Adam Curtis

[InbetweenDreams]

Anyone a fan of Adam Curtis? I've watched several documentaries...they're done in a very unique way that kind of keeps you paying attention.

I've watched Bitter Lake and wow.... I know most documentaries have a spin or a point of view but you don't really get that feeling with the works I've seen, perhaps the series called "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" had a little bit of that. They're all interesting to say the least and it's not done in a linear way, they do hop from one thing to the next.

Anyway what's everyone's thoughts? Like, don't like?

[Cardiganwearer]

Tl;dr, just the first sentence.

Adam Curtis enthusiast here. I would disagree that he doesn't have an agenda, it's not a partisan one so it's hard to spot. The plethora of seemingly unrelated images is there to emphasise that we live in a world where the medium is the message and that we're so bombarded with images that it's hard to discern what's really going on. He had this view even before the internet explosion. He could be seen as a tad conspiratorial because his take seems to be that there is really something underlying the things he describes but you get the impression that he may think this is accident rather than design.

You'll have discovered that there's no shortage of his stuff on Youtube.

I would highly recommend The Mayfair Set. It may be a bit British for your taste but it's an excellent portrait of how the money men, gamblers for the most part in this case, monetised all aspects of our society to enrich themselves and hollowed out all the institutions that form the fine structure that gives people self-worth and supports what we call society. It happened in America, too, so the themes will be familiar but the characters he uses to illustrate it are very English, so you would be forgiven for not sticking with it (they are hugely unappealing, too, which doesn't help). The characters are all people who I heard of when I was growing up so I have some reference points. It's worth watching to see some of the most vile of people talk to camera in a self justifying way when we all know know they were little more than crooks that spawned a modern economy that is run by spivs and crooks. Whatever you do, don't be taken in by these people because they are toffs; that's one of Curtis's clever aspects. He takes the risk of letting people be lured by the glib and tawdry so that when you do get it you can feel pleased that you did the heavy lifting and he just laid the evidence before you. He does this too with his tendency to use music and imagery that cuts across his line of argument. It may seem to undermine his argument by being some kind of background phantasmagoria but again makes the viewer do some work, which leaves you pleased when you understand rather than feeling you've been argued at or spoonfed.

If you've discovered Adam Curtis, can I recommend Charlie Brooker? You've probably already discovered him for yourself. As a pair they always put me in mind of the old nostrum that history repeats itself first as tragedy and then as farce. Curtis documents the tragedy and Brooker illuminates the farce. Both fully appreciate the way that life is now conducted and understood through the distorting mirror of the media and grasp the irony that they are using that very media.

Also if you want to expand your vocabulary and have a taste for sarcasm at its subtle best have a look at Jonathan Meades. Not quite the same neck of the woods, his thing is architectural criticism, but you'll certainly recognise some of the trees. His ability to do a highly contentious piece to camera and then stand unblinking for fifteen seconds while it sinks in is almost intimidating, but highly effective. Have a dictionary handy, he has a vocabulary and isn't afraid to use it. He, too, is of the view that the things of real value have been degraded beyond recognition by our willingness to trade them.