Classics - New and Old
Who wrote the novel 1984?
George Orwell
What is the name of the killer clown in Stephen King's It?
Pennywise
In the film Schindler’s List, based on the historical novel Schindler's Ark (1982) by Thomas Keneally, what colour is the girl’s coat that stands out in the otherwise black-and-white movie?
Red
What term describes the idea that meaning in a text depends on the reader’s interpretation?
Reader-response theory
Which Netflix series, based on a book by Jay Asher, sparked debate about mental health representation?
13 Reasons Why
Which Shakespeare play features the characters Iago, Desdemona, and Cassio?
Othello
Which movie begins with a montage of Carl and Ellie’s life together?
Up
Who played Nick Carraway in the 2013 adaptation of The Great Gatsby?
Tobey Maguire
Which French theorist is associated with the concept of “Death of the Author”?
Roland Barthes
What 1999 sci-fi film is often analysed for its postmodern narrative and philosophical exploration of simulated reality?
The Matrix
In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, what is the name of the totalitarian regime?
Gilead
What does the spinning top symbolize in Christopher Nolan's Inception?
The line between dream and reality
The film Clueless is a modern adaptation of which Jane Austen novel?
Emma
Which psychoanalyst influenced literary theory through ideas like the unconscious and repression?
Sigmund Freud
Which novel features a dystopian society where books are banned, and was adapted into a 2018 HBO film?
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Who wrote the novel on which Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' was based?
Hint: I will accept their name or their relationship to Lang
Thea von Harbou, his wife
In the 2019 Bong Joon Ho film 'Parasite', what visual motif is consistently used to represent social class and elevation?
Stairs / vertical movement
Which 1994 film directed by Frank Darabont is based on a novella by Stephen King?
The Shawshank Redemption
What does postmodernism often reject in favour of ambiguity, irony, and pastiche?
Grand narratives or universal truths
Which play by Arthur Miller is still regularly quoted in discussions about mass hysteria and cancel culture?
The Crucible
In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, what does Gregor Samsa transform into?
A giant insect (often interpreted as a cockroach or beetle)
In film studies, what is “mise-en-scène”?
The arrangement of everything that appears in the frame – setting, lighting, costume, etc.
Which Emily Bronte novel is being adapted again for the screen, set for release in February 2026?
Wuthering Heights
Who wrote 'On Literary Worlds', our core reading for Literary Worlds?
In the film 2021 film adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel, Dune (2021), what is the name of the central protagonist played by Timothée Chalamet?
Paul Atreides