This fall I challenged students in a 200-level writing class to tell a story using a racing bar chart. It was an interesting experiment, and I think, overall, a successful one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students had their choice of subjects, but we explored <\/a>several articles on racing bar charts, including \u201cBar Chart Races Are Everywhere. Here\u2019s Why Some Data Viz Experts Hate Them<\/a>.\u201d and \u201cBar Chart Races: Short on Analysis, But Fun to Watch\u201d<\/a> discussed whether racing bar charts could successfully visualize serious data stories or if racing bar charts should primarily be viewed as entertainment or a \u201csugar rush.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t think we ever came to a definitive agreement, and students selected a range of subjects\u2014from popular television shows to the location of forest fires to book publishing trends. Of course, what is a \u201cserious\u201d subject depends on perspective. To someone who just likes to read a novel now and again, publishing trends might not be a serious subject. To someone planning a career in publishing, book trends and sales are serious subjects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I learned a lot from watching the racing bar charts and found the information presented easy to digest and remember. I had no idea how much The Lion King<\/em> had dominated Broadway. I was reminded we had bad taste in television in the 80s (seriously, why was The Dukes of Hazzard<\/em> so popular?). I learned a lot about the evolution of video games as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We used Excel and Flourish, and I told students that the technology would be the easy part of the assignment; finding the story would be the challenging part. In the end, not all students agreed with me, but I think students did a great job exploring both platforms.\u00a0 No one had previous experience with Flourish, and three or four students were familiar with Excel. While not everyone enjoyed creating the spreadsheet, most students found the technologies relatively easy to use. Flourish\u2019s tutorials are top-notch (and include one on creating cumulative data in Excel), and I created some of my own as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Students had a week to research and complete their racing bar chart. Everyone had to include a minimum combined 20 rows and columns of data (some went well beyond this\u2014one project included over 240 rows of data). Everyone needed to include categories\u2014to make the chart interactive\u2014and everyone needed to include captions. Captions were the biggest issue, I think. Some students were frustrated with the options for placing the captions (and ended up removing them), and I\u2019m not certain they always added much to the chart. Everyone was also asked to make their data cumulative\u2014just to learn how to make data cumulative in Excel. Finally, everyone had to write a couple paragraphs about the story they were trying to tell and about their process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most students said they would use Flourish again if they had a project that required charts or other types of data visualizations. Overall, I think most of the racing bar charts were well done, and I was particularly pleased with students\u2019 creativity and adaptability. Many students had to adjust their topics based on the data they could find.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two students volunteered (or perhaps more accurately said yes when I asked) to share their work. Kayla Bogan\u2019s chart explores Broadway theater and shows that since 2000 The Lion King<\/em> has made more money than any other Broadway show. Both Hamilton<\/em> and Wicked<\/em> have impressive numbers as well (particularly given that they debuted after The Lion King<\/em>). Lily VanMiddlesworth\u2019s chart takes a look at some of the best-selling books from 2017 \u2013 2023 and provides insight into how much BookTok and other online social platforms have influenced book sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exploring the evolution of Broadway over the last 20 years brings a sense of nostalgia. Through the years, cultural changes have impacted Broadway themes and narratives showcasing the differences in time. In the early 2000s, classic Broadway shows like The Producers<\/em> were the powerhouses of Broadway, along with Disney classics like The Lion King<\/em> and Beauty and the Beast.<\/em> When the mega-musical Wicked<\/em> premiered in 2003, it quickly became the top competition for The Lion King<\/em> and remained one of the highest-grossing shows of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the 2010s, there was an uptick in jukebox and movie musicals, bringing a new era to Broadway. When Hamilton, <\/em>an innovative hip-hop musical about American history featuring a diverse cast, premiered in 2015, it quickly became a cultural phenomenon. Hamilton <\/em>then became a favorite behind Wicked<\/em> and The Lion King<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, when the 2020 pandemic hit, Broadway went dark for the longest time in history, losing billions of dollars in revenue. Fortunately, by 2022, Broadway was back in full force, with The Lion King<\/em> still leading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, exploring the different categories of Broadway shows, compared to their respective years and grosses, helps tell a nostalgic and informative story of shifting preferences, innovation, and resilience over the last 20 years of Broadway.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some specifics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“Highest Grossing Broadway Shows” by Kayla Bogan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n