Structure

Fiona Maazel’s short story “Let’s Go to the Videotape” begins in medias res, or in the middle of events, with Nick and his son, Gus, in the television studio of the video contest Nick has been invited to.

The story does not follow a chronological plot structure as it includes several flashbacks. In these, we learn about the fatal accident that killed Nick’s wife and the inefficient ways Nick has coped with it ever since (e.g. ll. 41-46). We also learn that was Gus is uncomfortable with the idea of the video being broadcast on the TV show - something which Nick ignored (ll. 32-35).

The story also contains foreshadowing elements, such as this sentence about the tragic accident: “a car accident that was still being litigated today” (l. 10). The sentence refers to the fact that legal blame still has not been assigned, but it also foreshadows how blame on a more personal turns out to burden Gus. This highlights how Gus and Nick have not had any closure and have not talked about th...