Century of the Self
by Adam (DRT) Curtis · first published 2005
74% recommend26% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Four-part BBC documentary tracing how Freud's ideas and Edward Bernays turned advertising and PR into tools of consumerism and political manipulation; suits anyone curious about how desires get manufactured.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2009–2026Propaganda
Edward L. Bernays
Recommended by 33 · mentioned by 6333 recommend · 63 mention33 recommend · 6333 recommend
2016–2026The Attention Merchants
Tim Wu
Recommended by 23 · mentioned by 3523 recommend · 35 mention23 recommend · 3523 recommend
2008–2026Amusing Ourselves to Death
Neil Postman
Recommended by 174 · mentioned by 306174 recommend · 306 mention174 recommend · 306174 recommend
2009–2026Technopoly
Neil Postman
Recommended by 35 · mentioned by 5235 recommend · 52 mention35 recommend · 5235 recommend
2008–2026The Prize
Daniel Yergin
Recommended by 36 · mentioned by 4236 recommend · 42 mention36 recommend · 4236 recommend
2011–2026The Master Switch
Tim Wu
Recommended by 63 · mentioned by 9063 recommend · 90 mention63 recommend · 9063 recommend
2008–2026Manufacturing consent
Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky, John Pruden
Recommended by 179 · mentioned by 407179 recommend · 407 mention179 recommend · 407179 recommend
2007–2026Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
Recommended by 202 · mentioned by 708202 recommend · 708 mention202 recommend · 708202 recommend
Watch "The Century of the self" by Adam Curtis.
on “A Brief History of Consumer Culture” ↗If anyone wants to see an incredible look into how Sigmund Freud's research was turned around to manipulate people into consuming more, then Adam Curtis' excellent The Century of The Self is available to watch here: http://thoughtmaybe.com/video/the-century-of-the-self If you've never seen an Adam Curtis documentary before, this is a good one to start with. His style and delivery is unique…
on “Things Real People Don't Say About Advertising” ↗…accurately our subconscious desires (to be popular, sexy and powerful) as interpreted and channeled by the market. On this subject, I would strongly recommend Adam Curtis' BBC documentary series 'The Century of the Self' which documents the rise of consumerism and the psychoanalytical theories underpinning it. It really opened my eyes to the many parts of our culture that I'd considered eternal that are in fact entirely…
on “Complete Entanglement (Modern Slavery)” ↗…survival can be perfectly legal, unethical, hypocritical and irrational simultaneously, and the ensuing conflicts arising therefrom, conveniently viewed and treated as isolated. I think Adam Curtis's The Century of the Self[2] offers a bit of insight on where things starting going silly, and some of the mechanisms involved. While the article may not be directly supporting PO as a paradigm, it gets uncomfortably close. Planned…
on “Why companies make their products worse” ↗One thing is sure that since Hayek's time, the market has become more efficient at creating and fulfilling the desires of consumers. The obligatory recommendation to see the Century of the Self by Adam Curtis for a historical perspective on consumerism. However, Varoufakis has a point that a monopolist capitalism, enabled by technology, is not an attractive system.
on “Varoufakis: Capitalism is dead, long live Technofeudalism” ↗…dig into what it does. Far more than a "stray" pixel. As to understand why this fuss about advertising: it is an extremely latent and powerful means of exercising power. I would suggest Adam Curtis, Century of the Self in particular. (e.g. from Brewster Khale's archive.org)
on “See all the web bugs tracking you - Ghostery” ↗…Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death and Technopoly http://www.worldcat.org/title/amusing-ourselves-to-death-pub... http://www.worldcat.org/title/technopoly-the-surrender-of-cu... Adam Curtis, The Century of the Self http://www.worldcat.org/title/century-of-the-self/oclc/86087... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s While we're at it, A Thousand Clowns http://www.worldcat.org/title/thousand-clowns/oclc/748574510...…
on “Can Facebook really make ads unblockable?” ↗See also Adam Curtis's The Century of the Self, which focuses extensively on Bernays. Bernays' books are avaialble via the Internet Archive. Fascinating reading.
on “How liars create the ‘illusion of truth’” ↗…Cosmos, first and foremost. Much of Adam Curtis’ work is fantastic. Hypernormalization and The Trap were as fascinating as they were frightening. If I had the authority, I would mandate every child see A Century of the Self in school, and then again in college. James Burke’s Connections was also excellent. Kind of like a link between Carl Sagan and Adam Curtis. I personally loved the History Channel’s Engineering an Empire,…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?” ↗…the problem, and there are some good documentaries on Thoughtmaybe that may be relevant as well, including Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse, Weapons of Mass Surveillance, and Adam Curtis's The Century of the Self.
on “Invisible Manipulation: ways our data is being used against us” ↗…manufactured by the auto industry in the 1950-60s and is likely supported to this day by, again, some marketing money. There's an interesting documentary about these things by Adam Curtis called "The Century of the Self", and esp. part I "Happiness Machines".
on “Sometimes mindlessness is better than mindfulness” ↗Watch "Century of the Self" (and "Hypernormalization") by Adam Curtis. Pop culture, marketing, and advertisement are in many ways the products of wartime propaganda techniques being applied to civilians by corporations during peacetime.…
on “Pop culture has become an oligopoly” ↗…interested in Bernays and how modern Marketing and Public Relations came into existence (and how they are used to control/manipulate us) should take the time and watch the four part BBC documentation 'The Century of the Self' by Adam Curtis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyPzGUsYyKM
on “I'm starting to think LEGO is evil” ↗…after its use by Germany in WWI). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays The BBC series by excellent documentarian Adam Curtis (I've encountered a few of his other works and writings recently), The Century of the Self covers Bernays: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Century_of_the_Self Many of the same methods and techniques were applied to corporate disinformation campaigns against controls over leaded paint, asbestos,…
on “Mae Keane, the Last 'Radium Girl,' Dies at 107” ↗From what I've seen of him, everything Curtis does is excellent. "The Century of the Self" is also on my list.
on “U.S. considers declassifying report on Saudi funding of al Qaeda” ↗