Similarities and differences: different accounts of the same topic
About this video
Two texts about the same event can present it in very different ways. David tells a plain story about dropping eggs, then shows an overdramatic movie-trailer version, and uses a Venn diagram to compare what they share (the facts) and how they differ in tone, music and purpose.
You'll be able to
- identify what two accounts of the same event have in common.
- compare differences in tone, purpose and presentation between two accounts.
- explain how each medium emphasises different aspects of a story.
Key words
- Venn diagram
- Two overlapping circles used to show what two things share and how they differ.
- tone
- The attitude or feeling a text gives off, such as straightforward or overdramatic.
- purpose
- The reason a text was made, such as to inform or to entertain.
- medium
- The form used to tell a story, like a spoken account, a book or a film.
Transcript
- [David] Hello readers, I wanna talk about how two texts about the same subject can approach that subject in wildly different ways. Let's look at a story told across two different styles of media, and as we do, pay attention to their similarities and their differences in presentation.
First, let me tell you straightforwardly about a time I went to the grocery store. I needed eggs, so I biked to the store along my usual route. I opted for an 18-er instead of my usual dozen, but when I got home, I tripped on the stairs to my apartment and I lost fully two thirds of the eggs.
Oh, it was awful. I was really crappy about it. I had to go out and get more eggs. Okay, so that's one take. Now, watch this. The following documentary was based on real events. A simple trip to the grocery store ends in tragedy. 18 went out, only six came back.
"18 Count", coming to WKHN, the 12th of never. (David coughs) I'd like to draw a quick Venn diagram of these two events. What do they have in common? Right, so here are the things that the two depictions have in common, right? They both contain a depiction of the event of the number of eggs that I bought and then lost.
So I bought 18. I lost 12, only six remained, and let me label this. The one on the left is my version, the original version, and the one on the right is the movie version. Now, here are some things that they don't have in common. My version has a straightforward tone, and the movie version has this big overdramatic tone, right?
My version describes irritation. The second version calls it a tragedy. My version has no music, and the movie version has this intense music. The purpose of these two accounts is different. One is to inform, there's me telling you a story. The other is to entertain.
Here's a trailer for a movie coming to theaters. It can be illuminating to compare two versions of the same story, because certain aspects of the story get magnified in each medium. Me telling you the story amplifies how crabby I felt. Whereas if we pretend someone else was making the film adaptation of "18 Count", they might choose to focus on a different aspect, the drama and the tragedy of losing the eggs themselves, right?
Probably there's lots of slow motion shots as each egg individually bursts on the stairs, desperately sad violin music behind it. Anyway, the point is that next time you go see a movie version of your favorite book or video game, or the next time you're reading two different accounts to the same event or topic, think about what elements are emphasized in each one.
What does one medium do well that another one does poorly? Food for thought. Well, no eggs for thought, anyway, I'm fresh out. Ba-dum-cha! You can learn anything, David out.
Video © Khan Academy, used under CC BY-NC-SA. Watch on Khan Academy. Puzzicle is not affiliated with Khan Academy.