The Century of the Self
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| The Century of the Self | |
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| Directed by | Adam Curtis |
| Produced by | Adam Curtis Lucy Kelsall Stephen Lambert (executive producer) |
| Written by | Adam Curtis |
| Starring | Sigmund Freud Edward Bernays Werner Erhard Jerry Rubin Tony Blair Bill Clinton Robert Reich Wilhelm Reich Martin S. Bergmann Adam Curtis |
| Music by | Brahms Symphony No. 3 What a Wonderful World |
| Cinematography | David Barker William Sowerby |
| Distributed by | BBC Four |
| Release date(s) | 2002 |
| Running time | 240 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | GBPUnknown |
For the 2009 album by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead please see The Century of Self.
The Century of the Self is a British television documentary film by Adam Curtis. It was first screened in the UK in four parts in 2002.
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[edit] Overview
"This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy." - Adam Curtis' introduction to the first episode.
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Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, changed the perception of the human mind and its workings. His influence on the twentieth century is generally considered profound. The series describes the ways public relations and politicians have utilized Freud's theories during the last 100 years for the "engineering of consent".
Freud himself and his nephew Edward Bernays, who was the first to use psychological techniques in public relations, are discussed. Freud's daughter Anna Freud, a pioneer of child psychology, is mentioned in the second part, as is one of the main opponents of Freud's theories, Wilhelm Reich, in the third part.
Along these general themes, The Century of the Self asks deeper questions about the roots and methods of modern consumerism, representative democracy and its implications. It also questions the modern way we see ourselves, the attitude to fashion and superficiality.
The business and, increasingly, the political world uses psychological techniques to read and fulfill our desires, to make their products or speeches as pleasing as possible to us. Curtis raises the question of the intentions and roots of this fact. Where once the political process was about engaging people's rational, conscious minds, as well as facilitating their needs as a society, the documentary 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. He cites Paul Mazer, a Wall Street banker working for Lehman Brothers in the 1930s: "We must shift America from a needs- to a desires-culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. [...] Man's desires must overshadow his needs."
In Episode 4 the main subjects are Philip Gould and Matthew Freud, the great grandson of Sigmund, a PR consultant. They were part of the efforts during the nineties to bring the Democrats in the US and New Labour in the United Kingdom back into power. Adam Curtis explores the psychological methods they now massively introduced into politics. He also argues that the eventual outcome strongly resembles Edward Bernays vision for the "Democracity" during the 1939 New York World's Fair.
According to BBC publicity:
To many in both politics and business, the triumph of the self is the ultimate expression of democracy, where power has finally moved to the people. Certainly the people may feel they are in charge, but are they really? The Century of the Self tells the untold and sometimes controversial story of the growth of the mass-consumer society in Britain and the United States. How was the all-consuming self created, by whom, and in whose interests?
[edit] Awards
- Best Documentary Series, Broadcast Awards
- Historical Film Of The Year, Longman/History Today Awards
Nominated for:
- Best Documentary Blubb, Royal Television Society
- Best Documentary, Indie Awards
- Best Documentary Series, Grierson Documentary Awards
- Best Documentary, William Coupan Memorial Award
[edit] Episodes
1. Happiness Machines
2. The Engineering of Consent
3. There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed
4. Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering
[edit] Music
- Raymond Scott: Portofino 2 (From Manhattan Research Inc.)
- Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90, beginning of the third movement (poco allegretto)
- Louis Armstrong: What a Wonderful World
- Arvo Pärt: Für Alina
- Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
- Dmitri Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues (Shostakovich), Prelude 1 (C major)
[edit] See also
- Pandora's Box (television documentary series) - Adam Curtis' 1992 documentary series which examines the often strange and unpredictable consequences of science and political, technocratic rationalism.
- The Power of Nightmares - A 2004 documentary series by Curtis, documenting the death of idealism in politics which was replaced by scaring voters and then vowing to protect them in office.
- The Trap (television documentary series) - Curtis's 2007 BBC TV documentary series.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Episode guide:
- Media Lens critique of Century of the Self - includes responses from Adam Curtis:
- www.medialens.org: Media Alert: The Unspoken Rule of Media Reporting: The BBC's The Century of the Self, April 3 2002
- www.medialens.org: Media Lens Update: The BBC's 'The Century of the Self', June 18 2002
- www.medialens.org: Media Lens Update: The BBC's 'The Century of the Self', June 26 2002
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