Editing MacGuffin (section)

== Further examples==
<!-- Please don't add an example without a reliable source explicitly calling it a MacGuffin and explaining how it further develops the idea beyond what is already in the article. These are examples to illustrate, not a list. -->
Alfred Hitchcock popularized the use of the MacGuffin technique.<ref name=FreeDictionary>{{cite encyclopedia | url = https://www.thefreedictionary.com/MacGuffin | title = MacGuffin | encyclopedia = The Free Dictionary | publisher = Farlex, Inc. | access-date=December 7, 2017}}</ref> Examples from Hitchcock's films include plans for a silent plane engine in ''[[The 39 Steps (1935 film)|The 39 Steps]]'' (1935), radioactive uranium ore in ''[[Notorious (1946 film)|Notorious]]'' (1946), and a clause from a secret peace treaty in ''[[Foreign Correspondent (film)|Foreign Correspondent]]'' (1940).<ref name=walker>{{harvtxt|Walker|2005|page=297}}</ref><ref name=filmsite>{{cite web |work=[[Filmsite]] |title=Hitchcock's MacGuffins |url=https://www.filmsite.org/hitchcockmacguffins.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518061221/https://www.filmsite.org/hitchcockmacguffins.html |archive-date=May 18, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The briefcase in ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'' (1994) motivates several of the characters during many of the film's major plot points, but its contents are never revealed.<ref name=lloyd>{{cite web |url=https://entertainment.ie/movies/movie-news/seriously-what-was-in-the-briefcase-in-pulp-fiction-235840/ |title=Seriously, What Was in the Briefcase in ''Pulp Fiction''? |work=Entertainment Ireland |last=Lloyd |first=Brian |date=April 10, 2019 |access-date=September 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324084224/https://entertainment.ie/movies/movie-news/seriously-what-was-in-the-briefcase-in-pulp-fiction-235840/ |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

Similarly, the plot of the 1998 film ''[[Ronin (film)|Ronin]]'' revolves around a case, the contents of which remain unknown. At the end of the film, it is said to have led to a historic peace agreement and an end to [[the Troubles]] in Northern Ireland.<ref name=ign>{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2008 |title=Top 10 Movie MacGuffins |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/05/20/top-10-movie-macguffins |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=IGN |language=en |author=<!--Staff byline-->}}</ref>

George Lucas also used MacGuffins in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' saga. He "decided that the Force could be intensified through the possession of a mystical [[Kiber Crystal]] {{sic}}<!-- This is exactly as spelled in the source cited. -->."<ref>{{harvtxt|Jones|2016|p=189}}</ref>

A similar usage was employed in [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[Escape from New York]]'', where the protagonist [[Snake Plissken]] is tasked with rescuing both the President of the United States and a cassette tape that will prevent a devastating war between the country and its enemies. While there are hints throughout the film, the contents of the tape are never revealed to the audience.<ref name=bitel>{{cite web |url=https://lwlies.com/articles/escape-from-new-york-blu-ray-review/ |title=The Bleak Futurism of John Carpenter's ''Escape from New York'' |first1=Anton |last1=Bitel |work=Little White Lies |date=November 18, 2018 |access-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924212650/https://lwlies.com/articles/escape-from-new-york-blu-ray-review/ |archive-date=September 24, 2023}}</ref>