Abstract: In States of Shock, a play written in the late stage of his writing career, Sam Shepard, a well-known contemporary American playwright, re-presents the television coverage on the Gulf War and re-creates the war panorama that has erased the injuries and sufferings, depicting ordinary people's indifference toward the Gulf War as nothing more than a television event, and drawing attention to the war narratives by veterans and their anxious plea to be “seen”. By mixing the multi-dimensional details of the battlefield with soldiers' living conditions and people's emotional reactions, the playwright reveals another perspective on the Gulf War narrative: the war forced both soldiers and civilians into “states of shock”. In States of Shock, Shepard constructs another Gulf War narrative that differs from the official discourse, questioning and animadverting upon the official coverage of the Gulf War.

Key words: Sam Shepard, States of Shock, Gulf War, picture, television