Cultural engineering

MASS CONTROL

I'm watching this great BBC series called The Century of the Self (link plays film) focusing on the work of Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud and Edward Bernays which looks at ways corporations and governments have analysed and controlled people - especially citizens of America after the second world war. This eye-opening documentary should be watched by everyone, so they can better understand why they are making decisions of a group mindset to conform and obey. Bernays was a genius at 'public relations' - a phrase he coined in favour of the word 'propaganda' because it's then recent connotations to Hitler's Germany.

After studies conducted on Americans returning from the war, Bernays feared that the public's democratic judgement was not to be relied upon and therefore had to be guided. The rise of having psychiatrists monitor and assess the nation was based on the discoveries that we all have this uncontrollable darker side to us. To stop societal problems from occurring, Bernays learned to swap our primal 'needs' for consumer 'desires' using clever marketing & advertising. His thinking was also on a par with another advocate for swaying cultural opinions and guiding mass culture - Walter Lippman. The techniques used to influence popular opinion and bring about a culture of consumers are in use today, greatly enhanced for modern times - and still effective for keeping equilibrium in society.

The manipulation of the Americans (and everyone else in the world) reminds me of a favourite horror film by John Carpenter - They Live - you can watch the whole film from below link.