Century of Self from BBC

A documentary from BBC by Adam Curtis. Each part 1 hour. (Wiki entry here) See each at Google video, links below.

The Century of the Self episode 1 begins with, Sigmund Freud's nephew, Edward Bernays. He went from Enrico Caruso's publicist to WW1 propagandist and repackaged propaganda as "public relations". Herbert Hoover applied his ideas to turn Americans into the consumers industry needed. Joseph Goebbels, is shown explaining how Bernays' same ideas were used to turn the Germans into Nazi's.

The Century of the Self episode 2 begins with Sigmund Freud's daughter, Anna. Studies of traumatized soldiers in WW2 showed their upbringing made them psychologically vulnerable. Anna Freud popularized the idea that imposing conformity strengthened the ego. Thus leading to the conformity of the 50's.

The Century of the Self episode 3 shows the overthrow of Anna Freud's ideas and reverses them with the idea that it is society that is sick and individuals need to free themselves of it. Thus the counter culture and the self actualization movement. Industry no longer wanted to make standard products, they married their new products with expressing individuality. Maslow's hierarchy of needs provided a model for this and was used to elect Ronald Reagan.

The Century of the Self episode 4 shows how the public had become consumers of politics in the same way they had earlier become consumers of products. Focus groups determine policy, first for the Right, and then, to survive, for the Left, especially, Bill, Hillary, and Tony Blair.

Thanks to Daily Kos.