Title: Are films and television programmes beneficial or harmful? How do they affect our lives?

General idea: To persuade

Central idea: To persuade people that films and television programmes have more disadvantages compared to benefits.

Specific idea: Disadvantages of films and television programmes are that there is no heroism involved in fighting, giving the wrong idea of what martial arts is all about, do a lot of harm on the viewers through violence and also determine the way we live. The benefits are that we will be able to learn about many things through documentaries and other educational programmes.

Introduction:
- The first time I saw a martial arts film in tv; it was entitled The Police Story starred Jackie Chan.
- I told myself that one day I wanted to be a great fighter like him.
- However, as far as I can see, it was totally different from what I imagined it to be.

(Transition: There are a lots of disadvantages that films and television programmes bring to us)

Main points:
1st main point: I learned that there is no heroism involved in fighting.
Supporting details:
i) Only fools get broken hands and bruises all over the body for nothing.
ii) In real life, nobody go on fighting with an axe embedded in his abdomen, and no one in this world can defeat fifty opponents without raising a sweat.
iii) Reality is so much different compared to fantasy.

2nd main point: Films and television programmes also give the wrong idea of what martial arts is all about.
Supporting details:
i) For example, karate; it requires discipline and perseverance.
ii) After all the tough sessions, a karate practitioner will have no desire to go out of his way to fight with anybody.
iii) A good teacher will teach the inner aspects of martial arts.

3rd main point: Violence on television do a lot of harm on viewers.
Suppoting details:
i) For example, a film with a tale of murder after murder.
ii) I am sure that the viewers' brains are filled with images of violence.
iii) Some might go out and imitate what they saw.

4th main point: Films and television programmes also determine the way we live.
Supporting details:
i) It also affects in our daily conversations. For example, we tend to use phrases like 'damn-it' or 'right-on' which might be not good for the children.
ii) We might also say vulgar words which will be poisonous to society.
iii) We patronize fast-food restaurants and also give each other nicknames such as 'Rambo' and others.
iv) We are all living a life of unrestrained limitation of what we saw on television and films.

5th main point: There are also television programmes that have their own good sides and bring benefits to us.
Supporting details:
i) For example, documentaries and other educational programmes are definitly beneficial.
ii) We learned about wildlife and our planet. We also learn about other people in other countries, their cultures and more.
iii) They gave better perspective of the world that we live in, the dangers we face, our heritage and responsibilities we have.

Conclusion:
- It is up to us, the viewers, to decide what type of programmes we want to watch.
- We can fill our brains with all sorts of mucks about violence and killing or we can learn more about ourselves and the world so we can truly live like what nature intended us to.