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The Century of the Self

The Century of the Self
★ 8.4/10•2002•58m•Documentary•War & Politics
Similars

A secret history of the 20th century.

The legacy of famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud informs the lives of people throughout the world even to this day, though it's a phenomenon to which most are unaware. The film is an exhaustive examination of his theories on human desire, and how they're applied to platforms such as advertising, consumerism and politics.

Adam Curtis · Writer

Adam Curtis · Creator

StatusEnded
Runtime58m
LanguageEN
First Air DateMar 17, 2002

Episodes

Episode 1 - Happiness MachinesE158m

Happiness Machines

The story of the relationship between Sigmund Freud and his American nephew, Edward Bernays. Bernays invented the public relations profession in the 1920s and was the first person to take Freud's ideas to manipulate the masses. He showed American corporations how they could make people want things they didn't need by systematically linking mass-produced goods to their unconscious desires.

Mar 17, 2002

Episode 2 - The Engineering of ConsentE258m

The Engineering of Consent

The programme explores how those in power in post-war America used Freud's ideas about the unconscious mind to try and control the masses.

Mar 24, 2002

Episode 3 - There Is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads. He Must Be DestroyedE358m

There Is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads. He Must Be Destroyed

In the 1960s, a radical group of psychotherapists challenged the influence of Freudian ideas in America. They were inspired by the ideas of Wilhelm Reich, a pupil of Freud's, who had turned against him and was hated by the Freud family. He believed that the inner self did not need to be repressed and controlled. It should be encouraged to express itself.

Mar 31, 2002

Episode 4 - Eight People Sipping Wine in KetteringE458m

Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering

How both the Labour Party in Britain and the Democrats in America have sought to gain power through use of the focus group, invented by psychoanalysts to fulfil desires of the inner self.

Apr 7, 2002

Actors

Adam Curtis

Adam Curtis

Narrator

Anne Bernays

Anne Bernays

Self

Martin Bergmann

Self

Robert Reich

Robert Reich

Self

Edward L. Bernays

Edward L. Bernays

Self (archive footage)

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud

Self (archive footage)

Anna Freud

Self (archive footage)

Wilhelm Reich

Wilhelm Reich

Self (archive footage)

Tony Blair

Tony Blair

Self (archive footage)

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher

Self (archive footage)

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

Self (archive footage)

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Self (archive footage)

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