M.E.L.A. Quiz

A MELA quiz to rly dink ur dink
Shikhar Shivraj

Rules/Disclaimer
● Blanks indicative of length throughout.
● Complete/exact answer required on pounce.
● Questions subject to personal biases.
● The Connect4 round is a first attempt so it may be a misfire.

Round 1
Written
Theme: Puns/Wordplays
Scoring: +10 per each, +15 bonus for a clean sweep

Q1 - Pesky little creatures doing nasty stuff…..
Fans of a famous franchise recently started a petition requesting the website X to
change its’ name to Y, every 4th of May.
“We think it'd be a brilliant way for the site to attract fans and have a good laugh.
Basically, every year on May the fourth, X should replace all videos and pages
with images and footage of Zs”. Zs are cute (if you didn’t find them cute, please
kys) little creatures featured in the latest installment of the franchise.
“Coz we all need a good wank to Zs” a user said.
What do these fans want the website (X) to change its’ name to (Y) ?

Q2
The film Gattaca (11/10 would recommend watching) is a dystopian Sci-Fi film set in a
society driven by eugenics. Individuals with inferior gene structures are called ‘invalids’
(and often face discrimination) and those with a superior genotype are called ‘valids’.
An invalid may pose as a valid by using hair, skin, blood and urine samples from a
valid donor. Legally, this would only result in a fine, but socially the consequences
would be far more extreme - the invalid is now a heretic against the new order of
genetic determinism.
Such invalids (who go against the genetic order) are called “borrowed ladders”. 1) -
Why the term “borrowed ladder”? 2) - There is a harsher term for borrowed ladders
which is a direct reference to their inferior genes and is also a commonly used
pejorative to refer to anyone who lacks quality. What one word term ? (10)

Q3
Extract from Terry Pratchett’s “Soul Music”. Fill in the blanks (both same), with the
name of a musical instrument.

Q4
In Back To The Future Part II, Doc Brown does exactly two things:
1) Screams about how meeting your own self from another timeline will create a
paradox, causing the Universe to bend over backwards, enter its own asshole etc
etc.
2) Meets and talks to his own self from another timeline.
Fortunately, back in the '50s, actually looking at the person you talked to was
apparently considered a marriage proposal, so the Doc's younger version never
realizes that the guy he's chatting with is himself from the future.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BFdRdYI51M)
What is the name of the piece of score that accompanies this particular meeting
between the two doctors?

Q5
“_____ __ _________” (abbreviated as SXSW) is an annual conglomerate of film,
interactive media, and music festivals and conferences that take place in mid-
March in Austin, Texas, United States. It began in 1987, and has continued to
grow in both scope and size every year. The 2018 edition was held from 9 - 18
March
What is the name of this festival which is a play on a Hitchcock film?

Q6
“___ ______: How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World”
is a book by Raphael Honigstein wherein he charts the return of German football
from the international wilderness of the late 1990s to their WC victory in 2014.
What is the title of the book, deriving from the name of a very famous German
film?

Q7
This book provides a view of the Army of Northern Virginia experiences in camp,
on the march, in combat, and under siege--from the battles in the Wilderness to
the final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the low
state of morale in the army, the causes of desertion etc.
Punning on the name of a Victor Hugo novel, and Confederate leadership, what is
the name of this book?

Q8
A lot of prominent literary figures seem to live/have lived in Merchiston in
Edinburgh. J.K. Rowling bought a house in the neighbourhood. Alexander McCall
Smith, Aileen Patterson, Kate Atkinson, are not much further away. Ian Rankin
also used to live in the same neighbourhood.
Merchiston Avenue, hence, is appropriately (or inappropriately?) called _______’
_____
FITB

Q2
The film Gattaca (11/10 would recommend watching) is a dystopian Sci-Fi drama set
in a society driven by eugenics. Individuals with inferior gene structures are called
‘invalids’ (and often face discrimination) and those with a superior genotype are called
‘valids’. An invalid may pose as a valid by using hair, skin, blood and urine samples
from a valid donor. Legally, this would only result in a fine, but socially the
consequences would be far more extreme - the invalid is now a heretic against the
new order of genetic determinism.
Such invalids (who go against the genetic order) are called “borrowed ladders”. 1) -
Why the term “borrowed ladder”? 2) - There is a harsher term for borrowed ladders
which is a direct reference to their inferior genes and is also used as a pejorative to
refer to someone who lacks quality. What one word term ? (10)

1) Reference to the ladder structure of an uncoiled
DNA strand
2) de-gene-rate

Round 2 - Connect4
● 3 slides will be shown - one by one. Give me what comes 4th in the sequence
and the theme/connect
● In some cases, you will be presented with entities from a set of 4. Assume the
most famous entity in the set to be the 4th one in these cases.
● You may pounce on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd slide
● Points for pounces indicated on slides

Libido; Smells Like Teen Spirit

+15/-10
Taken from German typographer Rudolf Koch’s Book of Signs, a single circle
intersecting three vesica pisces (a triquetra). It is intended to symbolise a person
who possesses both confidence and competence

+10/-5
Taken from the same book, three interlocking (Borromean) rings, it represents the
triad of mother, father and child, but, inverted, it also happens to be the logo for
Ballantine beer.

+5/0
A feather within a circle, based on the sign of the supposed Mu civilisation

ZoSo, LedZep symbols on Led Zeppelin IV

+15/-10
Theme is a very famous movie based on a novel
Jayne Mansfield

Rita Hayworth, Andy’s posters in Shawshank

Round 3
● 10Qs
● Pounce Bounce
● +10/-5, +10/0

Q1
The Titan Cronus snatched the throne from his father Uranus through treachery. A
prophecy was then made that Cronus himself would fall prey to one of his sons.
What did Cronus do in his bid to defy the prophecy?
A deaf and lonely Spaniard living in an empty mansion took inspiration from this
story and created something. What did he create?

Cronus ate his sons;
Francisco Goya painted
“Saturn devouring his
son” taking inspiration
from Cronus’s story

Q2
The Stepford Wives is a 1975 American science-fiction horror film. The film
centres around Joanna Eberhart, a photographer and young mother who begins to
suspect that there's something not quite right with the suburb's women: they're
vapid, unfathomably devoted to housework and completely subservient to
their husbands. Joanna goes on to discover that the women are actually robots
created by their husbands.
Which 2017 film took inspiration from The Stepford Wives’ plot?

Q3
The President of this country (X), Michelle Bachelet recently tweeted -
“The growing consensus around X having a gender identity law must transform
into concrete facts, therefore, I have decided to give a ‘extreme urgency’ status to
the bill, which is in its last stages in Congress. Transgender people shouldn’t keep
waiting!”
The bill she is talking about is a gender identity bill that gives transgender people
the right to legally change the name and gender on their I.D.s.
Why has trans rights taken centre stage in this country recently?

A Fantastic Woman (Chile) winning the Oscar for
Best Foreign Film

Q4
“____ ___ ____ : The Allied Bombing of Germany,
1942-1945” is a book by Randall Hansen which tells the
story of the American and British bombing campaign
through the eyes of those involved: the military and
civilian command in America, Britain, and Germany, the
aircrews in the skies who carried out their orders, and
civilians on the ground who felt the wrath of the Allied
attacks.
The title of the book entered public consciousness
earlier this year, thanks to another controversial book.
What is the title of this book?

Q5
It is debated that feminism is a theme of this movie - a movie which one may almost
intuitively associate with ‘toxic masculinity’. Here are excerpts from reviews supporting
this point of view -
“Throughout the film, the female lead demonstrates the physicality of a hero committed
to a rescue mission. In the end, the movie...sets up the start of a matriarchal society as
an antidote to the barbarian, warlike tribes that came before".
“She (the female lead) is a sharpshooting powerhouse and a character exactly equal to
the male lead (also the titular character). In fact he is actually a secondary figure” and
the movie is “about a feminist revolt” against the barbarian ruler.
Which movie (latest of a famous franchise)?

Q6
Name this character from Doctor Who (the one who steps out from the tent at
0:54)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxyQHBY-lzw (mute volume)

Solomon; He forces the men to share the bread
which is a nod to Solomon’s sense of justice

Q7 - You know I’m something of an artist myself!
Set of scenes from Spiderman referencing which painting?

Freedom from Want - Norman Rockwell

Q8
Which actor (X) voices Gamer691 towards the end of the Black Mirror episode
‘USS Callister’ (link attached)? The aggressive nature of his dialogue is a clue.
http://www.nospoiler.com/y/RffKB_xJojo
Another actor - from the same TV show X is known for - features in this episode.
Name him/ID his character (from either this episode or the TV show) as well

Aaron Paul; Jesse Plemons/Robert Daly/Todd Alquist

Q9
These 2 films are odd ones out in a certain director’s filmography. Which director and
how do these films differ from the rest?

Only Stanley Kubrick films not based on
novels/novellas/short stories

Q10 - Obligatory
It's been claimed that companies which featured in the adverts of this film X were
somehow cursed because many either folded or disappeared after featuring in the film.
Pan Am - Pan Am was one of the world's biggest airlines in when X was released. Fast
forward nine years and Pan Am goes bust.
Atari - The video game company had 70% of the US market when X was released but
went into decline in the late 1980s as other big firms entered the market.
RCA - Electronics company RCA had been going since the late 1920s, but was bought
by General Electric in 1986 and dismantled.
Bell Phones - The Bell System monopoly was broken up in the same year as X was
released.
Which film (X) / What is this curse called?

Round 4 -Chacha vidhayak hai hamaare!
● Questions on/about/related to family members/family of famous personalities
● Written
● 10 pts. per Q
● +20 for clean sweep

Q1
Promotional poster for the TV show Scream
Queens depicting the lead actress. Look closely
and tell me whose daughter is she?

Q2
Which father son pair has written this
novel? The father’s works have been
adapted into films many a time

Q3
Duncan Jones’ latest film Mute is set in futuristic Berlin and is a ‘spiritual sequel’ to
his 2009 masterpiece ‘Moon’. Clint Mansell, the film’s scorer acknowledged the
influence of a particular set of works of Jones’ father. Which musician is Duncan
Jones the only child of?

Q4
The woman shown is Assata ______. She
was a Black Panther, Black Liberation Army
member, revolutionary and a bank robber.
She was convicted for the murder of a police
officer, escaped prison, found asylum in
Cuba, and is still alive with a 2 million dollar
American bounty on her head. Who was her
famous godson?

Q5
The son of which famous Nobel laureate (X) has directed these films? The 2nd of X’s
three sons is the frontman of the band ‘The Wallflowers’ (image follows)

Q6
The novel shown is “AngelMaker” by Nick
Harkaway. It details a clockmaker's attempt to stop
a Cold War era doomsday weapon. As the
protagonist’s world is overrun by mad monks,
psychopathic serial killers, scientific geniuses and
threats to the future of conscious life in the
universe, he teams up with a former secret service
agent to complete a mission she abandoned years
ago.
Who is Nick Harkaway’s father?

Q7
Blackstratblues is a solo project of Warren
_______ , who is a guitarist and
composer. He is the nephew of X, a
composer popular for being a part of a
famous trio. The trio have composed
music for over 50 soundtracks across five
languages.
X?

Q8
“Z: The Beginning of Everything” is an American TV
series based on the life of ‘A’ (in the poster) - wife of a
famous 20th century writer ‘B’.
The series presents a fictionalized version of the life of
American socialite and ‘A’ in the 1920s. The show got
cancelled after one season and covered ‘A’s marriage
to ‘B’ – who had yet to become famous for his works –
and the subsequent marital tensions that arose from
their lifestyle full of partying and alcohol.
ID either A (the wife) or B (the husband).

David Bowie; Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy being Mansell’s
inspiration

Q5
The son of which famous Nobel laureate (X) has directed these films? The second of
X’s three sons is the frontman of the band ‘The Wallflowers’ (image follows)

Bob Dylan; Sons: Jesse (the director) and Jakob (the
musician)

Q8
“Z: The Beginning of Everything” is an American TV
series based on the life of ‘A’ (in the poster) - wife of
the famous 20th century writer ‘B’.
The series presents a fictionalized version of the life of
American socialite and ‘A’ (who was an aspiring writer
at that time) in the 1920s. The show got cancelled
after one season and covered ‘A’s marriage to ‘B’ –
who had yet to become famous for his work – and the
subsequent marital tensions that arose from their
lifestyle full of partying and alcohol.
ID either A (the wife) or B (the husband).

A - Zelda Fitzgerald; B - F.Scott Fitzgerald

Round 5
● 10 Qs
● Pounce Bounce
● +10/-5, +10/0

Q1
Mayank Austen Soofi took this photograph while going through Delhi’s dargahs,
he went from the ones at Nizamuddin to Mehrauli, shooting “not the main graves,
but the secondary ones that nobody cares about”
He was acting on X’s instructions, who wanted a photograph of a tomb, or a stone
surface that looked like a tomb for this purpose.
“I still remember this particular grave,” says Soofi. “It had started raining, it was
looking so beautiful, and there was a rose on it.”
For what purpose did Mayank Austen Soofi take this photograph? Who is X?

The Ministry of Utmost
Happiness cover; Arundhati
Roy

Q2 - The most ambitious crossover!
Poster of the Danish musical drama “Dancer
in the Dark”. Who is the lead actress (on the
poster)? The lead singer of a famous band
provided the score for this film. Who?

Q3
According to the author (X), two incidents from his time of teaching English at high
schools inspired him to write this short story -
1) While X was teaching students with special needs; one of them asked him if it
would be possible to be put into a regular class if he worked hard and
became smart.
2) X also witnessed the dramatic change in another learning-disabled student
who regressed after he was removed from regular lessons. X said that "When
he came back to school, he had lost it all. He could not read. He reverted to
what he had been. It was a heart-breaker."
The short story and X ?

Flowers for Algernon; Daniel Keyes

Q4
Lady Helene Winter is a character in Wolfenstein
II: The New Colossus. She is a noted German
director of propaganda films produced for
distribution by the Nazis and appears as a minor
antagonist.
Helene is known to have directed various movies
used as Nazi propaganda, such as America: The
New Order, a film shown in theaters in the
American Territories in 1961.
On which real life personality is Helene Winter
based on? (picture is perfunctory; won’t help)

Q5
X is a 1985 hard Sci-Fi novel written by Carl Sagan. The novel deals with
communication/interaction between humanity and a technologically advanced,
extraterrestrial life form. The novel originated as a screenplay by Sagan and Ann
Druyan in 1979. When development of the film stalled, Sagan decided to convert
the stalled film into a novel. The film X was subsequently revived and eventually
released in 1997 starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey.
ID X which happens to be the name of an ELS activity

Q6
A comparison of characters from two novels (X and Y). ID both the novels or both the
protagonists (A and B).
The characters of the chaplain, in the novel X, and the priest, in the novel Y, are quite
similar, in some aspects. These characters serve essentially to bring the question of
God and religion to probe the existentialist aspects of it, in novels completely devoid of
religious context. The main idea visible about these two characters is that they are both
the last ones seen by the protagonists (both atheists). Whereas the chaplain in X tries to
make A believe in the existence of god, the priest in Y tries to warn and explain to B
what will happen to him. The reason the chaplain is the last one to see A is because it’s
his job to let the prisoners have a final shot at redemption before they are executed. The
reason that B meets with the priest is out of advice given to him by someone.
Hint: Both novels are a satirical take on the flaws and failures of judicial systems

‘The Stranger’ by Camus and ‘The Trial’ by Kafka.
A - Mersault B - K.

Q7
Sakuma drops are a hard candy from Japan. The
candies are generally sold in tin cans.
Sakuma drops are best known in the west from
their appearance in a film three decades ago, as
it played a prominent motif in the film.
Commemorative tins resembling the one depicted
in the film and featuring an image of the
protagonist associated with the candy have been
released several times over the years.
Gimme the film/protagonist.

Grave of the Fireflies/Setsuko

Q8
Superhot is an FPS indie game released in 2016.
1) Have a look at the video and tell me what is special about the gameplay ?
(Basically a feature which is unique considering the FPS genre)
2) This particular level shares its’ name with the name of a movie and is
basically a homage to a famous sequence from the movie. What is it named?
Pointers for the second part: One specific weapon - which is available in many of
the earlier levels is not available in this level. The weapon, essentially, gives it
away. Also, notice the fact that the level plays out in a narrow, confined space.
http://www.nospoiler.com/y/U53TN36OzIc

1) Time stops when the player stops moving,
making the game more of a strategy game than
FPS.
2) Oldboy. Homage to the corridor fight sequence. A
hammer - which is a fairly common prop in the
game, isn’t available in this mission.

Q9
In Game of Thrones when Danaerys arrives at Mereen, the Mereeneese send out
a champion who proceeds to insult her and her army before his unceremonious
death.
This is what the Champion speaks (in High Valyrian) - “Oa mysa iles me nynghi, si
oa kiba tuziles espo tomistos!”
What does this dialogue translate to?
http://www.nospoiler.com/y/EoRszVunSvg

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled
of elderberries!

Q10
“Sleeps with Angels” is the 20th studio album by Neil Young. The tone of the
album is dark and brooding. Young composed the title track after he was shocked
at a particular incident which involved lyrics from his song “My My, Hey Hey (Out
of the Blue)” being used.
1)Where were these lyrics used? or What incident?
2)Who was this album dedicated to?

Kurt Cobain’s suicide note - “It's better to burn out
than to fade away"

Round 6 - Weeb alert
● Written
● Hollywood flicks inspired by eastern cinema/anime
● 5 pts per Q
● +5 for clean sweep

Q1
Stills from the Toshiro Mifune film
“Yojimbo”. Which genre defining
trilogy did this film inspire?

Q2
Infernal Affairs is a 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller. It
tells the story between a mole in the police
department and an undercover cop. Their objectives
are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who
is the cop.
Which Oscar winning Hollywood film is a remake of
Infernal Affairs?

Q3
Paprika is a 2006 Japanese science-fiction anime
film. Have a look at the trailer and tell me which
extremely popular Sci-Fi film was influenced by
Paprika?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_vUmm8Z0fM

Q4
Akira is a 1988 science fiction anime film set in a
dystopian, cyberpunk-themed 2019. Akira tells the
story of Shōtarō Kaneda, a leader of a local biker
gang whose childhood friend, Tetsuo Shima,
acquires incredible telekinetic abilities after a
motorcycle accident.
Which 2012 science fiction film borrows heavily
from Akira?

Q5 - 5 points each for the 2 movies, 10 for the director
Link to a scene from the film Perfect Blue (play till 0:16). Director X was influenced by
the movie and wanted to do a remake however that project never took off. Instead, he
paid tribute by using exactly the same scene from Perfect Blue in his movie Y (2000).
Perfect Blue is the story of a squeaky-clean girl-group singer-turned-actress whose
career in the spotlight starts to loosen her grip on reality. The movie Z (2010) - also by
X - uses a similar storyline.
Name the 2 films Y and Z. For bonus, name the director (X).
http://www.nospoiler.com/y/anlHmGA-Bvs

The Dollars Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few
Dollars More, The Good, the bad and the ugly)

Q5 - 5 points each for the 2 movies, 10 for the director
Link to a scene from the film Perfect Blue (play till 0:16). Director X was influenced by
the movie and wanted to do a remake however that project never took off. Instead, he
paid tribute by using exactly the same scene from Perfect Blue in his movie Y (2000).
Perfect Blue is the story of a squeaky-clean girl-group singer-turned-actress whose
career in the spotlight starts to loosen her grip on reality. The movie Z (2010) - also
directed by X - uses a similar storyline.
Name the 2 films Y and Z. For bonus, name the director (X).
http://www.nospoiler.com/y/anlHmGA-Bvs

Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky

Q
Album by the English band Venom.
Which subgenre of music is named after
this album?
Say the album was named “Shoegaze”,
then the genre “Shoegaze” got its’ name
from the album.

Q
Ruth E. Carter is a costume designer who has designed costumes for historical
dramas like Selma and Amistad, earning an Oscar nomination for the latter.
Which recent film - praised for its’ evocative costumes had Ruth Carter as its’
costume designer?

Q
Compressorhead is a heavy metal band composed of four members - Stickboy,
Junior, Fingers and Bones. The band started out playing covers of bands such as
Motorhead, AC/DC, Pantera and the Ramones, with videos of the band becoming
popular on the internet in 2013. The band is called the “only true metal band there
is”. Why ?

The band consists only of robots

Q
The opening scene of which movie does this shot from ‘Swingers’ pay tribute to?
(START AT 2:55)
http://www.nospoiler.com/y/wwr5BCGC6Ao

Q
Poem is “Sailing to Byzantium” by Yeats. FITB with the name of a movie.
That is __ _______ ___ ___ ___ . The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
– Those dying generations – at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect

Q
Which cult Sci-Fi/Fantasy film’s release got delayed because of 9/11

Donnie Darko (showed a plane engine crashing
through a house)

Q
ID movie and character. This movie was director X’s favorite. In the TV show X
has directed, he plays a character sharing its’ name with the character in the
image. Name X and the TV show too.

Sunset Blvd; Gordon Cole; David Lynch; Twin Peaks

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