History Headscratchers / Videodrome

** Essentially, a shadowy group is trying to destroy the segment of the population that is obsessed with sensational footage, an obsession that ultimately takes the place of more intelligent pursuits. Videodrome is a signal that gives its viewers a malignant brain tumor and the content is designed to appeal to the people the villains want to kill - but not before turning them into “zombies” they can control once the tumor starts developing. Dr. O’Blivion helped create the technology behind Videodrome thinking this was the final step in creating a world where real life and TV footage were one in the same, since no one could tell them apart. However, when he found out what his financiers intended to use Videodrome for (mind control/mass murder), they killed him to prevent him from blowing the whistle. Max Renn, president of a local TV station, is picked as a test subject for further research and as a way to introduce the Videodrome signal to a larger audience thanks to his network’s reputation for broadcasting worthless junk. Renn tries to track down the source of the Videodrome footage and, thanks to his exposure to the TV signal, slowly loses his grip on reality and eventually has no control over his actions because he can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t. He becomes a pawn for both sides (O’Blivion’s daughter and Convex) in a larger "Videodrome" war - Convex’s side seeks to use the signal and ensure all the cultural lowlifes are destroyed, while O’Blivion’s family is trying to stop them.

** Essentially, a shadowy group is trying to destroy the segment of the population that is obsessed with sensational footage that ultimately takes the place of more intelligent pursuits. Videodrome is a signal that gives its viewers a malignant brain tumor. Dr. O’Blivion helped create it, thinking this was the final step in creating a world where real life and TV footage were one in the same. However, when he found out what his financiers intended to use it for (mind control/mass murder), they killed him to prevent him from blowing the whistle. Max Renn, president of a local TV station, is picked as a test subject for further research and as a way to introduce the Videodrome signal to a larger audience thanks to his network’s reputation of broadcasting worthless junk. From there, Renn tries to track down the source of the footage his employee shows them and, thanks to his exposure to the TV signal, slowly loses his grip on reality and eventually has no control over his actions. He becomes a pawn for both sides (O’Blivion’s daughter and Convex) in a larger "Videodrome" war - one side seeks to use the signal and ensure all the cultural lowlifes are destroyed, the other is trying to stop them.

** Not knowing what's going on is the entire point. Multiple interpretations are valid and are supposed to be so; that's part of the horror. As the audience, being influenced by ''Videodrome'' the film, we can't be certain about its own narrative. Given the [=McLuhan=] connection of "the medium is the message," O'Blivion's line about "the television is the retina of the mind's eye," and extending from O'Brian's speech in ''1984'' about manipulating objective reality through controlling subjective reality, ''Videodrome'' is essentially about using television to change reality through perception. Viewing it as told via a reliable narrator is not necessarily incorrect; reality becoming the Videodrome hallucinations (rather than the other way around, really) is part of this allegory.

** Everything is from Max's perspective, and we never see the "real" world. The viewer isn't even sure he did ''any'' assassinations. For all we know, he's drooling on the floor having hallucinations while he wastes away, dying, on the floor of his room. AccidentalWikiWord

** Essentially, a shadowy group is trying to destroy the segment of the population that is obsessed with sensational footage that ultimately takes the place of more intelligent pursuits. Videodrome is a signal that gives its viewers a malignant brain tumor. Dr. O’Blivion helped create it, thinking this was the final step in creating a world where real life and TV footage were one in the same. However, when he found out what his financiers intended to use it for (mind control/mass murder), they killed him to prevent him from blowing the whistle. Max Renn, president of a local TV station, is picked as a test subject for further research and as a way to introduce the Videodrome signal to a larger audience thanks to his network’s reputation of broadcasting worthless junk. From there, Renn tries to track down the source of the footage his employee shows them and, thanks to his exposure to the TV signal, slowly loses his grip on reality and eventually has no control over his actions. He becomes a pawn for both sides (O’Blivion’s daughter and Convex) in a larger “Videodrome” war - one side seeks to use the signal and ensure all the cultural lowlifes are destroyed, the other is trying to stop them.

** Everything is from Max's perspective, and we never see the "real" world. The viewer isn't even sure he did ''any'' assassinations. For all we know, he's drooling on the floor having hallucinations while he wastes away, dying, on the floor of his room.

** Given that Convex is (from our perspective) the main figurehead of his "side" of the war, one might assume that he's so entwined with Videodrome that his tumor is spread throughout him and exposes itself upon his death.

** Convex was shot and killed, and it's likely the tumors sprouting from Max's body were a part of his hallucination.

* What the actual fuck happened to Convex after he was shot? Was it his Videodrome-associated tumor violently seeking a new host? Was it Renn's handgun causing that mutation? Was it a just a hallucination? Are these three theories and possibly more entirely valid given the nature of the film?

** Not knowing what's going on is the entire point. Multiple interpretations are valid and are supposed to be so; that's part of the horror. As the audience, being influenced by ''Videodrome'' the film, we can't be certain about its own narrative. Given the [=McLuhan=] connection of "the medium is the message," O'Bannon's line about "the television is the retina of the mind's eye," and extending from O'Brian's speech in ''1984'' about manipulating objective reality through controlling subjective reality, ''Videodrome'' is essentially about using television to change reality through perception. Viewing it as told via a reliable narrator is not necessarily incorrect; reality becoming the Videodrome hallucinations (rather than the other way around, really) is part of this allegory.

** Not knowing what's going on is the entire point. Multiple interpretations are valid and are supposed to be so; that's part of the horror. As the audience, being influenced by ''Videodrome'' the film, we can't be certain about its own narrative. Given the McLuhan connection of "the medium is the message," O'Bannon's line about "the television is the retina of the mind's eye," and extending from O'Brian's speech in ''1984'' about manipulating objective reality through controlling subjective reality, ''Videodrome'' is essentially about using television to change reality through perception. Viewing it as told via a reliable narrator is not necessarily incorrect; reality becoming the Videodrome hallucinations (rather than the other way around, really) is part of this allegory.

** Not knowing what's going on is the entire point. Multiple interpretations are valid and are supposed to be so; that's part of the horror. As the audience, being influenced by ''Videodrome'' the film, we can't be certain about its own narrative. Given the McLuhan connection of "the medium is the message," O'Bannon's line about "the television is the retina of the mind's eye," and extending from O'Brian's speech in ''1984'' about manipulating objective reality through controlling subjective reality, ''Videodrome'' is essentially about using television to change reality through perception. Viewing it as told via a reliable narrator is not necessarily incorrect; reality becoming the Videodrome hallucinations (rather than the other way around, really) is part of this allegory.

I just watched this movie, and looking around the Internet, while I've seen much discussion of the movie's overall themes and message, I've seen surprisingly little discussion of the central question nagging at me as I watched it: what in the name of Jesus H. Cronenberg is ''happening'' in the film? Taken at face value, the movie is filled with bizarre supernatural events that lack even the slightest rationality to them. The explanation given in the film itself--that the video gave the protagonist a brain tumor causing him to experience wild hallucinations--doesn't make a whole lot of sense. What sort of brain tumor would lead to ''controlled'' hallucinations that Videodrome could direct, let alone use as a means of brainwashing him? My best guess as to what's really supposed to be happening is simply that the videos have used some form of post-hypnotic suggestion on the protagonist, and everything else that we see is simply how he perceives what's happening--his mind's symbolic (and somewhat Freudian) interpretation of the events.