Logical Reasoning

PT106 · S3 · Q6 Jane: Television programs and movies

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Jane: Television programs and movies that depict violence among teenagers are extremely popular.

Conclusion (Hence)

Depictions of violence among teenagers should be prohibited from movies and television programs, if only in those programs and movies promoted to young audiences.

Intermed. Conc. (we have good reason)

Depictions of violence cause young people to engage in violent behavior.

Evidence

TV programs and movies that depict violence among teenagers are extremely popular. These media are influential.

Evaluate

The author has established that shows and movies depicting violence are popular and influential, but she hasn't given any solid support for the notion that they're influential in the sense of .

So one way to strengthen Jane's argument would be to provide some evidence that watching violent shows and movies makes teens more likely to engage in violent behavior, or that .

The conclusion also makes an interesting caveat, saying that at the very least we should prohibit teen-violence from shows and movies promoted to young audiences.

Jane seems to be assuming that shows and movies promoted to young audiences are more likely to be seen by young audiences.

If we were arguing the anti-conclusion, we might say, We might also say,

Goal

Look for anything helping to bolster the connection between teens watching depictions of teen violence and teens engaging in violent behavior, or look for an answer ruling out some potential objection to the idea of prohibiting teen violence from movies and TV aimed at young audiences.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens Jane's argument?

The most violent characters depicted
No Impact
This seems to drift away from the focus of the argument. We care about depictions of teen violence and whether they make teens more likely to engage in violence. This is about depictions of adult violence.
1% picked this
Correct
The movies that have been
Why this is right
This helps support the priority set by the author's conclusion. She is saying, "Let's eliminate depictions of teen violence from movies and TV. If we can't do it across the board, then let's at least do it for those shows and movies promoted to young audiences." Saying that suggests that the biggest source of the potential problem would be shows / movies promoted to young audiences. This answer corroborates that assumption -- it's saying, "Yup, the shows / movies that are most likely to influence teens' behavior (including in violent ways) are the ones that are promoted to young audiences." So this strengthens by affirming that our author's #1 concern (shows / movies promoted to young audiences) really is the #1 concern. When authors are suggesting plans / recommendations to address some goal or problem, we can strengthen by showing that this plan / recommendation would address the root of the problem or the most significant source of the problem.
Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
93% picked this
The people who make the
No Impact
This seems to drift away from the focus of the argument. We care about depictions of teen violence and whether they make teen viewers more likely to engage in violence. This is about who in the movie / TV industry makes the most money, and it has nothing to do with violent depictions.
1% picked this
Many adolescents who engage in
Weakens, if anything
This answer suggests that violence in young people isn't caused by being exposed to violence in shows / movies, since the violence exists before they've even been exposed to violence in shows / movies.
3% picked this
Among the producers who make
Weakens, if anything
This answer is written so broadly that we're not sure if it has any specific connection to this conversation about depictions of teen violence. But, in general, if an author is concluding, "We need to prohibit X", then it weakens to say, "(we don't need to prohibit it, because) people are already voluntarily refraining from doing X."
3% picked this

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