Reading Comprehension

PT132 · S3 · P3 · Q15 TV in Developing Nations

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

  • Save & drill this skill — build targeted practice sets from questions like this one

  • Video walkthroughs — watch every question solved step by step

  • 81 official LSATs — as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Start practicing free

Specialists in international communications almost unanimously assert that the broadcasting in developing nations of television programs produced by industrialized countries amounts to cultural imperialism: the phenomenon of one culture’s productions overwhelming another’s, to the detriment of the flourishing of the latter.

Topic

The "cultural imperialism" claim about industrialized-country TV in developing nations — and what an empirical (anthropological) approach would look like instead.

Framework

Present Debate / Problem-Solution. The author criticizes communications specialists' polemical assertion of cultural imperialism and argues for an empirical approach borrowed from anthropology.

Main Point

Specialists in international communications wrongly claim that imported TV programs amount to cultural imperialism — the claim is polemical and unsupported by evidence. Communications researchers should adopt an empirical, anthropological approach to understand the real (and more nuanced) relationship between imported and domestic productions.

P1: The cultural-imperialism claim and its weakness

Specialists almost unanimously assert that imported TV in developing nations equals cultural imperialism. The claim assumes automatic dominance and negative effects on domestic culture. But it's polemical and lacks empirical foundation — sometimes contradicting fact. Imported programs rarely threaten the domestic industry's viability; viewers tend to prefer domestic over imported programming.

P2: An anthropological example

An anthropological study of one community where imported programs are available cites the popularity of domestically produced serial dramas. Television in the community can serve a function analogous to oral poetry — a daily journal of events of interest, followed day to day.

P3: The proposed approach — empirical models of relationships

Communications specialists need an empirical approach (like anthropologists'). The first question: given that the relationship isn't dominance, what model best represents it? Possibilities: domestic culture absorbs imported productions and becomes enriched; or imported productions fuse with domestic culture only where the two share aspects.

15.

Which one of the following most accurately describes the organization of the passage?

  1. The author takes issue with

    Bad Match

    The passage does not end with examples. The only examples provided were in P1 and P2. Furthermore (if you read the whole thing), the author never explains why proponents support the assertion. And the author isn't introducing a view that's counter to the assertion (the author isn't saying "here's what imported media actually do"). The author is proposing what sort of research we should do to ascertain what imported media actually do.

    2% picked this

  2. Correct

    The author takes issue with

    Why this is right

    At first "discusses two questions" might seem like a poor match, but the entire phrase is "that should be addressed in the new approach", so we're definitely on the right track there. When we look back at P3 and P4, we see the second sentence of P3 saying: "The first question they must investigate is ____ ." The beginning of P4 is (confusingly) the second question: "They will also need to consider [the question of] how to do ____ ." Since this ending is workable, we'll read the rest. All five answers start the same way, so obviously the first ingredient is fine. Does the author present examples that undermine the view that imported media dominates the local media? Yes, the second half of P1 and the study in P2 undermine that assertion. The first sentence of P3 is where we "suggest that a particular approach be taken" (that of anthropologists). And the remainder of the passage discusses the two questions. This answer is certainly weird in terms of how unevenly each ingredient in the passage is matched up with the passage. The first ingredient skips the opening sentence and covers the next three. The second ingredient covers 1.5 paragraphs. The third ingredient covers only the first sentence of P3. And the final ingredient covers ~2 paragraphs.

    Skill tested: Organization · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    75% picked this

  3. The author takes issue with

    Bad Match

    In the final two paragraphs, the author is laying out her recommended approach. It's not a view that runs counter to the assertion that "imported media will dominate local media". It's a suggested methodology for figuring out what imported media actually do. So we just can't refer to it as a view that runs counter to the original assertion. That would only work if the author had actually staked out her own claim about the effects of imported media. (It seems like the author thinks that imported media could have any of several different effects, depending on context, so there's no concrete alternative view).

    6% picked this

  4. The author takes issue with

    Partial Match

    The first three beats fit, but the ending does not. The last two paragraphs raise two questions the new approach must address, not two ways it will benefit the proponents. The author is explaining the recommended approach and talking through some of the factors to consider, but at no point offers communication specialists two promised benefits.

    11% picked this

  5. The author takes issue with

    Bad Match

    We definitely wouldn't call the ending of the passage "a compromise between the original assertion and a contrary view". That would be like a Present Debate passage where the author ends by synthesizing / reconciling the two views. This passage is merely, "They have a view. Author thinks it's wrong because there's plenty of evidence to undermine it. Author suggests a better way of undertaking scientific inquiry in this field."

    6% picked this

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

Save and practice this skill
LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free