Queercommie Girl
7th October 2011, 20:22
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_the_self
It does not reject Freud intrinsically, but comments on how psychoanalysis has been misused by the reactionary capitalist establishment.
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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation) must overshadow his needs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needs)."
In Episode 4 the main subjects are Philip Gould (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Gould) and Matthew Freud (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Freud), the great grandson of Sigmund, a PR consultant. They were part of the efforts during the nineties to bring the Democrats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_%28United_States%29) in the US and New Labour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Labour) in the United Kingdom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom) back into power. Adam Curtis explores the psychological methods they have now massively introduced into politics. He also argues that the eventual outcome strongly resembles Edward Bernays (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays) vision for the "Democracity" during the 1939 New York World's Fair (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World%27s_Fair). It is well-known his series was inspired and informed by a book written by the American historian, Stuart Ewen, "PR! A Social History of Spin."
It does not reject Freud intrinsically, but comments on how psychoanalysis has been misused by the reactionary capitalist establishment.
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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation) must overshadow his needs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needs)."
In Episode 4 the main subjects are Philip Gould (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Gould) and Matthew Freud (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Freud), the great grandson of Sigmund, a PR consultant. They were part of the efforts during the nineties to bring the Democrats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_%28United_States%29) in the US and New Labour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Labour) in the United Kingdom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom) back into power. Adam Curtis explores the psychological methods they have now massively introduced into politics. He also argues that the eventual outcome strongly resembles Edward Bernays (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays) vision for the "Democracity" during the 1939 New York World's Fair (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World%27s_Fair). It is well-known his series was inspired and informed by a book written by the American historian, Stuart Ewen, "PR! A Social History of Spin."