@leightonwrites
Instagram · Speaker address
@leightonwrites An encore presentation of How Much Things Should Cost. Did I get these right?
Trending short videosCreator's opinion on what things should cost
The edit1 shot · 3 text
Shots Text2:05
Performance
- Views
- 641.1K
- Likes
- 57.5K
- Comments
- 475
- Engagement
- 9%
- Outlier
- 228.6×
- Length · 10 Jul 2026
- 2:05
Video #36139 · Speaker address
Creator's opinion on what things should costfrom @leightonwrites
[01]
Overview
The creator presents a comedic, opinion-based slideshow detailing what he believes various products and services should cost. He disclaims that his opinions are not based on facts or economics, then proceeds to list ideal prices for items like sodas, college tuition, beers, car tires, steaks, and train tickets, before concluding with a 'Hall of $40' for items like dress shirts, cell phone plans, oil changes, and concert tickets.
[02]
Simple outline
- 1State controversial personal thesis
- 2Preemptively disarm critics
- 3Rapidly re-evaluate relatable items
- 4Directly solicit audience debate
[03]
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Classification
Format
Concepts
Elements
Account
[05]
Hook analysis
What stops the scroll in the first 3 seconds
Title hook · 55%
HOW MUCH THINGS SHOULD COST
Verbal hook · 35%
Here's how much things should cost.
Visual hook · 10%
A man sits in front of a laptop displaying a presentation slide with a large title, holding a small clicker, indicating a structured presentation.
[06]
Hook template
Steal this for your own video
How Much Should Actually Cost
- — How Much A Wedding Should Actually Cost
- — How Much A Gym Membership Should Actually Cost
- — How Much A College Textbook Should Actually Cost
[07]
Hook and payoff
The promise the opener makes, and how the video pays it back
Hook
A bold, relatable, and subjective declaration of intent ('Here's how much things should cost'), immediately followed by a self-deprecating qualifier ('based on nothing but my own dumb opinion') that lowers the stakes and invites the audience in on the joke.
Payoff
A direct and open-ended question to the audience that explicitly asks for their judgment ('Am I right, wrong, insane?'). This serves as a powerful call to action, converting passive viewers into active commenters by inviting them to participate in the debate the video was designed to start.
[08]
Narrative framework
The structural pattern this video runs on
Framework
The 'Dumb Opinion' Gauntlet
To present a series of subjective, often controversial, judgments on common items or topics, framed as a personal 'gut feeling' rather than fact, in order to provoke debate and high engagement. The creator acts as an arbiter of 'how things should be,' ignoring reality for comedic and relatable effect.
- 1
The Immunity Clause
The creator explicitly lists all the logical frameworks (facts, economics, reality) that their opinions are *not* based on. This functions as a pre-emptive defense against criticism, framing the entire video as entertainment and insulating the creator from 'well, actually' comments by acknowledging them upfront.
- 2
The Re-Pricing Gauntlet
A rapid-fire sequence where the creator presents a series of common, relatable items or services and assigns a new, often drastically different, value to them. Each item serves as a mini-vignette of relatable frustration.
- 3
The Thematic Grouping
A pattern-interrupt beat where several disparate items are suddenly grouped under a single, unifying rule or price point (e.g., 'The Hall of $40'). This breaks the monotony of the list and demonstrates a new layer of the creator's arbitrary logic.
Themes
Techniques
Post caption
An encore presentation of How Much Things Should Cost. Did I get these right?
Text overlays
title · beginning
HOW MUCH THINGS SHOULD COST
contextual · beginning
Based on nothing but my own dumb opinion.
informational · beginning
NOT BASED ON • FACTS • SCIENCE • ECONOMICS • REALITY • SUPPLY & DEMAND • POLITICS • CULTURE • KLYE COOKE OR AMANDA BATULA
Transcript
Here's how much things should cost. This is based only on my own dumb opinion. Before you come at me, realize this is not based on facts, science, economics, reality, supply and demand, culture, politics, or anything having to do with Kyle Cook or Amanda Batula. Again, one middle aged man's dumb opinion. Let's get into it. A Coke in a restaurant, a dollar. There's no reason I should be paying $3.95 for a Coke in a restaurant or a Sprite in a restaurant because I don't drink that the server is gonna come by and a refill with better. A dollar. Let's talk about higher education. This, a good in state school, $5,000 a year. The more Hogwarts y your school looks if you're going to a private out of state school, the more Hogwarts y it looks, the more expensive it's gonna best, but it doesn't need to be exorbitant. It doesn't need to be a $100 a year. 25 a year right there. We're a hella Hogwarts y looking school. Beers. This beer right here, this is a Coors Light. This is a Miller Light On Tap. That's a $2 beer. This beer right here, somewhere out there, people are paying $89 for an IPA. It's a $4 beer. $2 beer, $4 beer. Set of tires, a new set of tires is $200. That's $50 a tire right there. And y'all are gonna jump in my comments and be like, it worst more to make a tire than $50. I don't care. They should cost $50. Steak in a restaurant, that's an $18 steak. A train trip across the country, you should be able to get from one coast to another on a train for $350. The infrastructure has been there for hundreds of years. There's not a lot of guesswork in this. $3.50 better you from one coast to another. This is what I call the haul of $40. Every single thing on this page should be $40. So a nice dress shirt, $40. Your cell phone plan, $40. An oil change, also $40. And a ticket to the biggest concert event of the year in a gigantic stadium, $40. Now if you're going premium seats or a box or something like that, it's gonna cost you a little more. You're you're gonna be in the hundreds of dollars tier, but a seat in a stadium for a concert, $40. Am I right, wrong, insane? Let me know what you think.