looks good.

If it’s a patch on the Power of Nightmares it’ll be brilliant thought provoking stuff. Billed as a documentary for the post-truth world, maybe he can make sense of the present madness

Brilliant thanks!

Fantastic documentarian. Looking forward to this.

Yeah, going to be good.

I heard him on 6 music earlier talking to Jarvis Cocker.

At first it sounded interesting and plausible but then it struck me he was doing that journalists’ trick of stating a series of true facts but putting them together to come up with some far-fetched conclusions.

that journalists’ trick of stating a series of true facts but putting them together to come up with some far-fetched conclusions.

That ‘trick’ would be how the vast majority of people construct their world-view/belief system.

At first it sounded interesting and plausible but then it struck me he was doing that journalists’ trick of stating a series of true facts but putting them together to come up with some far-fetched conclusions.

You’ve never actually watched any Adam Curtis documentaries, I take it?

You’d be hard pushed to find any piece of journalism or film-making that looks and feels as thoroughly and painstakingly well-researched. Which is why he’s so hugely respected.

But you just dismiss him as a conspiracy theorist…? Given the subject matter, I’m sure he’d find the irony of that highly amusing.

Its well worth watching. As thought provoking and informative, not to mention as beautifully visually constructed as the Power of Nightmares. Fascinating stuff.Absolutely compulsive viewing

Oh alright then I’ll watch it.

I thought it was just going to be all flashing lights and shadows.

Interesting stuff.

It weaves together a lot of different events and suggests a few interesting ideas.

Thought provoking.

I’d like to watch, but will i fall into a spiral of despair at the futility of our existence?

If so I might have to make a brew and go sand some wood in the shed instead…

At first it sounded interesting and plausible but then it struck me he was doing that journalists’ trick of stating a series of true facts but putting them together to come up with some far-fetched conclusions

You’ve never actually watched any Adam Curtis documentaries, I take it?

You’d be hard pushed to find any piece of journalism or film-making that looks and feels as thoroughly and painstakingly well-researched.
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I love AC and will be watching Hypernormalisation this week at some point – but I have to say that’s often the feeling I get from watching his stuff. I take it with a pinch of salt but there’s always some eye-opening stuff in there that totally justifies the watch.

But if he uses ‘A Warm Place’ by Nine Inch Nails ONE MORE TIME I shall be putting my foot through the telly and sending him the bill 😡

But if he uses ‘A Warm Place’ by Nine Inch Nails ONE MORE TIME I shall be putting my foot through the telly and sending him the bill

Lol

I’ll give it a watch tonight and let you know!

You’ve never actually watched any Adam Curtis documentaries, I take it?

You’d be hard pushed to find any piece of journalism or film-making that looks and feels as thoroughly and painstakingly well-researched. Which is why he’s so hugely respected.

But you just dismiss him as a conspiracy theorist…? Given the subject matter, I’m sure he’d find the irony of that highly amusing.

Its well worth watching. As thought provoking and informative, not to mention as beautifully visually constructed as the Power of Nightmares. Fascinating stuff.Absolutely compulsive viewing

I’m with you 100%, binners, and am glad to know that Curtis’ work is recognised, as I thought it was a bit ‘niche’.

Curtis is a ‘big picture’ journalist, in the sense that he is one of the few to ‘pan out’ and see the whole picture. It is not that he is always going to be right, but far from being conspiracy-theory-oriented, he argues for sound connections between events and ideas.

Binners mentions ‘The Power of Nightmares’, but I would say that, if you want to see an equally amazing survey of the contemporary world, watch ‘All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace’.

Bitter lake was plenty interesting and full of clarity. The impressionistic style does become a bit wearing.

But I look forward to this, hopefully the editor has become a bit keener.

Conspiracy theory may be the incorrect label but he paints a picture that is hard to argue with, usually going back a fair while in history to arrive at today.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1bX3F7uTrg[/video]

Meh. Snarky documentary maker tells us that the world is a bit screwed up. No kidding . 😐

Well…. there’s a bit more to it than that. But as Michael Gove so astutely observed; we’ve all had quite enough of experts, haven’t we?

Thanks for your contribution though. Maybe you’d prefer a picture of some kittens, as you don’t have to think about those too much….

If it’s a patch on the Power of Nightmares it’ll be brilliant thought provoking stuff.

Was most excellent, have a copy somewhere….

I’d like to watch, but will i fall into a spiral of despair at the futility of our existence?

Have you tried religion? 😉

if you want to see an equally amazing survey of the contemporary world, watch ‘All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace’.

Thanks, downloading now…..

Only made it about 40 minutes in. I pretty much agree with the general theme of his docs but find them unwatchable.

Thanks for your contribution though. Maybe you’d prefer a picture of some kittens, as you don’t have to think about those too much….

His contribution is an excellent one, as that clip skewers Curtis very nicely indeed.
THe guy who made that has done Curtis a favour, actually, as he was starting to serve up some complete bobbins and a piss-take like that is a reality check. Bitter lake was a return to form (IMHO) so I’m looking forward to this current one.

The film is of a Curtis style, and there are some non-links made, but the film is a good one, with some very interesting clips.

It reinforces my view that we should always question what we are told, and not just look for a simple answer to everything,

Watched it last night, it was excellent. Better than Bitter Lake I thought.

Bitter Lake seemed like 90 minutes of content squeezed into just over two hours. This made better use of its running time,

Thought the Middle East narrative was pretty convincing, the stuff about UFO’s and Trump less so. He seemed to be shoehorning in the latter to make his themes a bit more topical, it didn’t really need it it was a good enough narrative without it.

Ta binners. Yep I watched last night too, it is definitely worth a watch. It didn’t need all content though unless I was missing links somewhere – the bit about the Aladdin computer (got that bit) but then everyone in the town being on prozac (I understood the altering of perception bit about it but it seemed to belong to a different documentary). Otherwise all good. More like that for Monday evenings please.

The common thread through the film was the continual misinformation and the ever-changing “enemy” -illustrated by the people who’s status’ oscillate between “most evil middle eastern dictator” and “friend of the West”, with long-term repercussions.

Trump is an example of somebody who hardly even pretends to be telling “the truth”.

Raised as many questions as it attempted to answer … thought it was good

And the Trump inclusion brought the theory that we are basically living in the Matrix right up to date.

Is Trump, Agent Smith ?

In a post truth world most voters don’t believe a word that’s said. Why bother with the truth or try to cover up that you are lying. … Trump has taken up the great lie and run with it attacking people on all sides as he goes

Just watching it now, a bit slow….

Where’s jivehoneyjove gone? Makes you think…

Excellent as ever, scary though. I’m going to go back to Binners picture of kittens… aahhhh

I am Aladdin…

Got about halfway through this evening, need to find a couple of hours somewhere!

His blog is also very good, though irregular:

Blog

Taken from an article on Vice dated Dec 2012

Do you get the impression that the journalists of today are ill-equipped to deal with this world?

Yes, to go back to the journalists who are reporting on things at the moment: the financial crisis – do you really understand what that crisis was about? No, because what they do is they talk in the language of the very thing that gave us the crisis. They talk in the language of economics. Now, no economist, none of them, saw that crisis coming, just like how neither MI6 nor any of the intelligence agencies saw the fall of the Berlin Wall coming. Night after night, Robert Peston and various other allied operatives within the techno-economic reporting fraternity come on to our screen and use the terminology of a failed pseudo-science – economics – to explain it. And we don’t understand it and we feel that it’s not the whole story.

“We had enough of experts” said by our hero… all be it in a different context… three and a half years before Gove.

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/looking-beneath-the-waves-v10n12

So what other glimpses of the future can we gleam from him ?

Got about halfway through this evening, need to find a couple of hours somewhere!

I went to bed with half an hour still to go!

Maybe it’s my age, but I’d rather he condensed it all, I don’t have the time/patience for long drawn out programs any more….

There were a few things off the mark. For example the Arab uprisings for the most part were encouraged, facilitated and sponsored by American and her allies (due to public pressure as a result of terrorist attacks the UK has stopped showing off in the news) as part of their soft war efforts to overthrow leaders who don’t cooperate with their interests.

The hard wars only come last when all other alternatives have been exhausted and to get “your man” in the power vacuum.

They learnt the double dealing knuckle duster in kid gloves approach from the British empire they helped dismantle.

The suggestion this geo-political gamesmanship is a recent thing ignores history, it’s been going on since humans first formed tribes.

So do we get a good old fashioned East-West split Syria after they have reduced the place to rubble and killed enough of them?

I notice Iran came to the negotiating table with a new leader once the heat was turned up around them. Who’s next?

good job I didn’t watch it last night or I’d have been rambling throughout my workshop with the IT strategy blokes* in work 🙂 I’m about 40mins in so far

*very few women in that team sadly

I’m only an hour into it so far (bed called). I quite like the idea of Gadaffi being portrayed as the world’s no. 1 baddy then him cheerfully playing up to it. I can believe that.

I can remember even as a kid when the USA bombed Libya, people were saying he was a useful idiot, a puppet to blame for things. Of course those minority views don’t survive in the official narrative of history.

Addictive viewing and some terrific insights. Have to say I love it.

You could argue there’s too much stating opinion as fact though, and he needs to read up on Hanlon’s Razor.

I love everything Adam Curtis does. It’s like reading a Thomas Pynchon novel. Rambling, digressive, paranoid, but always fascinating. Curtis is at least prepared to go beneath the banality of news reporting and examine the deep structures of why things happen the way they do. I’m not saying he’s always convincing, but he’s always thought-provoking.

That parody on page 1 – I don’t think it quite succeeds in demolishing Curtis’ work, but it is funny! I’m sure Curtis would approve.

I enjoyed “bitter lake” so much ,I watched it again.
On the list.ta.

I enjoyed “bitter lake” so much ,I watched it again.

I loved the interview with the ex British Army officer.

“How did we identify who was Taliban? Well, if they shot at us, they were Taliban.”