrifice” as a noble and undisputed good while  diminishing the ethical complexities . By 1957, though, films such as  The Bridge on the River Kwai , first published in book form in 1952, were winning awards for depicting the moral  confusion  inherent in war. Subsequently, the movie  The Green Berets , produced at the height of the Vietnam war in the late 1960s, was far closer in tone to  Guadalcanal Diary  than to  The Bridge on the River Kwai . A decade or more passed before the film industry finally began producing more  complex  and ambivalent depictions of the Vietnam war, such as  Apocalypse Now  and  Platoon .   1 
 1. Which of the following best conveys the meaning of the word “ fraught ” in the second sentence of the passage?

(A) ”pacifistic” (line 5)
(B) ”glorified” (line 8)
(C) ”diminishing the ethical complexities” (line 18)
(D) ”confusion” (line 22)
(E) ”complex” (line 29)

2 
 2. What is the main point made by the author?

(A) Cultural and artistic communities tend not to fully support armed conflicts.

(B) In the last century, the film industry has become more culturally diverse.

(C) The existence of a particular cultural pattern can be established via evidence from 20th century artistic endeavors.

(D) The film industry only supports military efforts while the actual conflict is taking place.

(E) Cyclical patterns determine the type of films produced by Hollywood more than individuals do.

3 
 3. The passage implies which of the following about the message portrayed in the movie  The Bridge on the River Kwai ?

(A) It supports the author’s view that it is better to depict the full complexities and moral confusions of a conflict than to pretend that sacrifice is always worthwhile.

(B) It put forward the pioneering portrayal of the moral confusion of war.

(C) It represented a more realistic depiction of war than did the message in  Guadalcanal Diary .

(D) It incorporated the negative aspects of war more so than did the message in  Guadalcanal Diary .

(E) It was more similar in tone to the message in  Apocalypse Now  than to the message in  All Quiet on the Western Front .

Manhattan CAT 2

profileusername · Accepted Answer

Hi  IIMC

This is what the passage exactly says about the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai: "films such as The Bridge on the River Kwai, first published in book form in 1952, were winning awards for depicting the moral confusion inherent in war."

Now look at what option B says and see the underlined portion: "It put forward the  pioneering portrayal  of the moral confusion of war." In other words, option B implies that the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai was the first one to portray moral confusion of war. Now, if you refer back to what the passage states about the movie, nowhere does it say that the movie was the first one to portray these elements. In fact, the first examples of these movies mentioned in the passage go back to 1930s where the film All Quiet on the Western Front portrayed similar elements.

The trick this option tries to play is that it uses the same word of 'moral confusion' as used in the passage and substitutes 'pioneering' for 'first published in book form'. But as we can see, it just doesn't add up. The passage simply says that the book Bridge on the River Kwai came before the film.

tushartiwari4u · Answer

For # 3, I chose C. Can someone explain why C is wrong here ?

profileusername · Answer

tushartiwari4u

The passage basically discusses the existence of a pattern in the topics of the Hollywood movies made about wars. The pattern is that during the time the war is going on, the film industry glorifies the act  (positive aspects of war) . After several years of conclusion of these wars though, the industry tends to make movies about the complications related to these wars  (negative aspects of war) .

This is what the passage simply talks about. It doesn't pass a judgement on this pattern nor does it support any one of the two kinds of movies made about wars.

With that background set, the question asks about the message of the movie 'The Bridge on The River Kwai', which the passage has already stated to belong to second set of movies i.e., the movies that portray the morally conflicted elements of wars.

Option C says that Guadalcanal Diary (which is "far closer in tone to Guadalcanal Diary than to The Bridge on the River Kwai") presents a realistic depiction of war. But we know that the distinction made in the passage between the movies is not related to whether these are realistic, instead the distinction is between "glorifying" and "pacifying" kind of movies.

Option D is correct because it exactly brings up that distinction that the passage has made between the two kinds of war movies, and also accurately links it with the two movies in question.

IIMC · Answer

Please help in Ques 1 and for Ques 3, why B is incorrect...

In 3, B clearly mentions that what has been mentioned in the passage....

Pls help.

Novice90 · Answer

Can someone please explain the answer to the 2nd question

Thanks,
Novice

profileusername · Answer

For a Main Point question, there are a few principles that need to be kept in mind while going through the passage. 1) Look at the broader message, the bigger picture of the passage, while taking into account the little details but not letting them overtake the larger picture of the passage. This may sound a general guideline but that actually is a skill in itself. 2) Then, to eliminate trap answers, you have to make sure that you understand the tone and the mood of the passage. While reading through the passage, you can have get a general sense of the author's intent behind the passage.

For Question No. 2 on this reading comprehension passage, firstly, we can safely eliminate Options A, B and D as there is no direct or indirect support for these options in the passage. The passage neither passes a judgement, nor does it support any particular viewpoint in the passage. Also, there is no indication about the film industry implying its support or resistance to the military actions.

Central Theme:  The passage basically discusses the existence of a pattern in the topics of the Hollywood movies made about wars. The pattern is that during the time the war is going on, the film industry glorifies the act (positive aspects of war). After several years of conclusion of these wars though, the industry tends to make movies about the complications related to these wars (negative aspects of war).

Now evaluate Option E against the central theme of the passage describe above. Option E says "Cyclical patterns determine the type of films produced by Hollywood more than individuals do." This makes a comparison between individuals and cyclical patterns in terms of the effect that they have on the types of films produced by Hollywood. For this option to be true, we need to have some evidence in the passage for the comparison between individuals and cyclical patterns but as we read the passage, no such comparison can be found. Although the passage discusses a kind of a cyclical pattern, it doesn't compare it with individuals.

Option C is the last contender remaining after having eliminated all the others. "The existence of a particular cultural pattern can be established via evidence from 20th century artistic endeavors." The existence of a particular cultural pattern can indeed be established from 20th century artistic endeavors (i.e., Hollywood films). The  particular cultural pattern  that this option refers to is the same as described in the third paragraph above. The one thing here that is set up to divert the test taker from this option is the mention of '20th century artistic endeavors'. Although, the films discussed in the passage are a part of 20th century artistic endeavors, it does cast somewhat of a doubt on this option because no other artistic endeavor is discussed. Would it be fair to generalize this pattern about Hollywood films and paint all the other 20th century artistic endeavors with the same brush? Well, in this case, it is correct because no other option comes close to being the accurate representation of the main idea of the passage. Thus, option C is the answer.

sagarraj1986 · Answer

I doubt that the main point is "The existence of a particular cultural pattern can be established via evidence from 20th century artistic endeavors." as suggested by the original answer.

Main point is something that the author is trying to put forth by virtue of his/her arguments or it is the reason behind writing the passage. In this passage, while one can draw an inference on a cultural pattern via the evidences presented, but that inference is not the main point of the passage. That is most probably not what the author had in mind when writing the passage. It is at best a supporting argument to the main point.

A and D despite their other flaws are better options than C. Stating C as the answer will be injustice to the effort that the author put in drafting the passage.

jabhatta2 · Answer

It may help to know that the definition of the adjective “fraught” is “filled with a specified element or elements.” In this case, the “element” in question would be moral complexity. The correct answer can also be determined from the context of the passage.

The first sentence of the passage discusses films that “trumpet the glory” of war. The second sentence begins with the contrast word “however” and indicates that movies made years after a war ends are “morally fraught.” At the least, then, “fraught” does not refer to the movies that “trumpet the glory” of war. Later in the passage, several movies that fall into this “morally fraught” category are described; the correct answer will be chosen from one of these descriptions.

(A) If pacifistic meant the same thing as fraught, then the passage would not need to use both words to describe a category of film (“morally fraught and pacifistic”), as it does in the second sentence, because the information would be redundant.

(B) The “fraught” movies are not the same movies that “trumpet the glory” of the war.

(C) This description is applied to a film that glorifies war (Guadalcanal Diary). We want to define a word that describes films from the second category, the films that do not glorify the war.

(D) While the passage does mention “moral confusion” when describing films that do not glorify war (the correct category), the word “fraught” itself does not imply morality (otherwise, the author would not need to put the word “morally” in front of it). Either way, just because a film highlights moral confusion does not mean the films themselves are confused (only that the characters may be).

(E) CORRECT. If we were to replace the word “fraught” with the word “complex”, we would have a perfect description of the second category of films, those which do not glorify war. These films are described as “delineating…moral confusion” and not “diminishing ethical complexity,” meaning they are morally complex.

ruchik · Answer

Can someone post OE for Q1.
I am confused between answer chocies.

Adambhau · Answer

It may help to know that the definition of the adjective “fraught” is “filled with a specified element or elements.” In this case, the “element” in question would be moral complexity. The correct answer can also be determined from the context of the passage.

The first sentence of the passage discusses films that “trumpet the glory” of war. The second sentence begins with the contrast word “however” and indicates that movies made years after a war ends are “morally fraught.” At the least, then, “fraught” does not refer to the movies that “trumpet the glory” of war. Later in the passage, several movies that fall into this “morally fraught” category are described; the correct answer will be chosen from one of these descriptions.

(A) If pacifistic meant the same thing as fraught, then the passage would not need to use both words to describe a category of film (“morally fraught and pacifistic”), as it does in the second sentence, because the information would be redundant.

(B) The “fraught” movies are not the same movies that “trumpet the glory” of the war.

(C) This description is applied to a film that glorifies war (Guadalcanal Diary). We want to define a word that describes films from the second category, the films that do not glorify the war.

(D) While the passage does mention “moral confusion” when describing films that do not glorify war (the correct category), the word “fraught” itself does not imply morality (otherwise, the author would not need to put the word “morally” in front of it). Either way, just because a film highlights moral confusion does not mean the films themselves are confused (only that the characters may be).

(E) CORRECT. If we were to replace the word “fraught” with the word “complex”, we would have a perfect description of the second category of films, those which do not glorify war. These films are described as “delineating…moral confusion” and not “diminishing ethical complexity,” meaning they are morally complex.

RAHULAGARWAL23 · Answer

Hi - I'm confused with answer choices in Q3. I'm not sure why C and E are wrong.

According to me option C should be correct because of words "..were winning realistic awards for depiction of the moral confusion inherent in war...".

I find E also hard to negate because ultimately the tone for both the movies is same i.e. they both deal with complex and confusing moral issues.

Someone please help me out here

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Read the explanation in the post in the link below. https://gmatclub.com/forum/during-and-i ... l#p1884825

VerbalBot · Answer

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During and immediately after a war, Hollywood films typically trumpet

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

During and immediately after a war, Hollywood films typically trumpet

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