Analysis of YouTube Video Wealth Inequality in America

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Wealth inequality; its not a topic many people would choose to make a YouTube video about. However, earlier this year a video regarding this very topic went viral and received over 12 million views on YouTube. It is titled, Wealth Inequality in America, which was produced by the YouTube user Politizane. The issue of wealth inequality across the United States is well known, but this video shows you the magnitude of the disproportion in intense and illustrative manner. It uses charts to explain in the simplest of forms, the issue of inequality. The video is a little over six minutes long. It isn’t very showy but does illustrate the point the creators are trying to make very clearly. The series of charts are accompanied by what seems to be a southern male voice-over and some light background music. After heavy analysis of this viral video, it is my opinion that the creators set forth to make a video that would explain wealth inequality to the public using simplistic means in order to allow the audience to better understand the complex issue of wealth inequality in which I believe they have succeeded.
The many graphs presented in this video look visually simple, which allows for the audience to better understand the point the creators are trying to get across: there is a major disparity in wealth amongst the American people. The video heavily relies on polling data by Dan Ariely and Michael L. Norton in a 2011 article called Mother Jones, which showed Americans' mistaken expectations of wealth distribution Several topics are discussed throughout the video including, the 1% argument. It is argued and supported with data that 1 percent of the American populations holds the majority of the country’s wealth. The video looks for a simple ...

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...ence to stay interested in what is being discussed,
There is no lack of visual aids in this video. The entire video is filled with graphs and animation. The use of graphs alone may not have kept the audience as involved. Each graph is presented and is seemingly linked to next through smooth animations. The graphs are presented in a array of colors. However, the colors aren’t to busy as this may strew viewers away from watching all six minutes. The unique pairing of graphs and animation creates a smooth transition from topic to topic. This allows for the audience to follow the meaning of the video. All graphs are explained through the voice-over and a key is also presented. This allowed for the information to broadcasted to the audience clearly and meaningfully. The simplistic way in which this is done is of great value to understanding of the topic to the audience.

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