Abstract Content analysis, it is unanimously agreed, is a fundamental component of physics education research. In this address I will discuss, on the basis of several examples, how various research standpoints resulted in different ways of reexamining - "reconstructing", or "spotlighting" - the content for teaching: student-led, teacher-led, responsive, proactive. In so doing, I will reconsider, in particular, the merits of "simplification". I will plead for a way of spotlighting the content for teaching that leaves room for the search for consistency and conceptual links, making these explicit, while respecting a constraint of accessibility. The examples of colour phenomena and the transfer of light will serve to illustrate this objective. The final discussion will bear on how students' intellectual satisfaction might thus be increased, and constitute a powerful incitement for them to engage with physics.