Customer Reviews

The Century of the Self by Adam Curtis, producer of Power of Nightmares

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An interesting, well-made documentary on the changes in the relations between business/government and their subjects. I'm not sure which was the more ludicrous -- the lengths to which the former went to justify their contempt for the latter, or the long-running scam on everyone's credulity by the "sciences" of psychiatry and psychology. Not to go all Tom Cruise on ya (speaking of long-running scams), but is there another "science" with such low predictive value? I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands of real scientists who are tired of laughing at the old joke of psychiatry's efficacy.

I was mildly surprised that, having laid the foundation for the elite's morbid fear of the "irrational masses," the esteemed doctors never stopped to wonder how a self-selected group of specialists would somehow be immune from irrationality, without which immunity their recommendations for management and governance were no more than another howl from the mob. Did they really imagine that Nazi Germany (a watershed motif throughout the film) was run from the bottom up?

This product seems to be another of the home-made bare-bones DVD-R's created from the video files available at archive.org. For myself, with my indifferent dial-up connection, it was certainly worth it to go this route. The video quality is VHS-level or thereabouts, but as most of the original film was assembled from decaying old film stock, I don't think even HD would've been much of an improvement. Everything, menu and chapters, played as well as a commercial DVD, with no glitches or unreadable portions. Also, the seller seems to have a generous customer service policy, though I never tested it.

P.S. Loved Reich's daughter, especially her "Freudian slip."

Ever wonder why we seem to be slaves to fashion? Why you derive so much pleasure from shopping? DO NOT MISS The Century of the Self as Adam Curtiss explains the history of advertising, propoganda, and credit, even showing the link between "retail department store" chains and the banking industry!

This is a critical piece of history that is totally neglected in educating the citizenry. It should be mandatory in civics classes, sociology courses, business courses, home economics classes, budgeting, et al.

This is one of the most interesting documentaries I have ever seen, deeply thought provoking and insightful.
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Although this piece is getting dated, the history it covers is extremely relevant and insightful to the cultural and economic problems we experience today. If you would like some blanks filled in about how we ever got in such a mess this fills the bill. Sigmund Freud's nephew proved to U.S. commercial interests that they need never worry about consumer satiation. The public can be driven to always want more.

the item came so fast I couldn;t believe it -- and it had a bonus ! Thanks !

There is much information in this DVD that can scare the living daylights out of you regarding what Big Business is doing to us. If you don't want to believe then join that large band of people who live their lives with heads buried in the sand, waiting to be delivered, and that aint going to happen!

Each of us needs to take responsibility for our lives and also take a good look at what is really happening around us, not what the papers, mass media and electronic subliminal programming etc. want us to believe.

We are lucky Mr. Obama is a Go(o)d man filled with the spirit of loving and caring. He has definitely come forward to right wrongs, to care for the oppressed and to share his message of hope. And not just with words, but with actions too.