science

The Century of the Self

The Century of the Self is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Century of the Self rather than just read about it. In short: The Century of the Self is a 2002 British television documentary series by filmmaker Adam Curtis. It focuses on the work of psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Anna Freud, and PR consultant Edward Bernays.

Key takeaways

The Century of the Self belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Century of the Self to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Century of the Self from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Century of the Self is a 2002 British television documentary series by filmmaker Adam Curtis. It focuses on the work of psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Anna Freud, and PR consultant Edward Bernays. In episode one, Curtis says, "This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy."

Episodes

Overview Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, changed our perception of the mind and its workings. The documentary explores the various ways that governments, global organizations and corporations have used Freud's theories. Freud and his nephew Edward Bernays, who was the first to use psychological techniques in public relations, are discussed in part one. His daughter Anna Freud, a pioneer of child psychoanalysis, is mentioned in part two. Wilhelm Reich, an opponent of Freud's theories, is discussed in part three.

Along these lines, The Century of the Self asks deeper questions about the roots and methods of consumerism and commodification and their implications. It also questions the modern way people see themselves, the attitudes to fashion, and superficiality. The business and political worlds use psychological techniques to read, create and fulfill the desires of the public, and to make their products and speeches as pleasing as possible to consumers and voters. Curtis questions the intentions and origins of this relatively new approach to engaging the public. Where once the political process was about engaging people's rational, conscious minds, as well as facilitating their needs as a group, Stuart Ewen, a historian of public relations, argues that politicians now appeal to primitive impulses that have little bearing on issues outside the narrow self-interests of a consumer society. The words of Paul Mazur, a leading Wall Street banker working for Lehman Brothers in 1927, are cited: "We must shift America from a needs- to a desires-culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. [...] Man's desires must overshadow his needs." In part four the main subjects are Philip Gould, a political strategist, and Matthew Freud, a PR consultant and the great-grandson of Sigmund Freud. In the 1990s, they were instrumental to bringing the Democratic Party in the US and New Labour in the United Kingdom back into power through use of the focus group, originally invented by psychoanalysts employed by US corporations to allow consumers to express their feelings and needs, just as patients do in psychotherapy. Curtis ends by saying that, "Although we feel we are free, in reality, we—like the politicians—have become the slaves of our own desires," and compares Britain and America to 'Democracity', an exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair created by Edward Bernays.

Contributors

Music Aaron Copland: Billy the Kid (ballet) Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel, Für Alina, Fratres Dmitri Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues (Shostakovich), Prelude 1 (C major) Gene Austin: My Blue Heaven Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90, beginning of the third movement (poco allegretto) Kano: She's a Star (from the album New York Cake) Louis Armstrong: What a Wonderful World Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Raymond Scott: Portofino 2 (from Manhattan Research Inc.) The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money) (from the film Gold Diggers of 1933) Ennio Morricone: Quelle foto (from the film Le foto proibite di una signora per bene) Felix Slatkin: The Green Leaves of Summer The John Barry Seven: Hit and Miss

Awards Best Documentary Series, Broadcast Awards Historical Film of the Year, History Today Trust Awards Nominated for:

Best Documentary Series, Royal Television Society Best Documentary Series, Grierson Documentary Awards Best Documentary, Indie Awards

References

External links The Century of the Self at BBC Online The Century of the Self at IMDb The Century of the Self – BBC Documentary (by Adam Curtis) by Dan Haggard in Reviews in Depth, 25 January 2010 Episode guide: Happiness Machines at BBC Online (archive copy) The Engineering of Consent at BBC Online (archive copy) There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed at BBC Online (archive copy) Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering at BBC Online (archive copy)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Century of the Self

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Century of the Self claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Century of the Self before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Century of the Self ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Century of the Self

In research: The Century of the Self appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Century of the Self in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Century of the Self is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000s British documentary television series, 2000s British television miniseries, 2002 British television series debuts, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Century of the Self outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Century of the Self in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Century of the Self means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Century of the Self out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Century of the Self in simple terms?

Why does The Century of the Self matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Century of the Self?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Century of the Self.