Youtube is a platform used by millions of creators around the world who post videos for their viewers based on their niche. From ASMR to clothing hauls to makeup tutorials, Youtube allows their content creator to reach an audience that would be otherwise unattainable, and inspire, educate, and entertain their viewers. However, no one would expect to be manipulated and deceived by these “content creators”. In expensive home tours, viewers are conned into thinking that the pricey homes are luxurious and out-of-reach for anyone who is considered wealthy. Expensive home tour videos over exaggerates the actual value and aesthetic appeal of the homes being toured, which tricks the audience into believing that there’s actual value to the house.
To analyze and interpret the intentions of the creators of expensive home tours, there will be a focus on the tour guide, hostess, the Youtube/cameraman, and the additional accessories added to the house. This paper will examine 4-5 different expensive home tour videos. Each home will cost more than $1 million, just to specify what’s considered expensive. Each video will be dissected, zoning in on the sultriness of the tour guide, the dramatized reactions of the cameraman, the types and prices of the luxury accessories added to the house, and the wealth of the tourist and hostess. To be more aligned with the delivery of the content, this information will be presented in the form of a video that warns viewers about the deceit of expensive home tour videos.
All in all, this is an important topic because we live in a time of greed and chauvinism, where people take pride in spending money based on the appeal instead of the quality or necessity of the item. These videos play on that notion of gluttony by presenting a house that has little to no value, as a home that’s fit for a king. Not only does this apply to these specific viewers, it’s applicable to anyone who spends money on expensive items; clothes, shoes, food, cars. These things are all inexpensive and are marketed as some luxury product that only the elite can afford, furthering the socioeconomic divide between us.