Common Sense Media Review
By Matt Springer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Startling viewers is main goal of "documentary" series.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Paranormal Witness
What's the Story?
Ghosts, demons, unexplained phenomena -- these are subjects often described with skepticism and treated as quasi-fiction. PARANORMAL WITNESS relies upon direct testimony and documentation, including photos and videos, to attempt to take an unfiltered look at these strange occurrences, utilizing reenactments as well to attempt to bring these stories to life.
Is It Any Good?
Paranormal Witness is a "documentary" series created with a very specific, if very sizable, audience in mind. This is a show for people who either already believe in the supernatural, or who are inclined to believe given the flimsiest degree of evidence. If you tune into this series waiting for the typical scientist or psychologist to appear with their alternate explanation for events, you'll be waiting a long time.
It's definitely gripping television, and the techniques the series uses in its reenactments to create tension and suspense have an impact. It's also hard to confront the experiences that the interview subjects actually had without wondering if there wasn't something unexplained involved. But without any attempt to examine these experiences from anything but the most accepting and believing viewpoint, Paranormal Witness becomes just another way to tell spooky stories around the glowing LED of your television set, instead of a glowing bonfire in the woods.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the techniques the show utilizes to create its reenactments. Did the editing and filming make an impact on you?
Do you think the show makes a convincing argument for the existence of ghosts? Why or why not?
TV Details
- Premiere date : September 7, 2011
- Network : Syfy
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : October 10, 2022
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