Fuck the Poor

– The video starts with a shot of foggy city, perhaps alluding to the hidden message the man is presenting, or the diluted perception of the participants.
– We hear a man greeting people with good mornings, and asking them to take pamphlets sparking our interest in what charity or cause he is advocating for. We see a shot of him through a window with the top of the sign being cut off and the words “the Poor.” being visible. This leads us to believe the video will focus on a man trying to raise money for the poor.
– It is than revealed that the man is wearing a sign that says “Fuck the Poor,” causing an immediate reaction of anger to this startling and offensive sign.
– The choice in words is purposely derogatory and offensive to generate a strong reaction as opposed to phrasing a similar statement in a gentler manner.
– He chants it with a familiar “asking” tone that can’t help but unsettle you.
– Our initial reaction is certainly one of confusion and anger. This is represented by the first man they have respond. He asks “What do you mean ‘Fuck the Poor?'”
– This is followed up, by a shot of a man reading the pamphlet as the man with the sign chants “Fuck the Poor,” followed by a shot of him with his hands out saying “Fuck em.”
– The video purposely skews our perception by being vague drawing us in to fill in the gaps. This is a clever way to bring us into the argument and be in the shoes of those seeing the sign. This is purposefully done to make the reveal at the end more impactful and more personal to us as viewers.
– Of course this isn’t okay and we start to feel angry at this arrogant man who is clearly insensitive and naive as to what he’s talking about.
– A blurred out women looks at the pamphlet and says “This is disgusting,” once again emulating our response as viewers.
– We then get a shot of a man turning around after looking at the pamphlet saying “What’s all this?” This is once again great because it is following our mental process by asking the question we are all wondering.
– We are then hit with a great montage. It’s evident by the people’s responses that his pamphlet is blaming poor people for being lazy and not being up to the pace of the average citizen. This causes people to bombard the man. One says “It’s hard to get a job if you don’t have a place to live.” A possible catalyst in the pamphlet could have been dictating a common argument that poor people should just get jobs and work their way out of their situation. That is quickly followed up by people stating their financial situations and reasons what this man is saying is insensitive. At first this is great because they are all saying everything we would want to.
– The montage continues with a women demanding that he should spend his time trying to think of way to help these people. This is showing a typical example of people who criticize advocates. Another clearly offended man states that he was homeless for two years. The montage wraps up with a man asking if he is taking this too far and a police officer pointing at him and saying “That is offensive.” All of these things are what we are thinking and are shown to show how much people care and understand why people are poor. As the video soon shows however, these arguments aren’t really showing how we sympathize and care, but how we feel the need to correct those who are insensitive. We’re quick to correct others and not so quick to correct ourselves. It is easy to present ourselves as people who care, but that doesn’t mean we actually follow through on our words. Words came easy, but actions are more difficult.
– The words “We know you care” appear on the screen stating how people clearly do care about those in need.
– We then cut to the same man shaking a cup with a sign that reads “Help the Poor.” People just brush past him and don’t stop to donate any money. The sign comes no where close to generating the reaction the previous sign did. The people walking past him don’t make eye contact with him which is a very powerful image in and of itself. It shows the people don’t want to feel guilty so they keep their heads down and keep walking. Out of sight, out of mind.
– The words “Please care enough to give” appear on the screen to follow up the previous statement. This is powerful because it fits hand in hand with the previous statement. People certainly care, but do they care enough? This statement invokes so many questions.
– The video ends with links to the foundation’s website. We can hear the man still asking for money. He says “Anyone?” and we hear a coin drop into the cup as he thanks somebody. This conveys that we can make a difference.
– All of this works so well due to the way that the argument is presented. The color of the video is grey and purposefully done that way. The subject matter at hand is a very grey matter and a gloomy one. It fits the mood of the argument while also being able to articulate a point. Visually showing us the man and his sign make us a part of the argument. On paper we might agree that this is a clever experiment to make a point, but by visually bringing us into the argument we can go through the experiment itself. We naturally criticize the man even if we know there has to be a deeper point. It makes the video a personal journey to the reveal at the end when we are left to reflect on our own lives and viewpoints.
– The video is clever as a way to make a point and a way to call for action. We see that people do care that their fellow man is starving, but don’t necessarily know how to help. The link at the end brings you to a site that clearly aims to help the poor and gives you a chance to make a difference. We don’t see the man drop a coin in the cup, but we hear it as we see a link to the foundation’s site. This is no accident.