Film critic: The documentary film The Decline of English Literature

Question

Film critic: The documentary film The Decline of English Literature presents the view that contemporary British writers lack the basic narrative skills common among nineteenth-century British authors. The film's comparison is persuasive because it analyzes 20 popular, critically respected British novels, 10 from the nineteenth century and 10 from the past two decades, and demonstrates that the contemporary novels are not nearly as well-written as the nineteenth-century novels.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the argument above?

(A) A film viewer who was not familiar with literary criticism may not be convinced by the film’s analysis of 20 novels.

(B) The film critic may favor nineteenth-century fiction and may therefore be biased in favor of the filmmaker’s view.

(C) The film’s title may predispose viewers to accept the film’s conclusion even before viewing the comparisons in the film.

(D) The filmmaker could have chosen to analyze only books that support the position she was trying to establish.

(E) The literary methods used by contemporary British authors could require less narrative skill than methods used by writers in other parts of the world.

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MS61 · Answer

(D) The filmmaker could have chosen to analyze only books that support the position she was trying to establish. -  Correct as it given alternate reasoning to why contemporary novels are not nearly as well-written as the nineteenth-century novels.

Legenddary1234 · Answer

To cast doubt on the argument presented by the film critic, we need to find an option that undermines the credibility or validity of the comparison made in the documentary film. Let's evaluate each option:

(A) This option suggests that viewers who are not familiar with literary criticism may not find the film's analysis convincing. While this could impact the persuasiveness of the film's argument to some viewers, it doesn't directly address the validity of the comparison between nineteenth-century and contemporary British novels.

(B) This option raises the possibility that the film critic may have a bias towards nineteenth-century fiction, which could influence their interpretation of the comparison presented in the film. While bias is a concern, it doesn't necessarily invalidate the comparison made in the film.

(C) This option suggests that the film's title may predispose viewers to accept its conclusion before even seeing the comparisons presented in the film. While this could influence viewers' perceptions, it doesn't directly challenge the validity of the comparison between nineteenth-century and contemporary British novels.

(D) This option suggests that the filmmaker may have selectively chosen novels that support the conclusion they were trying to establish, potentially biasing the comparison. This directly undermines the credibility of the comparison made in the film, as it raises concerns about the fairness and impartiality of the selection process.

(E) This option introduces the possibility that contemporary British authors may use different literary methods that require less narrative skill compared to writers from other parts of the world. While this provides an alternative explanation for the perceived differences in narrative skill, it doesn't directly address the validity of the comparison between nineteenth-century and contemporary British novels.

Considering the options, (D) is the most relevant as it directly challenges the integrity of the comparison made in the film by questioning the selection process of the novels analyzed. Therefore, (D) casts the most doubt on the argument presented by the film critic.

tuktukauto · Answer

Here's my reasoning behind each answer choice and why it is correct/incorrect:

(A) A film viewer who was not familiar with literary criticism may not be convinced by the film’s analysis of 20 novels.  Here, the film viewer's opinion holds little consequence on the argument as the argument remains independent of the film viewer's conclusion from the film.

(B) The film critic may favor nineteenth-century fiction and may therefore be biased in favor of the filmmaker’s view.  The film critic's personal bias is not significant enough grounds for the argument to be nullified as the argument is rather based on factual support and the critic's ability to back his bias through evidence - which he successfully does.

(C) The film’s title may predispose viewers to accept the film’s conclusion even before viewing the comparisons in the film.  Again, the viewer's conclusion remains independent of the critic's argument.

Correct:  (D) The filmmaker could have chosen to analyze only books that support the position she was trying to establish.  Among the available choices, this statement shows how the critic's bias (discussed in B) would be translated into a choice on the critic's part that would end up leading to a biased argument, thus corrupting the intention of the argument.

(E) The literary methods used by contemporary British authors could require less narrative skill than methods used by writers in other parts of the world.  This almost strengthens the argument rather than weakening it.

Bunuel · Answer

Official Explanation

Identify the Question Type:

The phrase "if true, casts the most doubt" indicates that this is a weaken question.

Untangle the Stimulus:

The documentary concludes that the modern novelists lack “basic narrative skills” possessed by their nineteenth-century counterparts.

As evidence, the documentary compares 10 contemporary British novels unfavorably to 10 from the 19th century.

The film critic assumes that the documentary's pool of 20 hand-selected novels is representative of the work of both nineteenth-century and contemporary writers, respectively.

Predict the Answer:

The right answer will likely involve the fact that the 20 novels chosen aren't necessarily representative of the writings of nineteenth-century and contemporary British novelists in general.

Eliminate the Wrong Answer Choices:

If (D) were true, then the pool of 20 novels would not necessarily represent the work of contemporary and nineteenth-century writers as a whole, so it's correct.

(A) is irrelevant. The film’s effectiveness in convincing its viewers in general doesn't matter; what matters is whether the film's argument is sound.

(B) is incorrect because whether or not the critic is biased in a particular direction is irrelevant. Even with a bias, the argument could be sound if the novels were representative.

(C) is irrelevant as well; viewers’ inability to view the film objectively does not weaken critic’s argument.

The methods used by writers outside of Britain are irrelevant to this argument, which focuses only on Britain, so (E) is incorrect.

TAKEAWAY:  This question involves one of the three special cases: Representativeness. In this special case, the central assumption is that the group looked at is representative of the group concluded about. Such an argument can be weakened by pointing out that the first group is not actually representative of the second.

Shaurs · Answer

As mentioned in the argument that he chose 20 most well respected and popular book then how is he biased on his part if the most popular books were the ones not well written

vasu1104 · Answer

documentary presents the view that contemporary british writer lack the basic narrative skills common among 19th century BA. 
 comparison of 20 popular, critically respected british novels, 10 from 19th century and 10 from past two decades and 
 conclusion- contemporary novels are not as well written as 19th century novels.

just because they lack the basic narrative skills they concluded that the contemporary novels are not as well written as 19th century novels.

A this is irrelevant . reject. 
 B this is irrelevant as well. 
 C but here they critique has viewed the film so this doesnt fit well. reject. 
 D if that was the case then obviously it make sense that he must have chosen particular types of books. if she had certain pre conceive notion that she must have chosen books from that view. so this attacks the conclusion. 
 E but still with the less narrative skills they could have made better novels. so reject.

Film critic: The documentary film The Decline of English Literature

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GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Film critic: The documentary film The Decline of English Literature

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards