Adam Curtis

linebaugh

Well-known member
you like him to begin with though? we all liked him until now. theres something about now that makes it seem suddenly unappealing.
could be the type of political excavating he's doing has gone mainstream and feels a little grubby. probably just over exposure though, Ive only seen hyper normalization and am looking foward to this one
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
His point in that interview about "experiencing selves" makes me think of the Huxley "reality valve" psychedelics supposedly blow open. Maybe that's what the internet's done too. We can't function anymore because we've thrown open the doors of perception and can't handle it. It's too much to process. We're being bombarded with the noise of an entire planet.

The prism has shattered and each of the infinite directions to look in is a fractalised mandlebrot of terror
 

catalog

Well-known member
I liked him up to the machines of saving grace one. I went back after that and watched a few of the earlier ones, not everything though.

The last one felt very plodding and without any focus.

Also I chased up a few of his references, got into the music he uses, found out he produced the Richard Billingham video from ages ago. He's good I think, just played this same tune a few too many times.
 

luka

Well-known member
could be the type of political excavating he's doing has gone mainstream and feels a little grubby. probably just over exposure though, Ive only seen hyper normalization and am looking foward to this one
pynchon does a similar thing in that he will go look at this person and this institution and look at their path through history and how it interacts with this and that and have you heard of IG Farben. Kantbot i see is doing this kind of thing now and some of his internet pals.
 
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version

Well-known member
pynchon does a similar thing in that he will go look at this person and this institution and look at their path through history and how it interacts with this and that and have you heard of IG Farben. Kantbot i see is doing this kind of thing now and some of his internet pals.
Apparently one of them made him read GR.
 

luka

Well-known member
i do think it works particularly well for people like us who like the idea of being educated and reading books and researching and so on but really, when it comes down to it, cant be fucked.
 

luka

Well-known member
you go oh yeah this is really interesting i wish i was into this and could be fucked following up all the threads and that and you go off into a nice little reverie where you imagine yourself as a person who reads books and makes notes
 

luka

Well-known member
i'll try and remember that name, you say to yourself, i'll look him up on wikipedia, but then youve forgotten the name five seconds later oh well
 

catalog

Well-known member
Perhaps this is why Curtis has lost his appeal somewhat. As in, you know now that you'll be more confused and bewildered after watching it and oh look things are getting more and more fucked by the day outside...

But also, with this latest one, it's his fundamentally pessimistic framing from the outset that did it. It's so miserabilist. It's like you are required to fall for that view of reality. It's so unappealing.
 

version

Well-known member
He doesn't see it that way at all, if you read that Brooker interview.
I’m afraid I disagree with your take that the stories I tell means that all attempts to change the world always end in failure. I would argue that that is the pessimistic ideology of our age that you are emotionally projecting on to my films. What I am trying to do in all these films is to explain why those attempts to change the world failed. Because I think we are living in a moment across the world – not just in the west, but in Russia and in China too – when there is a growing yearning and demand for some kind of change. An escape from societies that have become riddled with inequalities and corruption. It’s a demand that is repeatedly knocking at the door, in all kinds of forms, from Occupy to Trump to Black Lives Matter. Which means it is really important to look back and examine what it was that went wrong, so we can learn. And one of the blocks on that idea of changing things – as I try and show throughout the films – is a view of human beings as fundamentally irrational, not fully in control of their actions, and easily manipulable. Which means that it is always too dangerous to try and change things, and instead we should just gather as much data as we can and try and keep things stable.

[...]

I think that we are trapped in a time that is frightened to examine that question, because that fear of the future and the dark imaginings it has bred in our minds has gone very deep. And in these films I am trying to pull back and explain the roots of those fears and uncertainties. What we have forgotten is that we as human beings created this world that surrounds us now – not just the bad and frightening bits, but all of it. In the films I quote the great anthropologist and activist called David Graeber, who sadly died last year. He said very simply, “The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something we make. And could just as easily make different.” I find that a thrilling idea.
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
I mean, yeah, we all know what we're in for. Pontificating about why it's going to dissapoint you and writing it off without even giving it a go says more about your own malaise and dampened embers than it does Curtis doing his thang.
 

catalog

Well-known member
Well, if you watch it and become inspired to make change, good for you and Ill take that inspiration on board. But my point is that his style and way of doing things is no longer inspiring and that stylistic issue is a problem for me.
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
He doesn't see it that way at all, if you read that Brooker interview.
I’m afraid I disagree with your take that the stories I tell means that all attempts to change the world always end in failure. I would argue that that is the pessimistic ideology of our age that you are emotionally projecting on to my films. What I am trying to do in all these films is to explain why those attempts to change the world failed. Because I think we are living in a moment across the world – not just in the west, but in Russia and in China too – when there is a growing yearning and demand for some kind of change. An escape from societies that have become riddled with inequalities and corruption. It’s a demand that is repeatedly knocking at the door, in all kinds of forms, from Occupy to Trump to Black Lives Matter. Which means it is really important to look back and examine what it was that went wrong, so we can learn. And one of the blocks on that idea of changing things – as I try and show throughout the films – is a view of human beings as fundamentally irrational, not fully in control of their actions, and easily manipulable. Which means that it is always too dangerous to try and change things, and instead we should just gather as much data as we can and try and keep things stable.

[...]

I think that we are trapped in a time that is frightened to examine that question, because that fear of the future and the dark imaginings it has bred in our minds has gone very deep. And in these films I am trying to pull back and explain the roots of those fears and uncertainties. What we have forgotten is that we as human beings created this world that surrounds us now – not just the bad and frightening bits, but all of it. In the films I quote the great anthropologist and activist called David Graeber, who sadly died last year. He said very simply, “The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something we make. And could just as easily make different.” I find that a thrilling idea.

This is it. But you know noone, including me clicked the link and read the interview, just like noone checked the podcast interview I posted a page or two back. There's something about the intimidation posed by someone actually trying to do something. Almost like it rubs our sense of powerlessness in our faces. The instinct is to knock it. To take the piss. Also, We've had our fingers burned far too many times by those offering a solution. All of which eventually leads to stalemate.
 

WashYourHands

Cat Malogen
1st ep criticism

could be condensed to 45mins tops, the corridors footage should be cleaved out

a trigger warning for David Cameron's face, haven't seen that fat headed cunt in a while then boom, Call Me Dave's inbred mug loomed up (violent thoughts it's ok, he's gone now)
 
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