Adam Curtis Documentaries
1 HN recommender · recommended in 3 months, 2024–2026
2:46:48 · 626K views · Sep 10, 2023
Adam Curtis's 2016 BBC documentary arguing that politicians, financiers and technologists retreated into a simplified, fake version of the world because reality became too complex. It ranges across Trump, Brexit, Syria, Surkov's Russia and more.
HN points to it for its account of propaganda that sows distrust and confusion, and as a starting point for Adam Curtis's work.
3 comments from Hacker News
Adam Curtis is great, definitely check out his other work. Hypernormalisation is a good place to start: this video
We should be mindful that HN doesn't have an unflag button. The post shouldn't be flagged, so flagging it acts on behalf of the status quo. Let the flagging stand as a testament to collaboration. We already experienced a general strike during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than breaking billionaires and multinational corporations, it made them stronger. So withholding our labor is part of the equation, but not all of it. We're moving into hypernormalization: [LINK] I only learned of this documentary this morning, so have yet to watch it: this video Hypernormalisation | Full Documentary | Adam Curtis Within a corporation, one person at the top dictates all behavior in exchange for monetary compensation, meaning that it's the job of each subordinate to shield superiors from work or anything that's against the interests of the corporation. Yes-men are rewarded handsomely while objectors are laid off. Over time, corporations become akin to feudal states, vying for control of the kingdom. The wealthiest/most powerful person performs the role of king and dictates each corporation's behavior in exchange for that corporation's right to exist. What this means is that corporate strategies such as running government like a business are eroding democracy globally. Where is this all going? Labor compensation diverged from productivity in the 1970s when global industrial capacity and energy production could no longer keep pace with the rising cost of the Cold War - aka the guns vs butter model
See also, the part from 2:22:53 onwards: Vladislav Surkov and propaganda methods of making people distrust everything and sow strife and confusion. this video [LINK]