History Film / Videodrome

More specifically, the film follows the CEO of a small cable station who stumbles upon a broadcast signal that is broadcasting extremely violent and horrific things. He investigates. As you might expect from Cronenberg, things get worse...

** [=CivicTV=] and its head producer Moses is an {{Expy}} of infamous Toronto TV station Creator/CityTV (back when it was a single, innovative TV station filled with local programming, as opposed to the multi-station, corporately homogenized TV system it is today) and its co-founder Moses Znaimer.

* {{Gorn}}: Played with as the Videodrome signal is placed in snuff films.

* CanadaDoesNotExist: [[AvertedTrope Averted.]] Unlike many mainstream movies set in Toronto which omit specifying a particular city(or even that they're outside of the US), Toronto is actively discussed throughout the film and numerous landmarks such as the CN Tower and Red Rocket streetcars are shown. Justified as this film, like many of Cronenberg's films, was financed by Canada's film commission designed to promote Canada.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Max undergoes all of the psychological torture that goes into making a ManchurianAgent, with the Videodrome signal replacing drugs. Bianca successfully deprograms and reprograms him, with her using a mantra to reinforce his mission ("You are the video word made flesh." "I am the video word made flesh.") Harlan even invokes the "kill the assassin" trope by saying they were going to use Max until there's nothing left.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Max undergoes all of the psychological torture that goes into making a ManchurianCandidate, with the Videodrome signal replacing drugs. Bianca successfully deprograms and reprograms him, with her using a mantra to reinforce his mission ("You are the video word made flesh." "I am the video word made flesh.") Harlan even invokes the "kill the assassin" trope by saying they were going to use Max until there's nothing left.

* CanadaDoesNotExist: [[AvertedTrope Averted.]] Unlike many mainstream movies set in Toronto which omit specifying a particular city(or even that they're outside of the US), Toronto is actively discussed throughout the film and numerous landmarks such as the CN Tower and Red Rocket streetcars are shown.

* BedmateReveal: Played for horror. When Max wakes up in his bed late in the film after an extended Videodrome hallucination, he finds someone laying next to him. When he removes the sheets it turns out to be the corpse of an associate of his, tied up and tortured to death. He calls up a friend to come over and look, [[spoiler:but it turns out he was again hallucinating and his bed is empty.]]

* LadyInRed: When Max is on a talk show to defend his low-brow network, he notes that that the red dress of Nikki, one of his co-guests, is quite alluring. They strike up a relationship not long after.

* [[NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Nouns}} Names To Run Away From: Nouns]]: Brian O'Blivion and his daughter Bianca O'Blivion. While their alignment is very hard to make out due to the unreality of the movie [[spoiler:and Brian is a resonant phantom living in the television world]], they are engaging in a counter war against the brain-destroying, people-corrupting Videodrome syndicate by reprogramming the "video word made flesh" (an outside innocent, sleazy TV executive Max Renn) for their own sinister purposes.

* MoralEventHorizon: {{Invoked}} by Masha.

* NewMediaAreEvil: {{Deconstructed}}. This turns to be [[spoiler:Barry Convex's]] plan with Videodrome all along: to make people fear the evolution of media. Bianca is against it, but her beliefs are just as extreme.

* PlaceWorseThanDeath: Pittsburgh is treated this way throughout the film. It is where the Videodrome signal comes from, and "See you in Pittsburgh" is later used in lieu of the regular "SeeYouInHell".

* PunnyName: Brian O'Blivion? Barry Convex? Is this a comedy? '''No.''' Possibly a ShoutOut to Creator/ThomasPynchon. {{Justified}} in the first instance because Brian O'Blivion has explicitly renamed himself.

* StartsWithASuicide: [[spoiler: {{Inverted}}. The film ends with Max shooting himself to (he believes) be joined with Nicki in Videodrome. Whether or not he's [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness hallucinating there is an open question, however]].]]

* DoubleEntendre: "Civic TV, The one you take to bed with you."

** [=CivicTV=] and its head producer Moses is an {{Expy}} of infamous Toronto cable network Citytv and its co-founder Moses Znaimer.

It is a surreal movie, one of the poster children for BodyHorror. Like all of Cronenberg's movies, it has a strong intellectual undercurrent. The film deals with Marshall [=McLuhan's=] philosophies and examines the relationship between television and its audience. Cronenberg was greatly influenced by [=McLuhan's=] theories.

* MoralityPetFromBeyondTheGrave: [[spoiler:Nikki. Bianca uses her image to prevent Max from killing her.]]

* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: TV prophet Brian O'Blivion communicates solely through videotaped messages, even to participate in an interview early on in the film.

* ExploitationFilm: Civic TV's stock in trade is exploitation ''TV''.

** During the scene where Max wears a helmet to record his hallucinations, he ends up dreaming of Nicki who wants to play. Max finds himself in the Videodrome room, then obtains a whip and uses it on Nicki, who's trapped in a television set.

** [[spoiler:Convex]]'s [[CruelAndUnusualDeath death]]. [[spoiler:He is shot at several times by Max, and it seems like that's the end of him until [[NightmareFuel tumors graphically and bloodily burst from his body, ripping it apart, all while Convex writhes and loudly moans in agony]]]].

* ExploitationFilm; Civic TV's stock in trade is exploitation ''TV''.

* {{Gorn}}: Played with.

-->'''Nicki:''' What's this? "Videodrome"?
-->'''Max:''' Torture. Murder.
-->'''Nicki:''' Sounds great.
-->'''Max:''' Ain't exactly sex.
-->'''Nicki:''' Says who?

* KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade: [[spoiler:Nicki went in search of Videodrome. The people behind it filmed her then killed her, and used her image to manipulate Max.]]

* MadeOfExplodium: [[spoiler:Harlan]] dies with his body spontaneously combusting.

* MegaCorp: The Spectacular Optical corporation is revealed to have stolen Videodrome (a mysterious force that can give people the power to warp reality) from its creator, Dr. Brian O'Blivion, and assassinated him with it. While O'Blivion wanted to use Videodrome to help the human race, Spectacular Optical uses it to further their own evil goals of world domination. According to its CEO Barry Covex, the company makes everything from cheap glasses to missiles.

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Harlan]] is revealed to have been a plant sent in by Barry Convex [[spoiler: in order to expose Max to Videodrome]]

-->'''Masha:''' Videodrome. What you see on that show, it's for real. It's not acting. It's... snuff TV.
-->'''Max:''' I don't believe it.
-->'''Masha:''' So... don't believe.
-->'''Max:''' Why do it for real? It's easier and safer to fake it.
-->'''Masha:''' Because it has something that you don't have, Max. It has a ''philosophy'', and ''that'' is what makes it dangerous.
* MoralGuardians: The purity league headed up by Barry Convex.

* PlayfulHacker: Harlan, who even has signs around bragging about being a video pirate. [[spoiler: It's an act.]]

* RasterVision: Averted in here. ''Videodrome'' is credited as being the first film to feature low-flicker television.
** Used in stylized form on the poster's logo, however.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: A nasty one delivered by [[spoiler: Harlan]].
-->'''[[spoiler: Harlan:]]''' North America's getting soft, patrone. And the rest of the world is getting tough. Very, very tough. We're entering savage new times, and we're going to have to be pure... and direct... and strong... if we're gonna survive them. Now, you and this, uh, cesspool you call a television station... ''(increasingly pissed)'' and, uh, your people who '''''wallow''''' around in it... and, uh, your viewers... who ''watch'' you ''do'' it— you're rotting us away from the inside. We intend to stop that rot.

* SmugSnake: [[spoiler:Barry Convex.]]

* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: TV prophet Brian O'Blivion communicates solely through videotaped messages-even in order to participate in an interview early on in the film.
* TheTelevisionTalksBack: Nicki disappears when going to check out Videodrome, then appears to Max in his TV, and asks for a kiss. He does...and then things start to get really bizarre. Brian O'Blivion also starts to directly converse with Max in this way later on.

-->'''Nicki:''' ''(looking for a porno to watch with Max)'' What's this? "Videodrome"?\\
'''Max:''' Torture. Murder.\\
'''Nicki:''' Sounds great.\\
'''Max:''' Ain't exactly sex.\\
'''Nicki:''' Says who?

** CIVIC-TV is a play on City-TV (a Toronto-area station that played porn movies at the time when ''Videodrome'' was made.[[note]]It still does, only now it's not just a "Toronto-area" Station, but has a City-TV Vancouver, Montreal, etc.[[/note]]).