The Century of Self Transcript
http://dotsub.com/view/9cfe48bd-cc34-4aac-8d12-1723727de8da/viewTranscript/eng
A hundred years ago a new theory about human nature was put forth by Sigmund Freud. He had discovered he said, primitive, sexual and aggressive forces hidden deep inside the minds of all human beings. Forces which if not controlled, led individuals and societies to chaos and destruction.
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.
But the heart of the story is not just Sigmund Freud but other members of the Freud family. This episode is about Freud's American nephew, Edward Bernays. Bernays is almost completely unknown today but his influence on the 20th century was nearly as great as his uncles.
Because Bernays was the first person to take Freud's idea about human beings and use them to manipulate the masses. He showed American corporations for the first time how to they could make people want things they didn't need by linking mass produced goods to their unconscious desires.
Out of this would come a new political ideal of how to control the masses. By satisfying people's inner selfish desires one made them happy and thus docile. It was the start of the all-consuming self which has come to dominate our world today.
Part One - Happiness Machines
Freud's ideas about how the human mind works have now become an accepted part of society. As have psychoanalysts.
Every year the psychotherapists' ball is held in a grand palace in Vienna.
Dr. Alfred Fritz, President World Council for Psychotherapy: This is the psychotherapy ball. Psychotherapists come, some advanced patients come, former patients come, and many other people - friends, but also people from the Viennese society who like to come to a nice, elegant, comfortable ball.
But it was not always so. A hundred years ago Freud's ideas were hated by Viennese society. At that time Vienna was the center of a vast empire ruling central
A hundred years ago a new theory about human nature was put forth by Sigmund Freud. He had discovered he said, primitive, sexual and aggressive forces hidden deep inside the minds of all human beings. Forces which if not controlled, led individuals and societies to chaos and destruction.
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.
But the heart of the story is not just Sigmund Freud but other members of the Freud family. This episode is about Freud's American nephew, Edward Bernays. Bernays is almost completely unknown today but his influence on the 20th century was nearly as great as his uncles.
Because Bernays was the first person to take Freud's idea about human beings and use them to manipulate the masses. He showed American corporations for the first time how to they could make people want things they didn't need by linking mass produced goods to their unconscious desires.
Out of this would come a new political ideal of how to control the masses. By satisfying people's inner selfish desires one made them happy and thus docile. It was the start of the all-consuming self which has come to dominate our world today.
Part One - Happiness Machines
Freud's ideas about how the human mind works have now become an accepted part of society. As have psychoanalysts.
Every year the psychotherapists' ball is held in a grand palace in Vienna.
Dr. Alfred Fritz, President World Council for Psychotherapy: This is the psychotherapy ball. Psychotherapists come, some advanced patients come, former patients come, and many other people - friends, but also people from the Viennese society who like to come to a nice, elegant, comfortable ball.
But it was not always so. A hundred years ago Freud's ideas were hated by Viennese society. At that time Vienna was the center of a vast empire ruling central