[Idiom] It's set in ...

denismurs · Dec 11, 2015

Hello,

Would you be so kind to tell me what meaning could have the phrase "It's set in..." when it is used in the writing of a review for a movie or a book?

My sample: The new movie is set in England.

"It's set in..." this phrase is only about the place or it's about the content of the film too? Or it's more about the plot and storyline of the movie?

Denis.

teechar · Dec 11, 2015

denismurs said:
Hello,

Would you be so kind as to tell me what meaning [STRIKE]could have[/STRIKE] the phrase "It's set in..." could have when it is used in the writing of a review for a movie or a book?

My sample: The new movie is set in England.

Is "It's set in..." this phrase [STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] only about the place or it's about the content of the film too? Or it's more about the plot and storyline of the movie?

Denis.

It means the events take place in England. I don't understand your supplementary questions.

SoothingDave · Dec 11, 2015

The "setting" of a story is the time and place where the events occur. It is not about the plot or themes explored by the work. Except, of course, for how the time and place affect the items in the story. We would not expect a story set in Elizabethan England to have a car chase or have a plot involving computer hackers.

Tdol · Dec 12, 2015

denismurs said:
"It's set in..." this phrase is only about the place or it's about the content of the film too? Or it's more about the plot and storyline of the movie?

You're dividing the sentence up the wrong way:

It is set (the place the action takes place) + in (the preposition for this) England.

It is not a phrasal verb.

teechar · Dec 12, 2015

Tdol said:
It is not a phrasal verb.

Indeed, it's not. In fact, there is an intransitive phrasal verb "set in" which has an entirely different meaning.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/set-in

[Idiom] It's set in ...

denismurs

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