Louis Bloom is the kind of anti-hero that was everywhere in the 2010s, but one of the things that makes his goals distinct is that he is, above all else, a hustler. He is someone who believes that with hard work and dedication, he can make anything his dreams come true. At several points in the film, he espouses this theory quite explicitly, trying to work his way into a wide range of jobs:

“I’m a hard worker,” he says. “I set big goals and was told I was persistent. Now, I’m not fooling myself, sir. Having been brought up with the self-esteem movement so popular in schools, I expected my needs to be taken into account. But I know that these days our culture no longer caters to the loyalty at work that might have been promised to previous generations. What I think, sir, is that good thoughts come to those who kick their ass.”

Of course, Lou’s goal of being hugely successful is how he justifies every terrible thing he does in the film. When he films the suffering of others instead of getting help, or eventually commits crimes himself so he can film them, it’s all to prove he can be the kind of success he thinks is possible for him.

He is a hard worker, and good things come to those who work hard. Nightcrawler it shows us a man who works hard and finally gets what he wants. Along the way, however, we come to understand everyone he tramples and tortures on his way to that goal. Local TV news isn’t as relevant anymore, but the toxic nature of the dream we’ve all been sold endures.

One of the Nightcrawler’His sharpest observation is that video of a crime can obscure as much as it reveals. Even if we see every detail of a car accident or a crime that hasn’t even been reported to the police yet, we don’t understand the context in which these things happened or how often these things happen in general.

In the following decade Nightcrawler was released, it’s become even harder to trust what you’re seeing, even if you have video evidence. In an age where everything is available online, understanding what is real is actually more difficult, when there were only a few places you could get the news.

It’s not hard to imagine a 2024 version of Lou Bloom posting his videos, or ones that have been edited with AI or other means, all over the internet. His only goal is engagement, and he is far from alone. It seems there are Lou Blooms all over the internet, and their sole purpose is to feed the worst instincts of the people who consume their content.

There is some truth to the fact that violent videos in Nightcrawler they are so valuable because they are what viewers ultimately want to see. What is also true is that the worst instincts of a viewing public are not necessarily the ones that should be considered. However, the Lou Blooms of the world don’t care about anyone’s sense of morality. They are driven entirely by the bottom line. Content is king. Consequences be damned.