The short story "Videotape" written by Don DeLillo, describes the filming of a home video that almost seems purposely directed to catch the act of a homicide. DeLillo puts behind the camera a little girl whose innocent curiosity produces a awry tape that continues to be played over and over again despite the fact of it's pure rawness of the crime being filmed. Societies crave for violence and to push the limits of what is perceived to be appropriate has grown drastically and caused generations to become desensitized to the brutality and horror of events such as homicides. "Videotape" is an example of this desensitization. DeLillo draws the reader in with seemingly casual conversation to imply the lack of emotional responsiveness created by this video, as if this were a normal occurrence and should be shown to your family members, wives, and kids for entertainment. The reasoning behind DeLillo's almost missing sense of compassion while telling the story is to form an underlying apathetic tone allowing for the reader to feel comfortable and unaffected by a horrific scene of events being described. This tone created shapes the feelings and ideas one in the present day experiences when watching a video clip or movie that shows what is supposed to be an overly horrifying event. The viewer finds themself drawn to the horror and continues to watch with few nonchalant reactions that indicate society's over exposure to violence and negative stimuli.

The story itself is written in simple syntax and informal diction including repetition of pronouns such as, "You", "It", and "They". DeLillo wants the audience to be a part of the story that he is telling and wants them to have a sense or feeling of normality. The use of numerous references to "you" allows the audience to become a viewer of this tape, however, DeLillo's structure of the story is purposely meant to guide the viewer into a certain perspective and elicit a specific response.  The author writes as if he is directly speaking to the reader, "You know about families and their video cameras. You know how kids get involved..." (52). The informality of the language in the story corresponds with the informality of opinions and emotions relating to graphic footage shown in the present day.  Another technique that DeLillo uses to convey this message of desensitization is the method in which he tells the story.

The description of the actual video throughout the entire story is very limited and not detailed, but the effort to make the reader feel a connection or relation to the video goes as far as to incorporate family memories and spouses. "You don't usually call your wife over to the TV set. She has her programs, you have yours. But there's a certain urgency here. You want her to see how it looks. The tape has been running forever and now the thing is finally going to happen and you want her to be here when he's shot." (54).  The imbalance of casual conversation and specific detail of the main event of the story shows the reality of the conflict between the inappropriate nature of obscene events and the absence of sensitivity to them. DeLillo continues to reference the readers "wife" throughout the entire story giving the story even more normality. The audience at this point can perceive that this videotape has been shown to a wide variety of viewers and that it's only typical of them to pass on the video to others. This is exactly the feeling DeLillo is trying to provoke, because it mirrors the actions of society. When one person views something graphic or shocking their immediate response is to share their experiences with another, ultimately continuing on the negative exposure to more and more people.  Today's society uses media such as social networking and television to spotlight tragic events without considering the effects of what too much contact with graphic footage does to the population. DeLillo states in his texts, "And maybe you're being a little aggressive here, practically forcing your wife to watch. Why? What are you telling her?" (55).  In this phrase DeLillo is mimicking the actions of today's world and how addicted we are becoming to realism of violence and crime. His work is a direct correlation and representation of just how normal and casual death is becoming to our minds. Through repetition of simple and conversational language, realism, and informality DeLillo is able to voice a message of concern towards the over exposure of violence and negative stimuli that is desensitizing societies emotional responsiveness.
