Video recordings of instruction have been a mainstay for supporting conversations about teaching by representing particularities of instruction and by presenting the viewer with a multitude of details for interpretation. In this essay, we contrast non-fictional videotapes of actual classroom interaction with fictional animations of classroom scenarios. To substantiate this contrast, we compare it with how the particular and the general are represented in school algebra and geometry. We suggest that the very strengths of video for supporting some conversations about teaching may be drawbacks in allowing for other conversations and argue for representations that viewers can use to share their own experiences.