Bunuel
"True crime" is an increasingly popular genre of documentaries and podcasts, often reexamining the facts of a criminal trial and even leading to audiences calling for the reversal of convictions. Critics argue that these "true crime" programs often give audiences a misleading understanding of a case, as in the interest of creating compelling entertainment their editors make creative decisions that leave out important evidence and provide inaccurate accounts of events. These criticisms are irrelevant, however, for appreciating the true crime genre, which has not only entertained millions but given many of them a renewed interest in the field of criminal justice.Which of the following principles, if valid, best justifies the reasoning above?A. It is of the utmost importance for citizens to understand the criminal justice system as thoroughly as possible.B. People convicted of crimes have a right to have their cases reexamined in the future so that new information can come to light.C. Audial and visual entertainment is a form of free speech and its creators should be permitted to express themselves however they wish.D. One's appreciation of a genre is not necessarily undermined by inaccurate accounts of real-world events.E. Those who create art, regardless of genre, should be afforded the freedom to tell stories as they understand them.
VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTION:
Strategically on this problem it it extremely helpful to isolate and focus on the specific wording in the conclusion:
These criticisms are irrelevant, however, for appreciating the true crime genre...
Note that "which has not only" is a modifier and therefore adds new value as a premise, not as the conclusion. So with this specific conclusion it is important to recognize that the criticisms aren't irrelevant in general, but rather irrelevant for appreciating the genre.
Answer choice (D), the correct answer, is the only one that brings in that concept of appreciation. By saying that "appreciation is not undermined by inaccuracies" that principle absolves this specific conclusion of being affected by all the listed negatives of the true crime genre.
None of the other answer choices tie back directly to the conclusion. Among them:
(A) seeks to show a benefit of true crime (it may help citizens better understand the justice system) but does not directly affect appreciation on the genre. Furthermore it takes a leap: the premise in the argument says that true crime has given many a renewed INTEREST in the criminal justice system but not necessarily an UNDERSTANDING.
Choice (B) is similar in that it seeks to provide a benefit of true crime (it's a good thing for criminals to have their cases reexamined) but again it misses the point of the conclusion, which is specific to the appreciation of the genre.
And choices (C) and (E) are very similar to each other, talking about the creators' rights but also missing the point of the conclusion.