Shifty

I would give this a 7/8 marker but you are not allowed to give ranges.

Of these types of documentaries that I have seen. Ken Burn's one on Vietnam was exceptional. Likewise, Adam Curtis's Hypernormalisation.

Being born in 82, I hoped this would further my understanding of the period of when I was just a child and not interested in politics , up to when I was a young adult.

It did that on some level. Many things were hard to tolerate on an emotional level.

The ghost of greed being ever-present. (who woulda thought that nationalising industries would enable them to be honourable?).

The issue that I truly struggle with is the total lack of a positive narrative.

As a 90s teenager and young adult in the millennia... the advance in tech has been exceptional, perhaps to the point of being detrimental in the long-term.

However, despite all the disparity. There has been a lot of levelling up that could eventually be a positive world-force.

I would not be human if I just lived in despair.

Hey, I don't post very often and I'm of this time that's covered in the series so I thought I'd watch. It became clear fairly quickly that this is a personal journey by the director through these times. Many important parts of uk history in the 80s/90s are ignored and some very trivial items are given weight way beyond their real significance. I'm no fan of thatcher by any means but the focus seems misplaced again concentrating on lesser evils than the more significant decisions that screwed our Youth and future. One very minor spoiler that almost seemed personal was the directors fixation on Ozzie Osbourne and his abuse at the time of his wife. It's worth a watch for nostalgia but there's no balance, just a personal dig through the archives from the director.

Using archive material from the Thatcher years, Adam Curtis demonstrates a myth that many on the Left will be uncomfortable with; far from being an underhand experiment, Mrs. Thatcher made it clear from the start what her project was all about. The destruction of the Welfare State. The destruction of solidarity. The decimation of the right of the people to be protected from capitalism. But the Left were more interested in making speeches to each other and ideological purity. The media colluded with the Tories, and the hard earned gains of the working class were lost.

Brilliant and unsettling work from a dwindling pool of sharp and empathetic film maker.

The opening scenes are worth the license fee on their own.

We needed this.. after watching I felt lighter and more engaged in the world than I did before pressing play. This is a must watch. Thank you Adam. The music is perfectly mixed and archive footage tastefully edited and utilised to create a powerful, meaningful experience. We are lucky to have Adam's works freely available in the UK. Perhaps it's a tactic from the deeper levels of Government, security or the intelligence services. Knowledge is power and this series opens the door to so many real elements of our short human existence. I appreciate this is will be difficult for some to digest and process, but Adam has really surpassed all expectations with this work.. Bravo 👏🏼👏🏼

I love social documentaries and Adam Curtis' are some of the most interesting and watchable ones being made this century. SHIFTY is his latest effort, which explores the legacy of Thatcherism in Britain from 1979 through to the end of the century. This one's a five-part miniseries that offers an innovative approach by not having any kind of narration. Instead, the director weaves together multiple plot strands each episode, all of them generally linked to the public mood and tackling themes of industry, finance, livelihood and society. There are plenty of terse captions which help to explain what we're seeing, while the footage chosen is extremely interesting, thought-provoking, often shocking in retrospect. Appropriate music enhances the effect in what is a thoroughly engaging documentary overall.