Hwi-uh-wi-uh-waaat? Political Remix

Protector of (literally) more media than we can handle.

Youtube. Facebook. Talk shows. Vine (rest in peace). An estimate two years ago posited that Youtube alone had more than 1 billion hours (some sources say 2 billion) of content online. In the two years since, that figure has only increased.

Two billion hours is a lot. A lot a lot. That’s 216,000 years of video available, way more than any one person could hope to view in their entire lives, assuming 24/7 viewing. Usership has increased too, with the average American spending around 40 minutes per day on any given Youtube visit. As access and ease of creation has gotten rolled out to more and more people, the uses for video have ranged from pure humor, to political.

Interestingly, political use of video has existed for more than a century. Nowadays it’s almost impossible to do anything on the interwebz without encountering some new video slandering or praising a politician. And with a score of monumental gaffs, one political leader has surged to the lead.

The current commander in chief has made a number of remarkable comments about all sorts of issues. Taken in context, his speeches can certainly garner a response from the crowd. Out of context without the associated audio, his words become illegible, mindless rambling. But why read it when you can watch? A political remix video has surfaced, placing the president into scenes from the absurdly popular show Game of Thrones.

In the video we see excerpts from Trump’s speeches juxtaposed with GoT characters, typically rolling their eyes in reaction. There’s a number of effects at play to push an association of Trump’s ideas with absurdity. The first is simply hearing his words spoken out of context, which can make almost anything seem however the author wishes it to. The second is the comparison to a fictional, over the top world, placing doubt on the legitimacy of his ramblings.

Even in the fantasy world his ideas are met with scorn and derision, from characters that don’t exist. It’s a highly effective look at the ridiculousness of some of the suggestions we’ve heard, where a woman with three pet dragons facing down an army of the dead still won’t take his complaints seriously.