Cronenberg: The Body as the Final Crucible

Siegler, Elijah. “David Cronenberg: The Secular Auteur as Critic of Religion.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 80, no. 4, 2012, pp. 1098–1112., www.jstor.org/stable/23358001.

Secularism is by definition, the antithesis of religion, calling for the separation of religion from other institutions, mainly the state. As a philosophy that is diametrically opposite religion, it has a unique ability to provide critique of the religion it is separate from. This idea presents itself within the cinematic works of David Cronenberg, director of films like Videodrome (1983) and The Fly (1986) that put him on the map as a pioneer of body horror films. A staunch atheist, Cronenberg has said in multiple interviews he wants no theological reading of his films. In fact, he went so far to say, “I’m not just a nonbeliever, I’m an antibeliever – I think it’s a destructive philosophy.” (1102) With a distaste for films focused on religion or the supernatural, Cronenberg instead looks to what he considers the first fact of human existence: the human body. By creating horror through the twisting and shaping of the human body in grotesque ways, Cronenberg creates horror through the destruction of the only thing, to him, that makes us human. According to Cronenberg, truth and human existence stem from the physical, what can be proven and what can be seen. By subverting our physicality, he is subverting what makes us human and our ability to perceive truth. While one could argue his philosophical and morally curious films are rooted in the same ponderings religiously tinged films are, this article ends with a reminder of the importance of letting secularism in film to speak for itself, because this will allow us a greater understanding of religion in other films. (1110)

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