For this critical thinking activity, I decided to watch the episodes of a Reality TV show and a News show whose the main purposes are entertainment and the provocation of emotions. These were the recent episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Saturday Night Live. Since these two shows are primarily created for the viewers to have a good time without overwhelming one’s mind with complicated or negative information, the emotions that I received were relaxation and enjoyment. I believe that the provocation of these emotions was planned by the producers of both shows. For instance, the idea of KUWTK is to present the real life of one big and happy family that goes through the challenges, experiences success and failure, and spreads love within itself (Willen & Baragona, 2020). Therefore, we can relate to their experiences, laugh and cry with them, and detach ourselves from personal problems.
The same thing is with the Saturday Night Live show. While this is a television program that delivers the latest news and presents viewers with interesting information, it is also entertaining and fun to watch (Sagheer, n.d.). In the show, the emotions of joy and happiness are emphasized by the use of jokes and fun storytelling throughout the episode. It is totally informal, and the host of the show constantly tries to engage the audience by asking funny questions. Therefore, all this creates a sense of relaxation. Thus, it can be stated that the language that the show uses is an essential influence on the overall perception.
After watching both episodes, I do not feel like I was led to a specific conclusion and I do not feel that there was a purpose to doing so. As mentioned earlier, this kind of show wants to deliver emotion and encourage people to appreciate the moments of joy and happiness, like the ones that appear when watching the show. Consequently, even though the delivered information is entertaining, it is presented in a meaningful context that encourages us to reflect on our life, experiences, and relationships. The information that was presented during both of the episodes was very descriptive and persuasive which can be seen from the fact that the viewers understand what is the main issue of the episode and what topics are being discussed. However, these two shows are not educational or scientific so they are not designed to be very factual and highly informative.
References
Sagheer, S. (n.d.). Purpose and functions of news – explained. Web.
Willen, C., Baragona, L. (2020). 20 surprising things you probably didn’t know about “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”Insider. Web.