The Century of the Self

Adam Curtis documents the rise of consumer culture, public relations, propaganda and advertising. The main focus is Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud's nephew who used his uncle's behavioral theories in his advertising, public relations, and propaganda business. He was also hired by the US to soften public resistance to entering WWI.

In 1928 Bernays wrote a book called "Propaganda" and its first paragraph should be all you need to read to want to watch this documentary;

"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country."

Got that? That was in 1928, His methods have since evolved into predictable science.

This documentary is about the history of psychology but also about how it affects the average person. It covers early attempts to understand and shape human behaviour which were applied in the context of government and advertising. Really fascinating.

Caught this fantastic documentary at Cinema Village in NY. In short, it traces the tremendous influence of Freudian ideas and the family Freud - Siggie, Anna, and nephew Edward Bernays - on the development contemporary capitalist societies.

Using chilling footage and lucid voice over, it traces the methods by which Freud's discoveries about the sub/unconscious mind were systematically implemented by corporate America in the 1920's and later the U.S. government to increase their wealth/power while at the same time giving people the impression of greater personal freedom. It was Bernays who founded the 1st public relations firm and coined the term "engineering consent".

Its thesis spans everything from the invention of public relations, modern advertising techniques, Nazi Germany, CIA brainwashing, the self-help movement, consumer culture and current U.S./British electoral politics. All of which have direct antecedents in the ideas of Freud.

Apparently, due to lack of copyright clearances, it is not available on DVD or tape. But hopefully it will make the art house circuit. His follow-up, The Power of Nightmares, is supposedly even better. It deals with 9-11.

More comprehensive and persuasive than "The Corporation" and more objective and grounded that Michael Moore's work, "Century of the Self" is essential viewing.

If you think corporate and government collusion in controlling the masses is tin hat stuff, well, start measuring your head...

this is the best documentary i have ever seen, considering i have seen quite a lot of it. don't miss out on watching something that will change your life.

I'll try not to spoil anything, but you must swear to watch this documentary. it'll change you to change the world!!!

I mean, it tells you why you buy stuff, it tells you what is really going on with the government, it even has topless girls (artistic) and lesbian nuns (nice). plus all of the knowledge of yourself, its a win win situation. seriously don't hesitate, watch it now!! now!!

Oh also, it explains a lot about life.

The Century of the Self is a thought provoking, four part documentary describing how Freudian and post-Freudian ideas about human nature were adopted by corporations and politicians to manipulate society and public values in the 20th Century. There is a particular focus on the influence of Edward Bernays, the inventor of public relations, on American culture, business, and politics. This is a well crafted, engagingly paced, and consistently interesting documentary, and has developed a bit of a cult following.

This documentary is a bit overly simplistic and tries to fit the messy reality of history into neat little boxes. It gives far too much credit to Freud and his followers, failing to acknowledge that Freud's ideas, even by the 1970s, had been largely discredited and dismissed by the psychological community. The idea of an individual was not new to the 20th Century (let alone Freud or his successors), nor was the idea that most human beings are irrational simpletons (or worse) who must be manipulated and led around by the nose through appeals to their basest emotions and desires, but The Century of the Self tells us that these were revolutionary new ideas and concepts. One didn't need to be a Freudian to come up with advertising that, for example, shows a pretty woman in a short skirt sucking on a tubular popsicle and saying, "Oooh what an exciting man you are!" to a man in a flashy new convertible, but the documentary implies that pretty much all of advertising and public relations until the 1960s was driven by Freudian theories about human nature and the unconscious mind.

An embarrassingly ironic note is struck throughout with the use of mood music prompts to indicate to viewers what values they should attribute to different organizations and ideas, such as by playing foreboding, negative music whenever corporations are mentioned by the narrator. This becomes quite absurd in the context of what is basically an extended criticism of attempts by advertisers and politicians in the 20th Century to influence public sentiment through manipulative emotional prompting rather than honest information and debate about ideas.

Those criticisms aside, The Century of the Self is a good watch and filled with interesting information and insights.