The Century of the Self

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The Century of the Self

The Century of the Self, DVD Cover
Directed by Adam Curtis
Produced by Adam Curtis
Lucy Kelsall
Stephen Lambert
Written by Adam Curtis
Starring Werner Erhard
Jerry Rubin
Tony Blair
Bill Clinton
Robert Reich
Wilhelm Reich
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
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Century of the Self is an acclaimed documentary by filmmaker Adam Curtis released in 2002.

Contents

[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

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, changed the perception of the human mind and its workings profoundly. His influence on the 20th century is widely regarded as massive. The documentary describes the impact of Freud's theories on the perception of the human mind, and the ways public relations agencies and politicians have used this during the last 100 years for their "engineering of consent".

Among the main characters are Freud himself and his nephew Edward Bernays, who was the first to use psychological techniques in advertising. He is often seen as the "father of the public relations industry". Freud's daughter Anna Freud, a pioneer of child psychology, is mentioned in the second part, as well as Wilhelm Reich, one of the main opponents of Freud's theories.

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 PR 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 a Wall Street banker as saying "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 characters 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.

To quote the BBC site:

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 Series, Royal Television Society
  • Best Documentary, Indie Awards
  • Best Documentary Series, Grierson Documentary Awards
  • Best Documentary, William Coupan Memorial Award

[edit] Episodes

1. Happiness Machines[1]
2. The Engineering of Consent[2]
3. There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed[3]
4. Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering[4]

[edit] Music

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  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] External links

v • d • e
The documentaries of Adam Curtis

An Ocean Apart (1988) • Pandora's Box (1992) • The Living Dead (1995) • 25 Million Pounds (1996) • The Way of the Flesh (1997) 
The Mayfair Set (1999) • The Century of the Self (2002) • The Power of Nightmares (2004) • The Trap (2007)