The Century of the Self:

The Century of the Self

Institute for the Critical Study of Society
6501 Telegraph Ave (@ Alcatraz), Oakland 94601

Friday, January 25, 7:00-9:00pm
Free

The Century of the Self: Happiness machines

"It is now possible for us to regiment the public mind, much as an army regiments the bodies of its soldiers."

-Edward Bernays

This stellar, award-winning BBC documentary, never distributed in the United States, chronicles the development of the PR industry: the development of psychological techniques of control and manipulation for political and corporate ends. This episode, the first in the series, traces the creation of PR by the Nephew of Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernays, who appropriated the insights of psychoanalysis for political and corporate propaganda to "control the unruly masses". A spell-binding, eye-opening and frightening look at the mechanisms and technologies of modern social control, this film is a must-see for activists, therapists, educators, anyone who is involved in political or social change and has been frustrated by a lack of it.
There will be a faciliated discussion on the work of Edward Bernays and the techniques of political messaging afterwards.