"MacGuffin" (a.k.a. McGuffin or maguffin) is a term for an object or element in a story that drives the plot, but serves no further purpose. It won't pop up again later, it won't explain the ending, and it won't do anything except possibly distract you while you try to figure out its significance. It usually takes the form of a mysterious artifact, package, or weapon that everyone in the story is chasing, though in some cases it won't even be shown. To determine if an object is a MacGuffin, one can ask certain questions: Is the nature of the item or the item itself interchangeable? If the item is of great value - and is desirable or important solely because of that value, rather than any properties of the item itself - there is little difference between a diamond, a priceless painting, or an exotic statue, as the objectives surrounding it would differ only trivially: The plans surrounding its theft would be largely the same, the mission to transport it to a specific place would be largely the same, and the investigation to locate it would be the same. When reading the story or script, replace the name of the item and ask if the story is all that different.note This does not account for logistics-related answers to the above questions, i.e. the weight, volume, and dimensions of a diamond compared to those of a painting, as long as it is feasible to rewrite minor details of the story to account for these details without substantially changing the plot. Is the nature of the item irrelevant to the plot? All MacGuffins have some extraordinary value, whether it be monetary, prestige, historical significance, supernatural power, or forgotten knowledge. These things are often, but not always, explained in detail within the story so that the audience understands the characters' desire for the item. These elements, however, are not vital to build the plot; any narrative usefulness from having the item is either nonexistent (often due to No MacGuffin, No Winner) or relegated to the coda of the story, when the plot and the desire for the item is over. In other words, if whatever function the item may have is actually relevant to the plot (such as a magic sword being used to cut something that is normally uncuttable), it is not a true MacGuffin (contrast MockGuffin, for when an object that isn't really the MacGuffin is mistaken for it—though this does mean that quite a few of them are true examples of this trope, since they're incapable of fulfilling any function, much less a plot-relevant one). If it passes both of these criteria, then congratulations - it's a MacGuffin! A common MacGuffin story setup can be summarized as "Quickly! We must find X before they do!". While a MacGuffin is technically a kind of Plot Device, that term actually encompases much more, referring to anything that motivates a character to get from point A to point B and beyond (an important distinction to make): This could be as simple as an invitation to the party; the invitation gets the plot going but is not the goal of the characters. Compare Magnetic Plot Device, which is an explanation of why the characters are getting into repeated adventures. The term "MacGuffin" was popularized by Alfred Hitchcock, who credited one of his screenwriters, Angus McPhail, with the creation of this concept and the name for it, citing a particular school-boy joke: A man is riding on a train when a second gentleman gets on and sits down across from him. The first man notices the second is holding an oddly shaped package. "What is that?" the first man asks. "A MacGuffin, a tool used to hunt lions in the Scottish highlands." "But there are no lions in the Scottish highlands," says the first man. "Well then," says the other, "That's no MacGuffin". Hitchcock and McPhail were not the first to formulate this concept: Silent-film actress Pearl White starred in cliffhanger serials (most famously in the film The Perils of Pauline) in which the characters spent most of their screen time chasing each other for possession of a roll of film, or some other doodad. This device occurred so often in White's serial films that she routinely referred to the coveted object as a "weenie", using the term precisely as Hitchcock would later use "MacGuffin". In academic circles, MacGuffins are sometimes called the Golden Fleece, after the artifact from the myth of Jason and the Argonauts. The Fleece was first mentioned by the Greek poet Simonides, which makes this trope Older Than Feudalism. If you want to start arguing that your favourite series' most awesome magical thing isn't a MacGuffin, remember that Tropes Are Tools. Having a MacGuffin is not necessarily bad writing, depending on how it's handled — concretely defining or giving a central role to the object of a chase can detract from a work, if the point is to focus on the characters.
MacGuffin has been suggested to play 0 roles. Click below to see other actors suggested for each role, and vote for who you think would play the role best.
MacGuffin has been suggested to play 0 roles. Click below to see other actors suggested for each role, and vote for who you think would play the role best.
No fan cast suggestions yet.
