One of the most exciting films announced as part of this year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup is David Cronenberg’s science fiction thriller Crimes of the Future, starring Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, and Léa Seydoux. Cronenberg is a Cannes favorite, appearing at the festival in past years to debut his films Cosmopolis and Maps to the Stars. A new Cronenberg title is always exciting; he’s one of the few legacy filmmakers that emerged in the 1970s who is still relevant today. While iconic directors like William Friedkin and John Carpenter suffered from a period of critical decline, Cronenberg continues to create challenging work that pushes the boundaries of what the audience is comfortable with.

Cronenberg has experimented with various genres, including science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime. Generally, his films can’t be pinned down as just one thing. However, there’s an element of social commentary that’s present within all of his work, even his earliest films. Cronenberg’s initial run of classics was groundbreaking due to the films' violent content, but his 1983 masterpiece, Videodrome, explores themes of radicalization, extremism, and media cynicism that are spookily timely.

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Videodrome is set within the era-accurate world of UHF broadcasting in Cronenberg’s hometown, Toronto. James Woods stars as Max Renn, the cynical president of the broadcasting station CIVIC-TV. Renn is responsible for finding shocking programming, including snuff films. When CIVIC-TV's satellite operator, Harlan (Peter Dvorsky), shows him a Malaysian signal called "Videodrome," he’s instantly hooked. Videodrome depicts unnamed victims being tortured to death. Renn obsessively watches the signal. By the time he realizes that the content isn’t being faked, he’s already fully addicted to watching.

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Image Via Universal Pictures

Although there’s an element of sci-fi that is introduced later on in the story, the idea of radicalization through media addiction was ahead of its time. Too often in the recent news cycle do we hear about how violent cults indoctrinate new members by gradually exposing them to content that is presented as “entertainment.” According to the official definition given by Interpol, “terrorists use social media for radicalization, recruitment, funding, planning, and execution of terror activities.”

A study by the counter-terrorism think tank Quilliam noted that video sharing sites like YouTube are often used by extremist movements that prey upon susceptible young minds. These viewers are vulnerable. Finding a community that fosters a sense of belonging can break down any pre-existing objections they have to violent radical action. Although YouTube and social media weren’t present in Toronto in the 1980s, the illicit CIVIC-TV station and Videodrome are eerily similar. It’s not stated outright, but Renn falls into the same category of politically motivated terrorists that we see in the 21st century.

Cronenberg shows that the first step of Renn’s radicalization is his initial introduction to the content. He’s already in a place where he’s looking for something shocking; that’s precisely what he makes a living doing. The satire of corporate cruelty feels particularly timely. The false presentation of watching Videodrome as “work” allows Renn to dig deeper into the content. Under the guise of doing research, Renn becomes gradually desensitized to watching people be tortured to death. There was a risk that Cronenberg took: Renn is obviously a "bad guy" from the beginning, but through Videodrome, his violent fantasies become an act of political terrorism.

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Image Via Universal Pictures

Videodrome is seductive to Renn. It’s addictive because he can’t access everything at once, and seeing only snippets of the various methods of torture gets him to keep watching. This is precisely how his mind is warped, and how far-right groups today hook in vulnerable new members: you have to be “part of the club,” and one of the rewards is getting to see even more than if you’ve already proven their merit. Cronenberg shows how this selectivity creates an obsessive impulse within Renn. He's not a likable character in any sense of the world, but Cronenberg slowly makes his alienating nature feel more robotic.

By the time Renn realizes that Videodrome isn’t fictitious, he’s already converted his entire schedule to center around watching. He anticipates how each torture video will be different. Videodrome encourages him to think creatively. The way Cronenberg depicts the violence was different from his body horror films up until that point. The Brood and Scanners have some deeply disturbing death sequences, but the scares in Videodrome are directly linked to the film's technological themes. In one particularly terrifying moment, Renn's girlfriend Brand (Debbie Harry) appears as a hallucination that steps out of the television screen.

What Renn doesn’t realize is that he’s starting to think like a terrorist. When the softcore pornographer Masha (Lynne Gorman) tells him that the footage isn’t faked, these ideas are already firmly planted within his mind. He has nightmarish visions of holding a handgun, prophesying his own demise. There is a perpetual sense of anxiety. Obviously, Renn is an inherently malicious person, but Cronenberg gives him the characteristics of a drug addict unable to satisfy his urges.

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Image Via Universal Pictures

Renn has already become radicalized before he learns that Videodrome is a political front. It’s a socio-political weapon that’s gradually been affecting viewers across the country. Renn isn’t an inherently political person, but he’s found a community within Videodrome. This is how Cronenberg takes his directorial skills to the next level. He had never failed to come up with shocking imagery, but Videodrome left many of the most disturbing prospects up to the viewers' imagination. Videodrome itself has the potential to create more monsters like Renn as it spreads.

While Videodrome unfortunately was a box office bomb, it stands as Cronenberg’s most disturbing body horror film. It's obviously not a small statement; The Fly has a more tragic story, Scanners is perhaps more graphic, and his later dramatic films A History of Violence and Eastern Promises had more complex stories. However, none of his films carry the same political weight. Cronenberg explores the tactics that violent extremists use.Videodrome has unfortunately become more relevant than ever.