"Videotape" by Don DeLillo
Message Prompt

The message behind “Videotape” is that people will watch a disturbing video clip for entertainment. The story behind “Videotape” is that a twelve-year-old girl is filming a man driving in the car behind her. He gives a slight wave, and continues driving. The dull footage seems to go on forever, until the man is shot in the head and instantly killed. The clip shot by the young girl is shown constantly shown on the news shows, and people continue to watch it over and over again. The message behind this short story is that people will watch anything, no matter how disturbing, so long as it is entertaining. The man watching the video in the story calls his wife in during the part where the man is shot. He wants her to see it because of how real it is. The victim is completely unaware of the shot that is about to come. His death is utterly real, as his body now slumps against the door. The footage is real and not the kind of violence one would find in the movies. Because it is so authentic and disturbing, people continue to watch the video over and over again. The message that DeLillo is trying to convey is that people watch material that is dark and upsetting because it amuses them. It shows real clips of human life, and no matter how unsettling the content is, people watch it anyway. A real life example of this is Steve Irwin. Irwin’s death was captured on film, and many people tried to find the footage and publicize it. The material on film was disturbing, and inappropriate to release to the public. Yet many wanted to view the footage. It would have served as entertainment.

An example in the text that supports DeLillo’s message reads, “…they show it a thousand times a day. They show it because it exists, because they have to show it, because they have to show it, because this is why they’re out there, to provide our entertainment…The tape sucks the air right out of your chest but you watch it every time”. This supports his idea because he says right in this passage that the video provides entertainment. It disturbs the viewer, but he or she watches it every single time it is on the television.

The relationship between the message and the medium is that people will watch videos no matter how unsettling they are, and the medium that the story is told through is a video camera. “Man with a Rifle” relates to “Videotape” because the subjects are similar. In “Videotape”, an unsuspecting man is suddenly shot to death. In “Man with a Rifle”, a man is holding an invisible rifle in front of unsuspecting people passing by. Nobody seems to notice him, as the victim in “Videotape” did not notice his murderer. Also, both works rely on authenticity. The death sequence in “Videotape” is realistic, and unlike fake violence in the movies. Meanwhile the photo is similar to “Videotape” because the people are unaware of the men holding the real or invisible gun. Both works are commenting on the belief that nobody is aware of their fate, and any situation could end in two different ways. A person’s death could take place anywhere, and this is portrayed in both works. Therefore, “Videotape” and “Man with a Rifle” are similar not only in the subjects, but in theories as well.