The Numbing Nature of Drama
The narrator of DeLillo's short story, "Videotapes," is a man that develops an unhealthy obsession with a poor quality videotape of a highway murder. Over time, he views the video many times, realizing the murder tape takes away the humanity of its victim. It turns a tragic occurrence into nothing but a flashy display of technology. This terrifying look at drama and the dehumanizing effect of crimes has now found a new gruesome parallel in the case of David Burke (aka d4vd). In Delillo's world, the tragedy was a VHS tape; in today's world it will be a viral news cycle. Charges were recently filed against d4vd for the murder and dismemberment of a 14-year-old girl named Celeste. A virtual spectacle erupted. Just like the narrator in the story who counted the individual frames of the crime, the internet began to play out this tragedy on repeat. Users on TikTok and X have started to juxtapose the horrific details of the case with dv4d's music, ...