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About This Quiz
We all like to think that we're not overly influenced by the movies. We can keep fact and fiction separate. But the truth is, fiction does impact our grasp on reality. In surveys, about 50 percent of respondents believe that Sherlock Holmes was a real person. (He was created by Arthur Conan Doyle).ÂÂ
How much has your understanding of geography been influenced by the movies? Screenwriters invent countries all the time, for several reasons. Sometimes they want to write about the peccadilloes of a royal family, without criticizing a real monarchy. Other times they want to play fast and loose with geography, putting waterfalls and deserts where none exist in a real nation. Or they want to criticize a real-world autocrat by creating a fictional one, and a fictional nation for him to rule. This is actually a fairly common method of social criticism -- Charlie Chaplin did it, for example, with "The Great Dictator."
Is Panem a real country? What about Gilead? Is there a real chain of islands called the Maldives on planet Earth? You might not find it so easy to sort out factual from fictional geography in our 35-question quiz. Settle in and challenge your wits now!
Sri Lanka
Real!
Sri Lanka is a real country with a storied history. It is thought to be the country of "Lanka" referred to in the Ramayana, the Hindu epic about the god Rama and his rescue of his wife Sita, who was held there.
From the movies!
Iceland
Real
Probably you knew this one. But in the days of "Game of Thrones," we thought its almost-too-literal-to-be-true name might trip someone up!
From the movies!
Bacteria
Real!
From the movies!
"Bacteria" wasn't even meant to sound like a real country. The comic genius, Charlie Chaplin, made this a nation in "The Great Dictator."
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Slovakia
Real
If you're a horror fan, it's tempting to say "both!" Eli Roth set his disturbing tale of a murder-for-fun business in Slovakia, and later deflected criticism by saying that his Slovakia was in a sense fictitious; it was a satire of how Americans thought of Eastern European nations.
From the movies!
Sokovia
Real!
From the movies!
"Sokovia" features prominently in the new Marvel Universe movies. It's the homeland of the Scarlet Witch and her (now sadly deceased) twin, Quicksilver.
Singapore
Real
Singapore is a very small nation. Technically, it's a city-state. It's a crossroads of Southeast Asia, with excellent cuisine that reflects the diversity of its influences.
From the movies!
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Wakanda
Real!
From the movies!
If you're taking this quiz in early 2018, and missed this one, you must have been living under a rock. "Black Panther," about the ruler and hero of Wakanda, was one of the biggest movies of the new year.
Mongolia
Real
Mongolia is one of the most sparsely populated nations in the world. Some of its famous warrior-leaders, like Genghis Khan, really are the stuff of Hollywood movies.
From the movies!
Narnia
Real
From the movies!
"The Chronicles of Narnia" might be more famous in their book form. But "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" was also made into a very successful film.
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Monaco
Real
The worlds of "real" and "from the movies" when American actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier and became princess of Monaco. She died in a car crash in 1982.
From the movies!
Arendelle
Real
From the movies!
Arendelle was the fictitious kingdom of which Elsa ascended to queendom n "Frozen." Anna was her loyal younger sister.
Syriana
Real
From the movies!
"Syriana" was a film about oil and politics in the Middle East. It was one of a number of political thrillers in which Matt Damon has acted.
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Panem
Real
From the movies!
"Panem" was the fictitious North American country where the "Hunger Games" took place every year. The Games were punishment for an uprising by the impoverished districts outside the wealthy capital.
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Atlantis
Real
From the movies!
Ummm ...
Atlantis is almost certainly not real, but it isn't entirely from the movies, either. Stories of an island paradise that sank into the ocean predate cinema, and have turned up in all kinds of art.
The Maldives
Real
The Maldives lie in the Arabian Sea. They're also a gorgeous vacation destination, though little-known to Westerners.
From the movies!
Tomania
Real
From the movies!
This comes from Charlie Chaplin's,"The Great Dictator." The name, for a fictitious country ruled by fascists, is a play on "ptomaine," an illness.
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Freedonia
Real
From the movies!
This one comes from the Marx Brothers',"Duck Soup." It was a small country ruled with an iron fist.
Genovia
Real
From the movies!
Genovia is a tiny European country in "The Princess Diaries." Look for it between France and Spain.
Kraplakistan
Real
From the movies!
This is a fictitious republic in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." Groovy!
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Krakozhia
Real
From the movies!
This was the relatively realistic name for the Slavic republic in "The Terminal." Tom Hanks played one of its citizens, stranded in a U.S. airport terminal when war breaks out in his home country.
Surinam
Real
This tiny nation is a crossroads of northern South America. Once a Dutch holding, it is home to people of European, Caribbean and native South American ancestry. It's rarely in the news .. which is probably a good thing!
From the movies!
Nambutu
Real
From the movies!
This one is a fictitious African nation, as the name suggests. It was featured in "Casino Royale."
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Florin
Real
From the movies!
This one comes from "The Princess Bride." If it sounds real, you're probably thinking of Florence, the Italian city, and Florentines, its people.
Andorra
Real
If you had a vague inkling of Spain here, you're probably thinking of "Andalusia," a region in southern Spain. Andorra is a neighboring country, with a Spanish-influenced culture.
From the movies!
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Papua New Guinea
Real
From the movies!
This nation is a pair of large islands in southern Pacific waters, near Australia. New Zealand is smaller, yet better known.
Gilead
Real
From the movies!
OK, this one's from a television series. But "The Handmaid's Tale" has become so successful, we felt certain that people would recognize it as the theocratic nation situated somewhere in a future North America.
Lesotho
Real
Lesotho is a rare case of a country completely surrounded by another, which is South Africa. Seriously, its border with the much larger nation is a circle.
From the movies!
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Cabo Verde (or Cape Verde)
Real
This one does sound fictional, doesn't it? Like "Nuevo Rico," the fictional South American country in the "Adventures of Tintin" stories.
From the movies!
Oman
Real
Don't confuse this with the masculine name "Omar." Oman is a country on the Arabian Peninsula.
From the movies!
Nairomi
Real
From the movies!
This one featured in "Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice." You'd find it in Africa, were it real.
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Angola
Real
Americans might think of Angola as the notorious prison in Louisiana. But it's also an African country with a strong Portuguese influence from its colonial days.
From the movies!
You Got:
/35
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