Von Trier seems pretty despicable. I think I watched part one of Nymphomaniac in college and don't remember much. The Dante's Inferno sequence at the end of The House That Jack Built has truly stuck with me, though.
I agree with most of this, and I think it's less asking if humanity is beyond saving and more establishing that giant corporations will not hesitate to kill us all. Which we already knew, but still. It's worse because the "remorse" Stone shows while pulling the trigger makes it feel like she may even see this as a mercy killing, like she's doing a huge favor, which also tracks with the large corporations metaphor. Everyone is the hero of their own story. They detach themselves and subtract their own culpability while mourning the loss of the beautiful product they could have made.
i enjoyed a few von Trier films here and there but haven't seen anything after Nymphomaniac. same with Refn after Neon Demon and Aronofsky after Black Swan. I feel like Eggers, Aster, and Perkins now occupy that space for me: prolific male directors i follow who make disturbing horror-adjacent films. i've only seen Lanthimos' last three or so films so idk if he specifically fits that mold, but Bugonia certainly does