HyperNormalisation

I don't often write reviews on IMDb. In fact, this is only the second one I can remember doing. So why am I writing one now? Because this documentary is brilliant? No. It's very good, but brilliant would be a stretch.

I am writing it, because this documentary is important.

This film is long, at 2 hours 45 mins. For a documentary, you would think you'd fall asleep long before the end. Trust me, you won't. It is never boring, and at times, it's frankly mesmerising.

In a nutshell the film tells how we have arrived in the post-truth political world, from it's origins in the 1975. It explains the complex interplay between politics, the rise of the internet, the media and social media. Using archive footage and the power of hindsight, it show's how our governments are now just controllers and managers of risk, rather than visionaries, and why you can no longer believe much of anything they tell you.

Sounds like a conspiracy theory right? It isn't. I pride myself on being a rational thinker. I studied science at uni. I'm not religious and I take pleasure in debunking the ridiculous conspiracy theories you see on the internet. This is different. Not because he backs everything up with sources and evidence, but because if you are old enough, you will remember the events, and you will know it makes sense.

I gave this 8/10. Would have been 7, but I think the importance of the subject matter warrants a bonus point. It could have scored a ten, but as I said, I'm a trained scientist, and I value evidence. The film is let down by the absence of enough hard proof. It left me with the feeling that it's absolutely spot on, and that I already knew what it is telling me, but just hadn't admitted it to myself. However, I feel that it will leave many, especially those of the more conservative persuasion, saying "where's the evidence?"

Some more hard facts; documents, interviews with insiders, anything, would have helped to convincingly drive the point home. That said, if you're looking for something that will make you think, you'll certainly get that.

A fascinating dive into the current world of politics and the vast significant changes worldwide over the past 30-40 years which have seen a change in systems and beliefs. This documentary provides the facts behind political conflict and gives reason for particular events which have triggered truly shocking outcomes. The run time might be off putting but this is an important watch

With a £30k budget and an amazing flair for story-telling, the director takes us on a journey through post-WW2 history and the circumstances as to why we are in this disillusioned state so many political agendas seem to be supporting.

This is great viewing and really gets you to think hard about the issues that matter: nothing can truly be explained by a 140-character tweet and that's exactly the problem: the world is too interlinked and complex to be understood via superficial analysis nor poetic slogans.

We need to collectively understand the deeper issues at hand, and find the solution that deals at source - building walls, imperial slogans, bigotry and racist knee-jerk responses are not the way

Peace

This is a very long film so I recommend breaking it up into two or more chunks and leaving some time for digestion in between. It has lots of interesting ideas and I guarantee even the best-read will learn something and have a couple of "Hmmmm" moments, if not an "Aha!" one.

Curtis has a way of imposing a narrative upon your active perception using images, music and sounds in ways you would expect from, ahem, a film maker. He even casts himself as a journalist, rather than a storyteller. As a result, you are always aware that you are being manipulated, just like the manufactured reality discussed/presented in the film. You are the audience of the audience.

Proceeding in this spirit, though many people have found Hypernormalisation depressing and frightening, it should not take you anywhere you haven't been before (if you are over 50 anyway). Barbarism in the pursuit of power is not peculiar to the 20th and 21st centuries, it is just a lot bigger and it's online. Hypernormalisation is not for the squeamish, but when you become aware that you have developed a level of immunity to these myriad images of horror, you get to understand what normalisation means. Neither is it for the faint hearted; the target audience may be those who are already deeply cynical.

But Curtis is a clever film maker, let him entertain you.

HyperNormalisation is a film about the Western media conditioning and the complexities of it. What makes Adam Curtis so strong here is his tone of voice. He states complex observations about politics and media as facts, weaponizing visual media to critique visual media. By making such a complicated -- polarizing -- documentary in such a straight-forward, expository, way he allows audiences to be lead down a rabbit hole of sorts.

Whether or not we as an audience agree with individual pieces and arguments within this film, it's impossible to ignore that Curtis is using the tools, tone, and legitimization (thank you BBC) of the "brainwasher" to brainwash audiences against brainwashing, and to stimulate critical thought. These clever tricks makes this one of the best documentaries ever made, as it continually challenges the viewer's intelligence and perception of the world. There are many documentaries that make more factual, easy-to-prove arguments -- but this film does not intend to do that. Instead, HyperNormalisation challenges the audience with a 3 hour barrage of questions, often stated in the form of answers. How Curtis arrives at these answers creates one of the most thought-provoking films of the 21st century. The point is to not accept Curtis's sometimes shaky (perhaps only in the interest of keeping the runtime down, perhaps not) arguments as facts, but rather to consider them. If you are looking for a simple documentary that is easily proven factually true, this is not it. In fact, HyperNormalisation seems to suggest that form of documentary may not exist.

This film is not an answer, but a question. If you disagree with Curtis, read some books and articles and prove him wrong on your own, if you can. Either way you'll be a better and more educated person for watching this film. HyperNormalisation takes more than it's already 2 and half hour runtime to watch. I paused, researched, and questioned the entire time. HyperNormalisation requires fact checking and educating oneself on aspects of world politics restricted from mainstream thought, and asking questions about the "answers" he provides. Whether a deranged conspiracy theorist or one of the greater minds of the 21st century is up to the viewer, but either way Adam Curtis successfully challenges his audience with this film. Though I don't fully agree with everything put forth in this film, I have to admit that more and more about HyperNormalisation rings true to me in the present day than when it was created. Thank you Curtis for making me think about the world in this way.

Oh, and the soundtrack is incredible. : - )