Century of the Self

Adam Curtis's 2002 BBC documentary series tracing how Freudian theory was used by Edward Bernays and his successors to manipulate mass consumer behavior and political opinion — arguing that the 20th century's mass consumer society was built on the deliberate manipulation of the unconscious.

Creates the documentary history of how Freudian psychology was weaponized for propaganda and consumption — Century of the Self's account of Bernays, Anna Freud, Wilhelm Reich, and the focus group revolution provides the most accessible narrative of how the unconscious became a tool of social control.