# Every true Scotsman uses the MACGUFFIN! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828 "2008-06-13T17:19:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/21 "2008-06-13T21:52:24Z")
Could the FedEx box that Tom Hanks _doesn’t_ open in **Cast Away** be a MacGuffin? It doesn’t exactly drive the plot, but it does take Hanks to the last scene in the movie… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/22 "2008-06-13T22:12:16Z")
Best example: Rosebud > [@Citizen Kane](#): > > **Female reporter:** If you could’ve found out what Rosebud meant, I bet that would’ve explained everything. > **Thompson:** No, I don’t think so; no. Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn’t get, or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn’t have explained anything… I don’t think any word can explain a man’s life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a… piece in a jigsaw puzzle… a missing piece. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/23 "2008-06-13T22:38:27Z")
_Harold and Kumar go to White Castle_: White Castle and its burgers, of course. It’s memorable to me because there are no White Castles here in California, and I’ve never tasted one of their burgers. H&K give them an almost mythic quality. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/24 "2008-06-13T23:21:35Z")
The first time this concept rang perfectly clear to me was when I watched Gilda, and the safe containing something like, misremembering exactly here, Tungsten futures or something like that. Clearly it could have been almost anything; what was important was that it was in a safe, not what it was specifically. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/25 "2008-06-13T23:47:09Z")
The box of money under "the big W’ in _It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World._ ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/26 "2008-06-13T23:50:18Z")
[QUOTE=EJsGirl] Could the FedEx box that Tom Hanks _doesn’t_ open in **Cast Away** be a MacGuffin? It doesn’t exactly drive the plot, but it does take Hanks to the last scene in the movie… [/QUOTE] No, that’s another movie cliche, called\* product placement.\* ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/27 "2008-06-14T00:28:15Z")
Hee hee… Funnier still is that the “For Your Consideration” DVD of _Cast Away_ was sent to Academy voters via DHL… :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/28 "2008-06-14T01:58:44Z")
[QUOTE=teela brown] _Harold and Kumar go to White Castle_: White Castle and its burgers, of course. It’s memorable to me because there are no White Castles here in California, and I’ve never tasted one of their burgers. H&K give them an almost mythic quality. [/QUOTE] You are better off keeping it a mystery. The truth will only disappoint. The film in _Ice Station Zebra_. \*National Treasure \* had a huge room full of Macguffins. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/29 "2008-06-14T02:42:55Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] The first time this concept rang perfectly clear to me was when I watched Gilda, and the safe containing something like, misremembering exactly here, Tungsten futures or something like that. Clearly it could have been almost anything; what was important was that it was in a safe, not what it was specifically. [/QUOTE] So, would the USDA report on the orange harvest from _Trading Places_ be a MacGuffin? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/30 "2008-06-14T02:52:27Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] So, would the USDA report on the orange harvest from _Trading Places_ be a MacGuffin? [/QUOTE] I’d say no. It doesn’t drive the plot. What drives the plot is first the Duke brothers’ bet and then Louis and Billy Ray’s attempt to get revenge. The USDA report was simply a means to that end. Obviously these are all matters of interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/31 "2008-06-14T03:00:03Z")
You know, we mentioned Hitchcock, but not any of his McGuffins. Some include: The “Silent Airplane Engine” in **The Thirty-Nine Steps** The musical phrase in **The Lady Vanishes** (one of the purest McGuffins in film) The uranium in **Notorious** The “A to G” lighter in **Strangers on a Train** (it could have been any object of Guy’s) Bob’s Stickpin in **Frenzy** (a minor one, but it could also have been any identifying object) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/32 "2008-06-15T08:54:55Z")
The eponymous _Pink Panther_? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/33 "2008-06-15T09:12:15Z")
I think [Kathy Griffin](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=kathy+Griffin)-McGuffin has made a decent career of it. You know, she was in Pulp Fiction. Coincidence? I think not. ---
**Author:** ![chicken\_wire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@chicken\_wire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicken_wire)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/34 "2008-06-15T09:23:04Z")
Is the big diamond in **Snatch** a MacGuffin? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/35 "2008-06-15T17:37:03Z")
[QUOTE=Doug Bowe] The box of money under "the big W’ in _It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World._ [/QUOTE] Not a McGuffin, because there aren’t a tremendous number of things that could be substituted for the box of money other than other forms of valuables (paintings, jewels, etc.). Same goes for the money in (either version of) _Ocean’s Eleven_. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/36 "2008-06-16T19:58:25Z")
[QUOTE=Interrobang!?] The Ark of the Covenant in _Raiders_. Ultimately, it was an Amazing Mythical Object that motivated a bunch of awesome action sequences. [/QUOTE] > [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > It was also an almost literal Deus Ex Machina. It Simultaneously a)killed off the bad guys, b) freed the hero and the girl and c) instantly transported the hero with the ark via a quick edit to Washington DC, thereby avoiding any further “adventures.” I remember being surprised by that scene, and now I understand why. I was expecting the Ark to be a McGuffin, to be fought over but not to actually _do_ anything. Then they open it and it turns out to be real, and powerful. In the final scene (“top men”) it reverts to being a McGuffin. Perhaps McGuffin-ness is a spectrum, rather than “yes” or “no”. Many works of fiction involve chasing or fighting over an inanimate object. How much do the characters talk about the object, as opposed to the chase? Do we or the characters see the object? Is it interesting and unique, or generic? Do aspects of the object tie into other plot points? Do the characters make use of the object after they possess it? The more of these that are answered “yes”, the less the object is a McGuffin. The One Ring is zero on the McGuffin scale. Every aspect of its appearance, its history, and its powers gets discussed in exhaustive detail. It gets looked at, handled, and used, and it explains the history of everything. The Maltese Falcon is perhaps 90. It’s disconnected from the plot, and of course fake, but Gutman explains enough about it (especially in the book) to make it interesting in its own right. The microfilm of “government secrets” in _North by Northwest_ is 100. We don’t know what the secrets are, and don’t care. When money is involved, it’s harder to say. We know what money is and what it can do, so it doesn’t _need_ to be discussed. I think money should be disqualified from being a McGuffin. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/37 "2008-06-16T20:36:06Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] I think money should be disqualified from being a McGuffin. [/QUOTE] I tend to agree, but thought that perhaps the $40,000 that Marion Crane embezzled in _Psycho_ might qualify as a rather low-level McGuffin. Of course the argument could be made that Marion herself is a low-level McGuffin. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/38 "2008-06-16T20:39:15Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] What examples in literature, cinema, television, and theatre are most memorable to you, and why? [/QUOTE] Ah, good, you mentioned literature. I’ll therefore mention **Grail** , one of my favorite stories by Harlan Ellison. The basics: a man learns of the existence of a mystical object, a cup that shows you your one true love. The man spends many years and many thousands of dollars tracking it down, from owner to owner. In the end, he finds the grail, which turns out to be a rather gaudy “loving cup”-type trophy. He gazes into it, sees his one true love, and immediately falls madly in love with her. Only then does he realize that, although he now knows what she looks like, he doesn’t have the slightest clue where to start looking for her, or even if she is still alive. He is therefore doomed to yearn for her forever, in misery. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/39 "2008-06-16T20:57:27Z")
I had an egg MacGuffin for breakfest. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828/40 "2008-06-16T21:19:14Z")
[QUOTE=Max Torque] Ah, good, you mentioned literature. I’ll therefore mention **Grail** , one of my favorite stories by Harlan Ellison. [/QUOTE] In the medieval legends, the [Holy Grail](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_grail) **is** your perfect MacGuffin. You’re supposed to look for it, but nobody’s sure exactly what it is, or what use it would be if found. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/every-true-scotsman-uses-the-macguffin/452828.md?page=3)