Linked from

The 13 pages that link to MacGuffin, each with the reason it gives.

• Alfred HitchcockRelated: Hitchcock’s thrillers often use an object or secret to set the plot moving without making it the story’s meaning.

• ForeshadowingCompared with: A plot-driving object need not hint at later events, unlike a detail used as foreshadowing.

• Red herringCompared with: A MacGuffin drives pursuit; a red herring misleads about what explains the mystery.

• ThrillerRelated: A sought-after object can organize a thriller's pursuit and conflicts.

• Pulp FictionRelated: The glowing contents of Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase drive attention without being identified.

• QuestCompared with: Unlike a quest's meaningful object, a MacGuffin chiefly exists to drive pursuit.

• Chekhov's gunCompared with: A MacGuffin motivates events, whereas a Chekhov's gun gains significance through its specific function.

• Plot twistCompared with: A MacGuffin motivates action; it need not overturn assumptions or reinterpret earlier events.

• Raiders of the Lost ArkRelated: The Ark gives rival factions a shared objective and propels the film’s globe-spanning plot.

• Thriller filmRelated: A sought-after item can set pursuit and conflict in motion.

• Adventure filmRelated: A sought-after artifact or prize can propel an adventure across multiple locations.

• SupervillainRelated: A supervillain’s pursuit of a powerful object can organize the story’s conflict.

• Robert LudlumRelated: Documents, codes, and secret plans propel many of Ludlum’s pursuit plots.