Analysis of an argument essay
Last updated: 13 Oct 2008
Having planned out our essay here is the result.
The Awesome Energy Riders have become an extremely popular toy line for the ACME Co. Management at Hollywood Pictures thinks that this success will translate to the silver screen, and have bought the rights of the Awesome Energy Riders to make four pictures.
Discuss how well reasoned you find the plan of Hollywood Pictures. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusions.
The people at Hollywood Pictures obviously think they have found a winner in the Amazing Energy Riders. Why else would they buy the rights to four movies featuring the popular toy characters? The author's argument seems flawless: the popularity of the Riders with children led to huge toy sales, and thus a movie starring the fantastic heroes will be equally popular with kids at the box office.
But before Hollywood Pictures counts its money too early, it would be worthwhile to evaluate whether this plan is a sure thing or not. Unfortunately, it is not the sure money-maker Hollywood is hoping for. First, there is the possibility that the popularity of the Riders as toys will not translate to the big screen. Many toys deal with violence - look at the GI Joe line of action figures. Perhaps the Riders, if put in a film, would be too violent for most children, and therefore many parents would be too reluctant to take them to the picture. Moreover, if the direction, scriptwriting, or production of the movie is poor, then even the immense popularity of the Riders will not save an atrocious movie.
This leads to us to a second point. The Riders is aimed at children, but it will be ultimately the parents who will decide that they can go to the film. If parents feel that the movie is not very good for or actually harmful to their children, then even though they may buy the toys for their children, they will not buy a ticket to the movie.
Third, even though the first movie might be a success at the box office, that does not mean that the other three will be profitable. If the quality of the first movie is not very watchable, that will jeopardize the chances that successor films will be profitable. Additionally, many toys have a very short shelf-life. It is quite possible that what is popular today will be out of fashion tomorrow. Therefore, if say the popularity of the Riders diminishes after the making of the first movie, there seems little reason to make any successors.
For these reasons, management at Hollywood Pictures ought to take a long, hard look at the movie deal they have just entered into with the ACME Co. There are many potential pitfalls to their plan. It seems the old adage is true: there is such no thing as a sure thing.
