Title: The Century of the Self
Date: 20191117
Tags: thoughts
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After hearing about it from Kensanata[0], I watched "The Century of the Self".
It's an interesting documentary. I'd heard some of the stories referenced such
as the one about the Betty Crocker cake mix. I have also heard of some of the
manipulation techniques in discussions about the diamond industry[1], for
example. De Beers was able to turn an abundant and worthless stone into a
symbol of love and eternity using actresses in movies and other marketing. I
was immediately reminded of this when the documentary covered how women were
convinced to smoke.
New to me was a lot of the changes in psychoanalysis and government involvement.
I think what the documentary makes clear to me is that people and societies ebb
and flow. People are motivated by their environment and we don't really know
exactly what deeper impulses might be guiding them. Society can be manipulated
by taking advantage of, or causing, changes in their environment and the current
motivations will be exploited by those who want to make money or gain power.
"Wake up sheeple"
[0]
gopher://alexschroeder.ch:70/02019-11-15_The_Century_of_the_Self
[1]
https://www.stuffmomnevertoldyou.com/podcasts/are-diamonds-a-girls-best-friend.htm
