miércoles, 13 de febrero de 2013

Talking point: TV viewing habits and reality TV

This week's talking point touches on our TV viewing habits and the value of reality TV as a role model. It derives from The New York Times The Learning Network blog post Does Reality TV promote dangeous stereotypes?

Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, give a thought to the questions below, so that you won't run out of ideas and sort out some vocabulary problems before the discussion is held.
  •  How many TVs are there in your house? Where are they?
  •  Do you know anyone who doesn’t have a TV?
  •  How many channels do you have?
  •  Are you subscribed to any payment network?
  •  Which channels do you watch the most?
  •  Do you ever watch any foreign channels? Which one(s)?
  •  How much TV do you watch during the week / at weekends?
  •  Who watches most / least TV in your family?
  •  Who ‘owns’ the remote control?
  •  What kind of TV programmes do you like / dislike?
  •  Do you think there are too many adverts on TV?
  •  Do you think TV programmes in Spain are getting better or worse?
  • What reality TV shows can you name? What are they about?
  • Do you ever watch reality TV? What do you like about it? What don’t you like about it?
  • Have you ever got 'addicted' to a TV reality show? Do you know anyone who has?
  • Do you think reality TV shows like promoting stereotypes? 
  • If so, do you think they’re just harmless entertainment, or do you think those stereotypes are dangerous?
  • Do you think reality TV has a responsibility to show “reality”? 
  • Or do you think viewers know that a show’s cast is performing for an audience?
  • If you could produce your own reality TV show, what would it be about? 
To gain further insight into the topic, you can read Trip Gabriel's article for The New York Times Feeling Dragged Through the Mud, as MTV Comes to West Virginia.