Lauren Zalaznick's Acceptance Of Television

Television Study

Over the years, television has been a very controversial subject. Many people have argued that television corrupts minds by forming unrealistic morals and beliefs while others find it simply informative or entertaining. As the years have gone on television has drastically change. Television has become one of the primary channels used to keep us informed on everything that is happening in society as well as create social norms. During television executive Lauren Zalaznick's 2010 TED talk event: The conscience of television she discuss her thoughts on how television has a conscience. Lauren Zalaznick stated "…television directly reflects the moral, political, social and emotional need states of our nation -- that television

This week I watched and took notes on a Netflix drama series called: 13 reasons why. The show is about a high school student named Hannah wo takes her own life in the begging od the series. Shortly after her death her classmate named Clay finds an unmarked box on his porch. Inside the box are recorded tapes made by Hannah explaining in detail the 13 reasons why she decided to commit suicide. This series used pathos because it is grabbing its audience attention by talking about a common issue that teenagers face during high school. While watching the show I noticed that a syllogism was present. For example, all high school kids who are bullied with commit suicide within the four years of high school, Hannah was bullied therefore Hannah will commit suicide. While this is true in Hannah's case it does not apply to every kid that was bullied in the TV show 13 reasons

The type of TV show that I watch is depending on my mood. When I am sad and want to cheer up I watch a comedy show so I can laugh a little. When I am relaxing on my days off I love to watch shows like Supernatural because it is jam packed full of drama, emotion and comedy. As individuals I believe that we subconsciously choose our entertainment based off emotion. However, we as individuals are still able to decide how much we allow TV to affect us. Zalaznick's study states "I actually believe that television directly reflects the moral, political, social and emotional need states of our nation". That quote holds its truth because based on my findings I am noticing more trends in television where shows are subliminally telling us what is acceptable as well as explaining to us as a society how we should feel emotionally as a nation. TV procedures know exactly what type of shows will keep the audience emotionally invested in the