What's a McGuffin?

[Drew]

I've seen this term pop up in various threads. From the context, a McGuffin seems to be general term for "important item x." Is this correct? Whence comes the term "McGuffin?" Can I order an Egg McGuffin?

 

[PaulGreystoke]

I've seen this term pop up in various threads. From the context, a McGuffin seems to be general term for "important item x." Is this correct? Whence comes the term "McGuffin?" Can I order an Egg McGuffin?

"McGuffin" (or "Maguffin") is a term devised by film director Alfred Hitchcock to denote anything for which the main character is searching. The McGuffin can be anything from a lost love letter to a nuclear device - as long as the character wants/needs it & will thus overcome whatever challenges arise in order to get it.

 

[EricNoah]

You've got the right idea. Try these two threads on for size

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=113860&highlight=maguffin

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=111901&highlight=maguffin

 

[orsal]

"McGuffin" (or "Maguffin") is a term devised by film director Alfred Hitchcock to denote anything for which the main character is searching. The McGuffin can be anything from a lost love letter to a nuclear device - as long as the character wants/needs it & will thus overcome whatever challenges arise in order to get it.

I think the key is that it is something that is crucial on a superficial level but trivial on a deeper level. A typical example would be the object of a quest, if the author/director wasn't really interested in the object itself but wanted to have a quest in order to portray the character development resulting. But I don't think a maguffin has to be part of a quest story. Also, if it is the object of a quest, but the story is in large part about the object itself, it isn't a maguffin.

 

[toberane]

For those of you into Classic Mel Brooks films, he plays on this in "High Anxiety." The ,movie was a spoof on Hitchcock in general, but the event that gets the plot rolling is that the main character, who is afraid of heights, as asked for a room at a hotel that is to be no higher than the third floor. When he gets to the hotel, he finds that he has been booked on something like the 18th floor. He starts to complain, and the desk clerk tells him that they had his reservation for the 3rd floor, but a Mr. Maguffin called and changed it to the 18th.

My understanding was the Maguffin was the term Hitchcock used to refer to the "inciting incident" of the movie, or the event which really gets the plot going.

 

[Glyfair]

I believe the archetypical Maguffin was the Maltese Falcon. Indeed, my favorite use of one was an issue of "Sable Freelance" where he had to recover a stolen Maltese Falcon (the film prop).

 

[Allandaros]

A good example of a Macguffin is the case in Pulp Fiction. What's in the case? Cash? Gold? Drugs? Marsellus's soul? Ambassador Kosh from Babylon 5?*

It doesn't matter. What matters is that the two hitmen have a job - get the case back. And the job is what motivates (a good part of) the film.

*I have seen all of these suggested.

 

[Mark]

"One of my favorite MacGuffins is 'Clarence quest to get his wings' in the movie 'It's a Wonderful Life'." - Mark Clover (CreativeMountainGames.com)

 

[STARP_President]

Ronin - We never find out what's in the case - it's not important to the plot - the case is the ultimate McGuffin.

 

[Henry]

This is probably overdoing it by now, but

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mcguffin