Ejercicio Text 1 · Inglés PAU Andalucía Extraordinaria Titular (Acceso) 2024

TEXT 1: THE ETHICS OF TRUE CRIME

1 True crime TV shows have been so popular in the past few years that they have become the object of academic study.

2 Professor of Media Ethics Whitney Phillips claims that the reason for the current success of this genre, as compared to novels and

3 movies, is the reality factor: audiences enjoy feeling engaged in an actual mystery happening before them.

4 Research has found that white women are the largest demographic group consuming true crime. The explanation is that, since

5 white women have anxiety about potential threats, they turn to true crime to feel better prepared in case anything violent were to

6 happen to them. The fact that the target audience is basically white women determines the profile of typical victims in true crime

7 —white and female. After all, audiences prefer to watch cases they can relate to. Phillips argues that this produces the “missing

8 white woman syndrome,” that is, the idea that there’s only one type of victim whose story matters. The media reinforce this with

9 many stories and updates about white female victims, while stories about marginalized groups like Indigenous women are rarely

10 shown, if at all. Even white women who are missing or murdered receive little media attention when they’re sex workers, because

11 they’re perceived as less valuable than “innocent” white women.

12 Another harmful effect resulting from the boom of true crime is the dehumanization of victims when their tragedies become

13 marketable content. As one victim said, “My trauma’s not your entertainment. Awareness is a whole different story.”

14 Fortunately, there’s an alternative: ethical true crime, which avoids sensationalising the narrative and honours victims. Further

15 still, it seeks a way to help their case and alert to social inequalities.

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

1.

According to the text, the key to the boom of true crime shows lies in…

2.

According to the text, white women follow the true crime genre in great numbers…

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT, OR USE YOUR OWN WORDS. (0.5 points each)

3.

True crime’s average viewers resemble the victims featured in the shows.

TRUE

FALSE

4.

There is a shortage of true crime episodes about Native American female victims.

TRUE

FALSE

5.

All white female victims are equally relevant for the media.

TRUE

FALSE

6.

Ethical true crime raises visibility for all kinds of victims.

TRUE

FALSE

7. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)

7.1.

7.2.

8. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)

8.1.

8.2.