Videodrome Analysis: Predicting Our Addictions

David Cronenberg predicts our addictions to technology, sex, and power in Videodrome, his most idiosyncratic work, and his most important.

“We live in overstimulated times.”

This line from Nicki Brand (Debbie Henry) in Videodrome probably felt radically true for audiences in 1983. I imagine it feels truer in 2025. The great movies contain themes, ideas, and anxieties that stretch across time. And David Cronenberg’s body horror extravaganza is a great movie because it warns against society’s addictions, addictions that have become more prominent and problematic in the 40-plus years since the film’s release.

The quote from Brand, a radio host who finds herself involved with TV station president Max Renn (James Woods), isn’t the only line that struck me as prophetic in Videodrome’s examination of addictions. One needs only to watch the film’s opening scene, an ad for Renn’s CIVIC-TV. The tagline reads “CIVIC-TV, the one you take to bed with you.” In just a few seconds, Cronenberg displays the rising addiction to technology while predicting that one day, we’ll be “taking our TVs to bed with us,” a prophecy we have clearly fulfilled with our smartphones and tablets.

Cronenberg, who directed and wrote the script for this psychic (and psycho) body horror classic, litters several other predictions about our culture’s addictions throughout the story. Living in “overstimulated times,” according to the film, implies society being enraptured by technology and sex. Renn’s CIVIC-TV could be described as edgy, trashy, or pornographic. And he is consumed by chasing the “next big thing,” which he finds in the form of “Videodrome,” a new program that features sexual violence and torture.

In the capitalist society Cronenberg envisions where profit triumphs over purity (a society that looks far too similar to our own), Renn cares not about the potential harm this new show is causing; he cares only about the bottom line. “It’s a matter of economics,” he flatly states. The film imagines a world where consumers are given too much of what they want, and the rich and powerful don’t acknowledge the harm if that harm is lining their own pockets. Sound familiar?

The film, then, highlights the consequences of addiction: addiction to media, addiction to sex, addiction to wealth and power. Cronenberg even goes so far as to imply that these addictions can become our religion, as evidenced in the movie’s ending. Max’s exposure to “Videodrome” has caused him to experience strange, disturbing visions and dreams. Cronenberg deftly shoots these scenes in a way that causes viewers to wonder what is reality and what is fantasy. This blurring of what is real and what is a figment of the imagination is another key point: Videodrome suggests that the addictions that come from a corrupt system shape the minds of those who are addicted.

At the film’s climax, Bianca (Sonja Smits), the daughter of media theorist Dr. Brian O’Blivion (Jack Creley) persuades Max to kill those who have wronged him throughout the story, telling him: “Long live Videodrome. Long live the new flesh.” Max himself utters the phrase, “I am the video word made flesh.” This phrase is a direct correlation to the Gospel of John. The apostle uses the term “word made flesh” to describe Christ. When Max utters this slogan, he places upon himself a divine purpose. He has become fully consumed by “Videodrome;” his addictions have become his religion. Similarly, the idea of killing the old flesh to make room for the “new flesh” is a twisted perversion of the New Testament concept of “putting off the old man” and “putting on the new man” when one converts to Christianity. Cronenberg warns of the dangers of making consumption of media, sex, and power a religion of its own.

I haven’t even discussed the filmmaking components, which are spectacular. Videodrome remains a body horror classic for many reasons. I outlined the thematic reasons, but another reason involves the body horror itself. Featuring makeup and special effects from the award-winning Rick Baker, much of the movie’s signature shots include incredible visuals. Shots of lips extending out from a television set, a man sticking a videotape in his open abdomen, and a fleshy gun connected to a hand are all images that will leave a horrifying impact on any viewer. These images are not just for show, however. They are not connected to a shallow, schlocky horror film, but rather a film with important ideas about addiction at its core.

Videodrome writhes with pessimism. The final moments suggest a society that could potentially turn on the new media, but not without a tremendous cost. Max is driven by a desire to make money, satisfy his fleshly desires, and become an important member of society. He tells a colleague regarding “Videodrome,” “I think it’s what’s next.” “Then God help us,” she responds. The last shot suggests these pursuits cost Max both his body and soul. It’s an essential, almost spiritual, message, one Cronenberg layers with bleak terror, as he is prone to do. Videodrome should be considered one of the auteur’s most idiosyncratic works, but it elevates itself into “classic” territory because of its timeless, pessimistic message about the consequences of addiction.

Videodrome is now available to watch on digital and on demand and on DVD and Blu-Ray.

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