Faustian

That’s what made Brady Corbet’s “Vox Lux” — which should be considered the preeminent examination of the contemporary pop star — so beguiling: It saw fame as a Faustian pact with the devil.

The BBC story concludes by highlighting the desperation that drove the Trumpists in that community to make a Faustian bargain with their “savior”:

Such Faustian bargains always come with strings attached.

But the way in which he gives his loved ones up for dead is either an acceptance of futility or a compromise of conscience even more chilling than Riefenstahl’s Faustian pact with Hitler.

"The first payment has come due for our Faustian Aerosol Bargain."