slip inside this house: The Century of the Self

You're probably a busy person. Or so you've tricked yourself into thinking. One of the biggest illusions we all have is that our time is constantly occupied by important things. We like to think this because it makes us feel bigger. We feel stress, we organize our lives, we make up reasons to avoid leisure time with awkward friends because of how busy we are. All the pressures put on our lives drive us to do crazy things like take drugs and watch television, but ultimately when we get down to it we have plenty of time. We have time that simply slips by us in the maelstrom of stress. So when I tell you to watch 4 hours of a BBC documentary on how Freud's ideas are used to maintain control democracy you should do it. Why? Because it will probably do more to stimulate your head than your job or your latest social appointment.

The Century of the Self is certainly one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. It covers a wide spectrum of ideas, all centered around the effect of Freud's ideas on modern society, the consequence of his nephew Edward Bernays, and how our concept of the self has changed as well as consumerism and politics. Pretty heavy stuff, but it's conveniently in documentary rather than book form so it makes for an accessible venture.

While it's 4 hours long, it's conveniently split into 4 parts so you don't have to devote an entire evening to it. It's certainly a documentary that makes you feel smarter when you finish it, and while it deals with fairly obscure subject matter it doesn't have that paranoid college student who worships Alex Jones feel that documentaries like Esoteric Agenda or Zeitgeist have. It's made by the BBC for crying out loud! It's gotta be legit!

There! I gave you links, as well as a reason to watch it. What more do you need?