Explanation
Correct answer: D.
Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the early years of film. In this context, “perception of” means understanding of or view of. The text states that people in the film industry had a personal stake (“a vested interest”) in getting the public to embrace film when the medium was new and indicates that some film critics helped legitimize film as an art form—that is, that they helped to make film something people accepted as a type of art. This context conveys that it was the critics’ ability to influence the public’s view of the world of cinema that some early filmmakers relied on.
Why the other choices are wrong
Choice A
Choice A is incorrect because in this context, “reproduction of” would refer to a copy of something or the act of copying something, and it wouldn’t make sense to describe the general public as reproducing the world of cinema, or copying film as an entire art form.
Choice B
Choice B is incorrect. In this context, “contribution to” would refer to playing a significant part in causing something to happen. Although the text indicates that people in the early film industry had reasons to want the public to embrace film, it wouldn’t make sense to suggest that filmmakers relied on film critics to influence how the public contributed to the world of cinema; the text focuses on the public’s view of film once the world of cinema existed (embracing it, regarding it as legitimate art) and doesn’t suggest the general public was responsible for the medium’s existence.
Choice C
Choice C is incorrect because in this context, “application to” would refer to putting something to direct use, and it wouldn’t make sense to say that the general public needed to be used in a practical way in the world of cinema. The text focuses on the importance of the public’s view of film when the medium was new but not on the idea that the public needed to be directly involved in film.