GMAT考试写作指导：Issue写作范文五四

　　54. Clearly, most popular films and television shows are superficial and/or include a

　　certain amount of violence or obscenity. Just as clearly, popularity leads to commercial

　　success. But can we conclude that these productions are overly influenced by

　　commercial interests? Perhaps not, since some popular films and television shows are

　　neither superficial, obscene, nor violent. Closer scrutiny, however, reveals that most

　　such productions actually support, not disprove, the thesis that commercial interests

　　dictate movie and television content.

　　One would-be threat to the thesis can be found in lower-budget independent films,

　　which tend to focus more on character development and topical social issues than on

　　sensationalism. Recently, a few such films have supplanted Hollywoods major studio

　　productions as top box-office hits. Does this mean that profit potential no longer dictates

　　the content of films. No; it simply suggests that the tastes and preferences of the movie-

　　going public are shifting.

　　A second ostensible challenge to the thesis can be found in companies such as

　　Disney, whose productions continue to achieve great popularity and commercial success,

　　without resort to an appeal to baser interests. Yet it is because these productions are

　　commercially successful that they proliferate.

　　The only cogent challenge to the thesis is found in perennial television favorites

　　such as Nova. a public television show that is neither commercially supported nor

　　influenced. However, such shows are more in the nature of education than entertainment,

　　and for every one program like Nova there are several equally popular―and highly

　　superficial―programs.

　　With few exceptions, then, commercial success of certain films and television

　　shows is no accidental byproduct of popularity; it is the intentional result of producers

　　efforts to maximize profits.