Prelims of the MELA Quiz conducted at El Dorado 21- The Quiz Fest of Conquiztadors- The Quiz Society of Sri Venkateswara College

1. MELA QUIZ
PRELIMS

2. RULES FOR PRELIMS
● 20 questions in total.
● Star Marked Questions will be used in case of any tie.
● Sudden Death from Question 1 to resolve further tie.
● The decision of the quizmaster will be final and binding.
● Answers have to be written in the Google Forms provided.

3. Q1
The logo of this rock band was inspired by a mythical figure, whose gesture
invokes a sense of power or shame in the viewer. This decision however would
have hurt the religious sentiments of many, had it been done in the recent
years.
After being popularised by the band, it went on to represent the rebellious
nature of the 60s and it's sale through merchandises and records, brought in
billions.
Identify the logo and the inspiration behind it.

4. Safety Slide

5. The Iconic Rolling Stones Logo,
Inspired by the Hindu Goddess
Kali

6. Q2
Around the time the now ubiquitous device was being popularised, there
was also a fear regarding the way technology was taking over. Among these
technophobes was one individual who was already prone to mental illness. He
was anxious about how the unchecked speedup of technology might reshape
the foundation of nature. This must've prompted him to include a lamp-like
structure in his most famous work.
Although the other theory regarding the inspiration involves a mummy from
South America, it's not hard to find the influence of the bulb on the work
when looked closely.
What work is this?

7. Safety Slide

8. The Scream

9. Q.3
Widely considered to be the "Citizen Kane" of bad movies, this film
has garnered a lot of criticism over the years. Nevertheless, this cult
classic is also often considered to be the reason behind one of its actors
rising to international fame due to an iconic dialogue delivery by him.
In that dialogue, the actor first tells his character's name, and then
introduces his mother as a witch's daughter and his father as the devil's
student, and finally offers a specific fruit to his counterpart.
Which movie? Which character, whose actor was recently spotted
in a popular franchise?

10. Safety Slide

11. Gunda & Ibu Hatela

12. Q4*
Nine _______ is based one of the most shocking events of 20th century.
Rather than focusing on the subject, this artist decided to convey public
emotions through photographs of a 'bystander'. Photos of this style icon
before the event and during the aftermath of the event were used to make
portfolios, depicting a grief stricken individual haunted by their glorious past.
Identify the artist and FITB

13. Safety Slide

14. Nine Jackies by Andy Warhol

15. Q5
This case from the 20th century involving the child of a famous couple got so
much attention that a federal law was passed whose more popular name is
the surname of the child.
Someone took inspiration from the above case and used it as a subplot in
one of their famous works released about two years after the case. However,
the great detail in the work comes from the first hand experience the author
gained by being an avid user of this route.
Which work is this?

16. Safety Slide

17. Murder on the Orient Express
Case: Lindbergh Kidnapping

18. Q6.*
The phrase was initially used by protesters in the wake of the controversy
surrounding a US Presidential Election as a play on the Presidential
anthem. The frontman of the band described hearing the phrase for the first
time as a “formative moment”. The band chose the title partly to "state the
bleeding obvious ... that the most powerful country on earth is run by
somebody who stole an election", but also because it signified the insanity
and chaos of the time.
ID the album.

19. Safety Slide

20. Radiohead’s Hail To The Thief

21. Q7.
In order to circumvent Soviet embargoes, enthusiasts used a cheaply
available material picked up from trash cans and dumpsters near ‘aiding’
places and cut it into the desired shapes at 78 rpm using special machines. A
hole was made in the center using a burning cigarette. Although the final
product was functional, its quality was awful and it could only be used 4-5
times. Furthermore, the material that they used gave the finished product a
rather macabre look.
ID the product and the material.

22. Safety Slide

23. Records, X-ray films

24. Q8.
‘Even the pattern of destruction that we’re showing in the marketing of this
film has been mirrored’’ was said by the director-collaborator duo of an
incredibly famous class welfare film when asked to describe their inspiration.
The soul of the film lies in the portrait of destruction that this mid-19th
century literary work creates.
Identify the film and the literary work.

25. Safety Slide

26. The Dark Knight Rises and A Tale of Two Cities

27. Q.9
While the fans of both, may bicker with each other defending their favourite
collection from the title of the worst literature, but the truth of the matter
remains that one was actually written as an homage to the other, earlier
named Master of the Universe and was even free to be read on Internet.
Identify these literature works having enormous cult-following.

28. Safety Slide

29. Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey

30. Q10.
Shown here is an illustration from the French
translation of a mid-19th-century piece of
literature.
Although the original work was a massive success
and remains popular, this translation did not
receive the same reception and very few copies
were sold. This was despite the fact that the
illustrations were done by one of the most popular
artists of his time.
Which work is this and who did the
illustrations?

32. Safety Slide

33. The Raven and Manet

34. Q.11
While there are top business schools still analysing the popularity of this song,
the singer giving insight into his creative process, stated, “When I was writing
down the lyrics, I kept in mind all the English words that are used in the
regional vocabulary. Words like I, you, me, how, why, cow. I just framed them
into sentences and that’s how I came up with the song."
Identify the song.

35. Safety Slide

36. Why this Kolaveri di?

37. Q.12*
Pertaining to the convenience of usage of letters, in earlier days of printing,
letters were organised in boxes in a peculiar manner which led to naming
of a very widely regarded concept in typography (writing).
Name this concept.

39. Safety Slide

40. Uppercase & Lowercase Letters

41. Q.13
Released in September 2001, this piece of literature helped people cope
through the terrorist attack by delving deep into this amazing survival
story.
On similar lines with his story, the author’s public image sunk when he was
shockingly accused of copying the plot from a novella which dealt with a
Jewish Boy adrift in Nazi Germany.
Who is the author?

42. Safety Slide

43. Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

44. Q.14
A graphic designer and an Oscar-winning filmmaker revamped the wordmark
design of this widely known telecommunication company after an infamous
breakup. They replaced the symbol with a blue globe with lines on left side of
it that seem to make a segmented circle. This logo was given an interesting
nickname due to its striking similarity to another infamous object from
popular culture. It’s competitor mocked their new logo by calling its empire
like reputation in a press release.
What nickname was given to it?

45. Safety Slide

46. Death Star

47. Q.15
In one of it's editions, the much loved hosts of an infamous award ceremony
addressed the controversy surrounding a movie which portrayed the plight of
soldiers in war zone. It was labelled as pro torture propaganda by some
critics, for depicting "enhanced interrogation techniques" as a reliable method
to gain information. The director was applauded by the hosts for being well
versed in torture due to her former marriage to a certain director, who
recently restaked his claim as the pioneer for high grossing action packed
epics.
ID the movie, it's director and her ex husband. (0.5+0.25+0.25)

48. Safety Slide

49. Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron

50. Q.16
Owing to his financial troubles, this figure took up a screenwriting job in the
mid-1930s and even wrote a film on labourers and featured in a cameo role
as the leader of labourers. The film was banned because it inspired mill
workers to stand up. The president of one such Mill Owner’s Association,
lobbied to stop the release of the film, citing an International Issue as an
unsavoury backdrop for management-labour relations.
Ironically enough, the film inspired the workers at the screenwriter’s local press
to launch a strike, continuing the writer’s unfortunate run in writing and
publishing, having had one of his publications banned for sedition around two
decades ago.
Name the writer. What is the ‘International Issue’ in question?

51. Safety Slide

52. Premchand & The Great Depression

53. Q17*
This multidisciplinary artist, was chosen along
with 6 other artists to redesign a very famous
figurine.
The purpose was to represent what this figurine
meant to each of the artists.
As seen in the image, their style focuses on
evoking emotion through colour, patterns and
storytelling.
Where have we seen their artwork most
recently?/ Redesigning what?

54. Safety Slide

55. Re-imagining the oscar statuette

56. Q 18
What is said to be the only baffling air piracy crime in the commercial
aviation history, this 1970s case trends from time to time in the entertainment
industry. It is again in the public spotlight this month for its mischievous
reference.
What is this incident and what reference am I talking about?

57. Safety Slide

58. DB Cooper and Loki

59. Q19.*
Pictured here is Christian who was a
professor at an institute in Europe in the
19th and 20th century. In his time there he
was responsible for a certain decision he
took because the number of heads
presented were less according to him.
Whose life changing decision is being
talked about here?

60. Safety Slide

61. Rejected Hitler from art school

62. Q20
Three years back, a Canadian gentleman came to Miami for work. During his
stay in the city, the person gave away close to a million dollars. His acts of
benevolence included helping people get free supplies from supermarkets,
gifting cars and cash to families, contributing to the local fire department,
among others. The story which gained the most traction was about him giving
tuition money to a student to study at University of Miami, who went on to
complete her undergrad and masters, and received another shoutout from the
aforementioned person.
Put funda.

63. Safety Slide

64. God’s plan- Drake