No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us

The home videos that Rocky left behind after killing his family and himself are a symbol of the red flags overlooked in the run-up to the murders. Their symbolism is somewhat unlikely, given that Snyder notes earlier on that Michelle’s father has scoured the videos for hints of what would happen and come up short. When Snyder watches them, she does catch one telling moment that Paul missed: when Michelle “coyly” describes the video she’s shooting as “evidence,” Rocky lunges for the camera with a “beastly” expression (102).

However, what the videos demonstrate above all else is the broader and often subtler atmosphere in which domestic violence can thrive, including the misogyny that underpins it. Discussing the many videos showing Michelle (despite her objections) in states of undress, Snyder remarks,

As in cinema, this objectification—woman as an erotic form for the filmmaker or viewer—underscored the power dynamic in their relationship. [...] I am tempted, of course, to avoid reading too much into these moments […] I also consider how ceding power to another person does not happen in a vacuum (101).

The “red flags” in the videos are therefore not red flags in the usual sense.