Series synopsis
The Century of the Self is a British documentary war & politics television series that premiered on BBC Two on March 17, 2002. It ended on April 7, 2002. It was created by Adam Curtis. It stars Adam Curtis, Anne Bernays, Martin Bergmann and Robert Reich.
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.
Premise
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.
Premise: A secret history of the 20th century.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Adam Curtis as Narrator
- Anne Bernays as Self
- Martin Bergmann as Self
- Robert Reich as Self
- Edward L. Bernays as Self (archive footage)
- Sigmund Freud as Self (archive footage)
- Anna Freud as Self (archive footage)
- Wilhelm Reich as Self (archive footage)
Supporting cast
- Tony Blair as Self (archive footage)
- Margaret Thatcher as Self (archive footage)
- Bill Clinton as Self (archive footage)
- Ronald Reagan as Self (archive footage)
Episodes
This series spans 1 season with 4 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 4 | March 17, 2002 | April 7, 2002 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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. |
March 17, 2002 |
| 2 |
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. |
March 24, 2002 |
| 3 |
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. |
March 31, 2002 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | BBC Two |
|---|---|
| First aired | March 17, 2002 |
| Last aired | April 7, 2002 |
| Runtime | 58 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Sunday at 20:00:00 |