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Long Live The New Flesh!

Jessica Chobot
© N/A

**Potential spoilers** 

I’ve been really into “techie” movies of late. As stated in my previous article (WWJCD: Nanobots, Cybernetics and Androids, Oh MY!), movies such as Tron and books like Neuromancer have been my past time du jour. 

As with all great and illustrious hobbies, one comes across the good and the bad. In my case, the bad (or the phenomenally good dependant upon your point of view) has been represented by a cult classic B-movie known as: Videodrome. 

So, what is Videodrome?  

Videodrome is a 1983 film, directed by David Cronenberg and featuring James Woods as Max Renn, the president of cable station CIVIC-TV and Debbie Harry from the band Blondie as a relationship radio therapist by the name Niki Brand.  

Things in Max’s life are normal or as normal as can be for a struggling cable station that peddles Skinamax-grade soft core porn. When his hacker/smut provider buddy stumbles upon the scrambled signal of the snuff film, Videodrome, Max finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into the seedy underbelly of burgeoning technology, mind control, government experimental weaponry, S&M, torture and murder. 

Videodrome is so awful, its genius. Terrible special effects, ridiculous one-liners, decidedly un-sexy sex scenes and James Wood’s ass are more than enough to qualify this movie as “cultish”. However what really sticks out is its underlying theme. On the first layer, you have the basic plot, which anyone who watches the film can come to understand. You get the story of Max, how he becomes intertwined within the underworld of illicit video and human exploitation. All of it is pretty straight-forward stuff. 

However, the second layer is infinitely more intriguing. If one looks at Videodrome as a sociological commentary piece rather than a simple cult flick, questions regarding how the early 80’s viewed technology and its potential dangers crop up. With the right perspective, one could easily look at Videodrome as a political horror film. 

The hacking, scrambling mind control aspects that Cronenberg depicts within his film seems to be a primary motif within most early tech movies created in the 1980s. Both Videodrome and Tron take the main character and “alter” them in some way. For Tron it was by taking Flynn and transforming him into a program for insertion within the Master Control’s mainframe. In Videodrome, Max’s body is disfigured and his thoughts and actions under a government weapon supplier’s control. Much like Flynn, Max also transfigures into a hi-tech warrior of sorts, but more as a revolutionary/terrorist than a savior. This rebel theme makes sense due to the fact that the Cold War was still going strong and Americans were fearful about their place within the World’s future. 

What doesn’t make much sense to me is the obvious distrust within the film regarding the female species. The movie has a heavy “twisted female” theme running throughout. While most of the main females within the movie are strong, they are also highly suspicious and are given an air of abnormality.  Debbie’s character, Niki, is a respected radio personality who offers up well-intentioned but hard hitting relationship advice. Portrayed as a dominant female within a man’s world, her “perversion” is addressed later when she quickly sleeps with Max without wanting or hinting at a romantic relationship outside of base sex. Niki then ups the ante for both Max and the viewer when her sadomasochistic nature is revealed and her foolish remarks of wanting to audition for Videodrome are voiced. 

The other strong female within the movie is Bianca O’Blivion who is the daughter of the late Professor Brian O’Blivion (the guru behind the advancements of video interaction). Portrayed as a tight-assed, Nazi-esque, emotionally deficient female, Bianca succeeds in her goals and plans for both her father and Max, however, her achievements are undermined due to her emphasized lack of femininity.  Somehow, one is left feeling bad for Bianca because of her cold heart and disposition rather than the loss of her father and her constant battles against Spectacular Optical. 

Last but not least is the VHS/vagina opening that Max “hallucinates” has formed on his torso and is the way that Barry Convex and his minions manage to control Max’s mind. This vaginal/cassette opening is the source of nothing but corruption. It is the way that Convex forces Max to become a murderer but also is what allows Bianca O’Blivion to “reprogram” Max and make him aware of “The new flesh.” Yet, being aware of the new flesh does little to save Max and his flesh in real life. Rather than Bianca showing Max salvation, she just ends up giving him a new choice, allowing him to select for himself which pathway to Hell he prefers to tread. 

Outside of these three major examples, there are other, more obvious tones of animosity towards the female. The knowledge that Niki has been captured, tortured and killed by those from Spectacular Optical, the exploitation pornography that Max airs on his cable station, the hallucinations that Max endures which feature a sexually charged Niki trapped within the television and Videodrome and Bianca O’Blivion having to live with the loss of her father while trying to carry on his legacy at the cost of her personal existence. 

It’s surprising how these themes were so blatantly obvious to me while watching this film. In fact, I remember turning to my friend and making the comment, “I can’t believe how frightened people in the ‘80s were about technology and vaginas!” 

This gives me cause to stop and pause and wonder how much, if any, things have changed since the ‘80s till now with how quickly technology has advanced and will continue to do so. Has society become more comfortable with the advancements one comes across almost everyday? Will there be a level at which we simply cannot go any further? If so, once we hit that level, where do we go from there? 

All I have to say about that is….. 

Death to Videodrome! Long Live the New Flesh!