
HyperNormalisation trailer [video] - mladen5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz6u7xRznjY
======
madaxe_again
If you enjoyed this, Jean Baudrillard's _Simulacra and Simulation_ is what he
has drawn heavily upon. He talks extensively about the "hyperreal" mental
reality we exist within.

If you enjoyed that, you might like Phil K Dick's existential works like _Flow
my tears_ , _cantata 140_ , hell anything of his almost. Even "the defenders"
is a full on frontal assault on reality.

Finally, if you want to go clean off the deep end, read his Exegesis and
Valis.

~~~
freshhawk
Oh man, Valis is the most interesting piece of physicalized mental illness
I've ever experienced. I think it helps to already be very familiar with
Dick's style when you read it.

And I'll also second all the rest of these recommendations as well.

~~~
madaxe_again
Although it might be worth mentioning that it's somewhat contagious. Keep on
squinting at the Black Iron Prison.

------
soufron
I liked the movie, but I was upset by the heavy amount of conspiracy he put
in, and also the fact that he considered alternate theories on events as if
they were the only ones worthy of attention. I am thinking about his
description of the bombings as false flags destined to put the blame on
gaddafi instead of syria. The main counter-intelligence on these was due to
italian secret services, but further information obtained through the years
totally debunked it. Still, he acts as if there was no question about it. To
him, it's a US manipulation. I think it casts doubt on the rest of the movie.

~~~
joblessjunkie
I also spent a lot of my time watching the film trying to sort out how much is
truth, and how much is propaganda or deliberate misinformation.

However, I think this also exactly the point this film is making about our
modern media and political environment, which makes the film all the more
effective and terrifying.

~~~
soufron
So you think he did it on purpose and made a sort of mockumentary?

~~~
joblessjunkie
I do not believe it was a mockumentary or wheels-within-wheels meta-
commentary.

I was just struck by the irony that all the accusations leveled by the
filmmaker at the media and our government also apply to this film itself.

------
partycoder
I watched it.

Now, I don't really think there's a hidden power governing everything. It's
just the path of least resistance and we are following it.

~~~
rm_-rf_slash
There are many hidden powers governing a lot of things, but the world is
simply too large and complex for any single entity to truly control
everything, even a global niche is difficult to grab and even harder to keep.

It's kind of comforting, in a way.

------
RileyJames
I watched this after it was last posted to hacker news. The footage from the
BBC archives is excellent and the narrative it strings together is compelling.
Any other books or movies that expand on similar topics?

~~~
smcl
Bitter Lake is another film by the same person (Adam Curtis) film I think
you'd like

~~~
wycx
I think Curtis' most underrated series is The Mayfair Set. It certainly
planted a seed in me regarding interest in economic history. Not to mention,
"We built this city on high yield bonds".

~~~
smcl
After I posted my comment I found a huge playlist of Curtis films on Youtube,
and worked my way through The Mayfair Set - very enjoyable, but I feel a bit
dirty afterwards (there's a lot of shady goings on and seedy people, it feels
infectious)

------
iamben
I shared this on HN a while back. It's an interesting watch (at nearly 3
hours, Curtis keeps you entertained throughout). For those in the UK, you can
watch the whole thing on iPlayer here:
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p04b183c/adam-curtis-
hy...](http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p04b183c/adam-curtis-
hypernormalisation)

~~~
noobermin
There is a less authentic version if you look around on youtube for those of
us not in the UK...

~~~
pimlottc
There's torrents too, of course; but what's less authentic about the youtube
copies? Or do you mean that they're being posted without authorization?

~~~
Mathnerd314
IIRC the Youtube versions have some audio cut out to avoid music copyrights.

------
hawkice
Wow, there are a lot of really positive comments here for a youtube video that
might as well be called Conspiracy Fnord. Can we get a more appropriate link
so the comments at least slightly match the content of the video?

------
napsterbr
Regardless of your political opinion about the video, there's a shortish part
where Adam Curtis talks about Cyberspace and the cyberpunk movement. As a big
fan of William Gibson's work, I've found that part alone well worth the time.
I'm sure there are a lot of fellow cyberpunk fans here, so this is my advice:
if you are not interested by the political aspect of the documentary, the
Cyberspace bit is worth your time (and pretty much free of political
discussion, as the Cyberspace should be)

~~~
noobermin
Trying to be careful with "political opinion" is almost antithetical to the
point of the video. Let the medium speak for itself.

------
djhworld
It's certainly a meal of a documentary, as Adam Curtis's docs often are. The
bits that stood out to me the most was the discussion around the internet and
echo chambers it has produced.

I had to consume this is 3-4 sittings, but I think that's how it was designed
to be watched anyway, the documentary was only ever released on BBC iPlayer

------
noobermin
That was eyeopening. The documentary provides us with just another example of
leaders twisting religious beliefs to benefit their own power struggles, and
somehow, they win, even when their added doctrine go against the established
religion.

------
intopieces
I haven't been able to verify the Syria link to the Lockerbie bombing. Anyone
able to help me out?

~~~
soufron
It was an alt theory at the time, but it has been debunked since then.

Have fun :
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103_conspiracy_t...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103_conspiracy_theories)

