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The Century of the Self was an acclaimed documentary by filmmaker, Adam Curtis.

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 "manufacturing 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". His daughter Anna Freud, a pioneer of child psychology, is mentioned in the second part, as well as Wilhelm Reich, the main opponent 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 manufacture their products, or speeches, as pleasing as possible to us. Curtis raises the question of the intentions and roots of this fact. 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 3 the main character is Matthew Freud, the great grandson of Sigmund, a PR consultant. He was part of the efforts during the nineties to bring the Democrats in USA 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?"

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

Criticism

The organisation Media Lens criticised Adam Curtis for not mentioning US atrocities in Guatemala.

The co-editor of Media Lens, David Edwards, argues we should ask Mr Curtis:

... why he has failed to respond to the articles and letters that have been sent to him. Ask him why The Century of the Self gave so much detailed attention to Guatemalan history, and yet failed to mention U.S. responsibility for the 150,000 civilians killed as a result of its assault on Guatemala. Ask why the series focused on this isolated U.S. intervention without mentioning that it was a small part of similar interventions elsewhere in Latin America and in the Third World generally. Is this wider pattern not central to understanding the real significance, and costs, of corporate control of domestic and foreign societies in the 20th and 21st centuries?

See also

• The Power of Nightmares - A documentary in a similar vein also by Adam Curtis.

External links

• Official BBC Site
• The Observer: How Freud got under our skin
• RDF Media: The Century Of The Self
• Episode guide:
  1. Happiness Machines
  2. The Engineering of Consent
  3. There is a Policeman Inside All Our Head: He Must Be Destroyed
  4. Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering
• Media Lens articles - includes responses from Adam Curtis:
  1. http://www.medialens.org/alerts/02/020403_de_Media_Century.html
  2. http://www.medialens.org/alerts/02/020618_update_BBC.html
  3. http://www.medialens.org/alerts/02/020626_Adam_Curtis.html

• Television documentaries
• BBC television programmes