Watch this remarkable BBC documentary by Adam Curtis, The Century of the Self. It examines how those in power in the last century—including PR professionals and politicians—exploited Freudian insights into human nature to make money, engineer consent, and manage the masses. It raises profound questions about the “Self” that we all believe we inhabit and shape ourselves, the tectonic shift occurring in our roles from citizens to consumers, and its implications for Anglo-American democracy. It looks at the routine use of focus groups to classify consumer demographics in a culture of increasingly self-absorbed individuals and “shows how by employing the tactics of psychoanalysis, politicians appeal to irrational, primitive impulses that have little apparent bearing on issues outside of the narrow self-interest of a consumer population.” It also has some rare archival footage. (Thanks to my friend Louise Gordon.)

Read more here. Below is part 1, here are part 2, part 3, and part 4, each about an hour long. It’s well worth the time!

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