Electronic music pioneer Wendy Carlos is credited with the music for three feature films: A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Shining...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Electronic music pioneer Wendy Carlos is credited with the music for three feature films: A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Shining (1980), and Tron (1982). However, her musical score for A Clockwork Orange is mostly made up of her arrangements of Ludwig van Beethoven's work. Also, almost all the music that she and Rachel Elkind composed for The Shining was unused by director Stanley Kubrick. It did not appear in the film. Of the three films, Tron is the one in which audiences can hear the most of Carlos's original compositions.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Of the three films for which Carlos is credited, Tron features the most original music from her.
The director of The Shining used most of the music that Carlos composed for it.
Beethoven is widely considered to be a more important composer than Carlos.
Carlos is a notable innovator among film composers in the 1970s and 1980s.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Electronic music pioneer Wendy Carlos is credited with the music for three feature films: A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Shining (1980), and Tron (1982).' |
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| 'However, her musical score for A Clockwork Orange is mostly made up of her arrangements of Ludwig van Beethoven's work.' |
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| 'Also, almost all the music that she and Rachel Elkind composed for The Shining was unused by director Stanley Kubrick.' |
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| 'It did not appear in the film.' |
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| 'Of the three films, Tron is the one in which audiences can hear the most of Carlos's original compositions.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Of Carlos's three credited films, Tron is the only one where audiences can actually hear significant amounts of her original compositions.
Argument Flow: The passage introduces Carlos as being credited with music for three films, then systematically explains why two of those films don't really showcase her original work (Clockwork Orange used mostly Beethoven, The Shining's score was largely unused), leading to the conclusion that Tron stands out as the film with the most Carlos originals.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? This is asking us to identify the main idea of the entire text - the central message that ties everything together.
What type of answer do we need? The main idea of the entire text - the central message that ties everything together.
Any limiting keywords? This is asking us to identify the main idea of the entire text - the central message that ties everything together.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage is structured to show that while Carlos is credited with three films, there are problems with two of them when it comes to her original music
- The main point is making a comparison between the three films and concluding that Tron is special because it's where we can actually hear her original work
Of the three films for which Carlos is credited, Tron features the most original music from her.
- ✓ Correct - This directly matches our passage analysis and captures the main comparative point about which film best showcases Carlos's work
The director of The Shining used most of the music that Carlos composed for it.
- ✗ Incorrect - This contradicts the passage, which explicitly states that almost all the music Carlos composed for The Shining was unused by Kubrick
Beethoven is widely considered to be a more important composer than Carlos.
- ✗ Incorrect - The passage never compares Beethoven and Carlos in terms of importance or makes any evaluation about who is more important
Carlos is a notable innovator among film composers in the 1970s and 1980s.
- ✗ Incorrect - While the passage calls Carlos a pioneer, it doesn't focus on her role as an innovator among film composers but rather on comparing her three specific films