Red Rooms (2024) had a profound impact on me this year, especially as I don't think I have ever seen another movie with that specific subject matter. It has since led me to hunt for films centering around physical or digital tapes as a driving narrative force, and while Red Rooms still stands alone in its unique blend of slow-burn and savagery, I got to watch Videodrome and Thesis in the process and am still expanding the catalog, with Videophobia (2019) being the latest entry.

I've been on the Internet several hours a day for the past 12ish years and still really have little to no understanding of it. My very smart friend once tried to explain the intricacies of web security and I just could not grasp it. I don't think I am alone in this and I think there is probably only a small subset of a generation who was actively conscious of internet safety that has largely been lost by everyone both older and younger than them. Embarrassingly I would no sooner attempt to access Tor than search "how to build a bomb" into Google simply because I have no idea how to circumvent anything and just assume every word I type into the search bar is etched in history even without hitting Enter until the rapture (which is true). Government names get tossed around like candy, and the idea that a future employer would frown upon discovering the unguarded opinions best left in your friend’s basement does not seem to concern anyone that I know. I read something recently (probably a tweet) of someone saying that they spent the first half of their career teaching internet safety to the older generation, and how discouraged they were that they will now have to spend the second half teaching the exact same thing to the younger one. I put a piece of masking tape over my webcam in 2021 after watching Citizenfour that I still have to remove before every Zoom meeting, but who gives a damn because my phone is an extension of my arm (much like Videodrome in that).

When they told Ai how long her videos would be up I got queasy. Our every act and thought is so permanent and it was never meant to be so. Videophobia was a good addition to my list that is tonally unassuming but really creeps up on you in that way. It's also a crazy coincidence that this director also directed "Plastic" of Refocus Festival fame. The Grimes mention pulled this all together for me, and all in all, I would highly recommend.