Which term refers to an object that is critical to the characters in a film, but may be insignificant to the viewing audience?

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Which term refers to an object that is critical to the characters in a film, but may be insignificant to the viewing audience?

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Answer 1

In the movies, an object which is critical to the characters, and the plot of the movie, but is of no direct relevance to the audience, is known as a MacGuffin.

A MacGuffin can be any object, as long as it is desired by a character or characters, and drives the plot forward.

The term was made famous by Alfred Hitchcock, but may originate in the silent film era. The idea of a MacGuffin has been around since man first created narratives - the Golden Fleece in the stories of Jason and the Argonauts can be considered a MacGuffin.

Popular MacGuffins in movies include treasure maps, holy relics (a chalice, for example), suitcases of money, stolen paintings, a roll of film, valuable gems, or a secret weapon.

A true MacGuffin must not be 'used' as such, and should not actually be able to do anything, except act as an object of desire to a film's protagonist/s and/or antagonist/s.

Famous examples of movie MacGuffins are the Maltese falcon in The Maltese Falcon, Rosebud in Citizen Kane, The Holy Grail in The Da Vinci Code and Rose's necklace in Titanic.

A MacGuffin can also be a place, or even a time.

This is a wonderful animated YouTube short has audio of Alfred Hitchcock describing a MacGuffin to interviewer Dick Cavett: