The colorization of black-and-white films by computers is defended by

Question

The colorization of black-and-white films by computers is defended by those who own the film rights, for the process can mean increased revenues for them; many others in the film industry, however, contend that the technique degrades major works of art,  which they liken to putting lipstick on a Greek statue .

(A) which they liken to putting lipstick on a Greek statue
(B) which they liken to a Greek statue with lipstick put on it
(C) which they liken to lipstick put on a Greek statue
(D) likening it to a Greek statue with lipstick put on it
(E) likening it to putting lipstick on a Greek statue

Choice E, the best answer, correctly and logically compares the technique of colorization to the act of putting
lipstick on a Greek statue. In A, B, and C, the relative pronoun which refers not to the technique but to the
noun phrase immediately preceding it, major works of art. As a result, these works are compared to putting
lipstick on ... in A, to a Greek statue in B, and to lipstick in C. Choice D corrects this problem by eliminating the
which construction and supplying the pronoun it, thus referring clearly to the technique, but it illogically
compares the technique to a Greek statue.

venksune · Accepted Answer

here's my take on this one...

Surely, two things are compared in this sentence - 'the technique (used to change b & w films to color) and 'putting lipstick on a greek statue'. Just imagine the whole thing 'putting color to a film on the computer and putting lipstick on a Greek statue' - yep sounds bizarre right. Well, that's the comparison.

So, 'the technique' is best referred by the pronou 'it' in the latter part of the sentence.

A, B C has 'which' - 'which' is a pronoun that typically refers to the noun just before it. ex. I ate cereals, which tastes good, for breakfast.
Look at this, The cereals had raisins, which tastes good. 'Which' referes to raisins - the closest noun - not cereals as in the previous example.

Here, we are not comparing the 'works of art' to 'putting lipstick on the statue' - got it. 'which' would refer to 'works of art' worngly. Hence A B C are out.

Now the subtle difference between D and E is that - D refers to a status of after the lipstick is put. We only know that a greek statue with lipstick is going to surely look bizarre. But thats not what we want, what we need to compare is 'colorization (or the technique) to the very act of putting lipstick'. Hence E.

D would me most appropriate if the comparison is between a movie that has been released (artificially colored) and a greek statue with a lipstick put on it.

egmat · Answer

Hi Deepak, I appreciate your analysis for the question. It shows how dedicated you are to learning and understanding. It also gives me a chance to understand where you may be faltering in your application of the concepts. Please find my comments below: Your analysis : Meaning : the process of colorization is defended by the film right owners as it increases their revenue .However , many others say that the technique degrades major art by linking the process to putting a lipstick on Greek Statue . My comments: Your meaning analysis for the portion before the semi colon is almost correct. Almost because, the original sentence says “can increase their revenues” and not “increases their revenue”. I am sure you realize the difference between the two.

Your analysis: Error wise everything is ok , except the modifier " which " .it is supposed to modify the process , but it is placed far apart and cannot jump over the verb "degrades " to modify the noun " the process " . My comments: Now your analysis of choice A is correct : “which” cannot jump over the verb “degrades” to refer to the noun “technique”. I think you meant “technique” when you wrote “process”, right?  Moving on, since “which” typically modifies the preceding noun, in choices A, B, and C, the “which” modifier nonsensically ends up giving information about major works of art. Your analysis of choice E: Now here comes the confusion : Option D /E both are verb+ing modifier ,which is supposed to modify preceding clause in this case ----- " that the technique degrades ......." and should make sense with the subject of the preceding clause .However , that is not the case here . Part of the sentence with option E : that the technique degrades major works of art , likening it to putting lipstick on a Greek statue . meaning : techniques degrades the major works of art and technique links itself to putting the lipstick on a Greek statue . ------------- makes no sense at all . OA : E My comments: You are correct in your understanding of the comma + vebr-ing modifier. However, the point that you have missed is that the rule that the verb –ing modifier modifies the previous clause has to be applied in context. Accordingly, in this case, it modifies the clause “many others in the film industry, however, contend that the technique degrades major works of art”. Here, the verb –ing modifier gives us additional information about this clause. If you see the critics of the colorization hold the opinion that the colorization process degrades major works of art. Now the portion after the comma-- likening it to putting lipstick on a Greek statue—expands on their holding this particular opinion. So, a parallel is being drawn between the two situations--- colorization of black and white films and putting lipstick on a Greek statue--- with respect to how major works of art are being degraded in both cases. Accordingly, we see that the verb –ing modifier “likening it to putting lipstick on a Greek statue” makes sense with the subject of the clause it modifies. The subject of that clause is “many others” who criticize the colorization technique. It is they who liken the technique to something. This sense also comes in when you read the original “which” modifier in choice A. Let’s revisit the same: The colorization of black-and-white films by computers is defended by those who own the film rights, for the process can mean increased revenues for them; many others in the film industry, however, contend that the technique degrades major works of art, which they liken to putting lipstick on a Greek statue. The “they” in the above sentence refers to the critics/ “many others” in this case. Please visit/re-visit our in depth article on the concept to further solidify your understanding of the same. It is available at https://gmatclub.com/forum/usage-of-verb-ing-modifiers-135220.html#p1101074 Hope the above discussion helps!

Regards, Neeti.

sondenso · Answer

1. "which" cannot modify "technique", A, B, C out
2. "it" refers to "technique", so "it" should compare to "a Greek statue" rather than "putting"

D is the best

icandy · Answer

it refers to technique. I agree with that.

For the comparison to be parallel ,the technique of colorization and putting lipstick should be compared. Just because technique is a noun does not mean that we compare it with greek statue.

My pick is E. What is the OA & OE?

Economist · Answer

Hi Sondeso/Icandy,

Why do you say 'which' canno modify 'technique'? Can you please explain??
And also 'which' seems to modify works of art rather than technique !!

jlgdr · Answer

Wow! this was a toughie, I chose (A) but apparently didn't get it right. Could someone explain thoroughly this one? Will happy to give out some Kudos for a good explanation

Rock750 · Answer

Hi jlgdr,

Here is my try :

According to Manhattan SC, p85 : A NOUN and its MODIFIER should TOUCH each other

So, A,B and C are out because the modifying phrase "which they liken to putting lipstick on a Greek statue" is meant to describe the technique, not the art.

Now, ask yourself : What many others in the film industry would liken to "the technique " ? a Greek statue with lipstick put on it OR putting lipstick on a Greek statue

Clearly, a technique cannot be likened to a greek statue with lipstick put on it but rather to putting lipstick on a Greek statue .

HEnce, E is the winner

ABMVD · Answer

The colorization of black-and-white films by computers is defended by those who own the film rights, for the process can mean increased revenues for them; many others in the film industry, however, contend that the technique degrades major works of art, which they liken to putting lipstick on a Greek statue.

(A) which they liken to putting lipstick on a Greek statue
(B) which they liken to a Greek statue with lipstick put on it
(C) which they liken to lipstick put on a Greek statue
(D) likening it to a Greek statue with lipstick put on it
(E) likening it to putting lipstick on a Greek statue

Meaning : the process of colorization is defended by the film right owners as it increases their revenue .However , many others say that the technique degrades major works of art by linking the process to putting a lipstick on Greek Statue .

Error wise everything is ok , except the modifier " which " .it is supposed to modify the process , but it is placed far apart and cannot jump over the verb "degrades " to modify the noun " the process " .

Now here comes the confusion : Option D /E both are verb+ing modifier ,which is supposed to modify preceding clause in this case -----
" that the technique degrades ......." and should make sense with the subject of the preceding clause .However , that is not the case here .

Part of the sentence with option E :

that the technique degrades major works of art , likening it to putting lipstick on a Greek statue .

meaning : techniques degrades the major works of art and technique links itself to putting the lipstick on a Greek statue . ------------- makes no sense at all .

OA : E

I am quite confused now

. Am I missing something ?? .

Thanks ,
Deepak

. Am I missing something ?? . Thanks , Deepak

DmitryFarber · Answer

Adverbial modifiers (unlike noun modifiers) are very flexible in what they can modify. In this case, "likening" is modifying "many others . . . contend," while "it" refers back to "the technique." Let's look at how we can build this up from a simpler sentence:

He expressed contempt for the  movie , likening  it  to a pile of garbage.

He expressed contempt for the movie's  style , likening  it  to that of a freshman term paper.

He expressed contempt for  the way  in which the movie attempted to blame all of a nation's problems on one person, likening  it  to blaming a single plate of French fries for a heart attack.

Notice that everything after "the way" is a modifier. We could simplify the sentence to "He expressed contempt for the way, likening it to . . . " The modifier simply answers the question "What way?"

Now in the original example things are slightly more complicated. If we cut the sentence off after "contend," we don't have a noun at all.
"Many others contend, likening it to . . . " The portion starting with "that" now serves two purposes: it tells us what many others contend, and it supplies the antecedent for "it." However, that portion is still just a modifier. The adverbial modifier starting with "likening" is correctly referring back to the main subject.

I hope that helps!

anubhavdogra298 · Answer

hi dimitry farber,

i have adoubt?

According to me it must refer to art, instead of reffering to technique( which you have stated in your explanation).

DmitryFarber · Answer

Hi Anubhav,

We have to use meaning to determine the correct antecedent for "it." In (E), we are told that "it" has been likened to putting lipstick on a statue. So we are comparing something to changing a previously made work of art. This is parallel to colorizing films, not to "art" in general. Does this make sense?

If you are saying that "it" must refer to the most recent noun, keep in mind that there is no such rule! A pronoun can refer back to a much earlier noun as long as the meaning is clear.

Temurkhon · Answer

I'm not beast in SC, so for me is important to follow strategy:

1. Read and conceive the meaning, experts say that it is important to consider modifiers in first reading, so finding  which  is critical and conceiving that it should modify  art . In this case the sentence becomes illogical

2. Look for splits, we have 3+2 split and take two last options not using  which . Option D looks awkward though does not violate the meaning. So take E

3. Putting E to sentence does not violate the meaning and fits grammatically although one can find some ambiguity in the use of  it  and  likening  and  putting  awkwardness. But it is best choice, so answer is E

I'm looking for universal strategy. Dear experts, please comments if my steps can help in any case

georgioskonst · Answer

If you are between D & E the key is to  compare actions !!!

The  colorization  ...  putting  lipstick

Thus E

ajinkyaB · Answer

Which generally refers to the noun that appears before "which". One exceptional case is when two modifying phrases are used.
"The box of nails, which is nearly full". Here "of nails" is an essential modifier and hence appears before which.
Hope this helps!

CEdward · Answer

-the authors intends to say that the people in the film industry liken the technique (of colorization) that degrades major works of art to putting lipstick on a Greek statue
-using the relative modifier 'which' makes it seem as though the 'major works of art' is putting the lipstick on the statue 
 
The colorization of black-and-white films by computers is defended by those who own the film rights, for the process can mean increased revenues for them; many others in the film industry, however, contend that the technique degrades major works of art, which they liken to putting lipstick on a Greek statue.

(A)  which  they liken to putting lipstick on a Greek statue X
(B)  which  they liken to a Greek statue with lipstick put on it X
(C)  which  they liken to lipstick put on a Greek statue X
(D) likening it to a Greek statue with lipstick put on  it  X
-the second 'it' is problematic b/c we aren't clear whether this is referring to the statue or the colorization
(E) likening it to putting lipstick on a Greek statue C

Krishnahelps · Answer

Hi,

Why is 'it' not referring to art here since it is the closest noun and how do I identify when the pronoun will refer to the closest noun and when it will refer to something else, for instance, in this case, 'it' bypasses degrades and refers to the technique?

Please help.

Thanks in advance!

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  ankitapugalia , apart from the use of  relative  pronouns ( which/that/who/whom/whose ), there is almost  never  a rule that a pronoun should refer to the closest noun.

You are right that in this sentence, the pronoun  it  is an  ambiguous  pronoun, since  it  has  two  eligible antecedents:  technique  and  art .

If the ambiguous pronoun under consideration is a  subject  pronoun, then  this post  will be a handy guide, for you to determine which noun the ambiguous pronoun refers to.

In other instances (as is the case in this sentence), it is largely about the  intended meaning . In this sentence, for example, since the intended meaning of the sentence is that  it  should refer to  technique , the usage of pronoun would be considered valid.

Bottom-line : Pronoun ambiguity should never be a reason for you to eliminate any answer choice on GMAT.

p.s. Our book    EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana    discusses  Pronoun ambiguity , its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

KaranB1 · Answer

This an official question that show it can refer to a clause.
It is imperative that we always look for best of the 5 options.

egmat · Answer

Hello KaranB1 , The pronoun " it " in the correct answer choice refers to the noun " technique ". It does not refer to a clause. The sentence intends to say that this technique of coloring the black-and-white films by computer is like putting lipstick on a Greek statue. Therefore, the usage of the reference of the pronoun " it " is absolutely grammatical in Choice E. Hope this helps.

Thanks. Shraddha

The colorization of black-and-white films by computers is defended by

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The colorization of black-and-white films by computers is defended by

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