The Century of the Self – "Happiness Machines," the first episode of Adam Curtis’s groundbreaking documentary, delves into the emergence of propaganda in the United States, initially developed under the auspices of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) during World War I. Tasked with rallying public support for the war, the CPI pioneered methods of mass persuasion so effective they were widely reemployed after the war.
These techniques found a new home in the burgeoning consumer culture of the 20th century through the work of Edward Bernays, the nephew of Sigmund Freud. Drawing on Freud's theories of the unconscious mind, Bernays mastered the art of controlling the masses by appealing to their irrational inner desires. By linking products to emotions, aspirations, and social identity, he pioneered how to sell consumers products they didn’t need.
His early successes marked the birth of American consumerism and laid the groundwork for a society shaped as much by psychological manipulation as by rational choice. The Century of the Self uncovers this profound shift, revealing how the techniques of persuasion reshaped society and redefined the meaning of a “free” society.
