
HyperNormalisation [video] - paulpauper
https://thoughtmaybe.com/hypernormalisation/?repost
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frabbit
I disagree that it takes too long. I wallow in it:

    
    
      - Russian folk punk 
      - Avant garde theatre theory to control the spectacle
      - Trump's roots in the banksters' destruction of New York 
        city government by financialization
      - The elites not as MoTU, but as clueless story chasers -- 
        now without a story
    

I recommend setting aside a couple of hours and enjoying this.

~~~
willholloway
Agreed, a tremendous work with a dream like quality, a phantasmagoria
contrasting vapid American consumer culture, against bloody reality in the
lands the great powers toy with.

Also interesting observations on William Gibson's work and the genesis of the
EFF.

Definitely worth watching in it's entirety.

It's central thesis, that the current state of affairs has become too complex
to predict for elites, and that either a fake, simplified reality is both
created and presented to the masses, and also willingly retreated into.

Plus great stuff about the cynicism created by the failure and capitulation of
social movements.

One of it's assertions is that Gaddafi willingly accepted a false role as a
global supervillian because he liked the attention and status, and was in fact
not actually responsible for some of the terrorist acts attributed to him, was
completely new to me.

History and reality is hard to know in an age of state sponsored manipulation
campaigns, intelligence and counter-intelligence, spycraft and subterfuge.

One has to look at any attribution as highly suspect in this environment. Cui
bono?

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gdubs
I used to _love_ his documentaries. I'm a fan of the music, and the aesthetic.
I haven't seen HyperNormalisation, and plan to.

But, years later I look back and kind of think, 'huh, was there really
substance to these films, or are the more art piece than legit documentary?"

From what I recall, they're not exactly clear on the sources for claims, and
the filmmaking style is fairly manipulative – dramatic music and ominous stock
footage that would make almost any politicians look like lizard people.

edit: Also, not saying they'd be 'bad' if they're more 'art' than
'documentary', but that context is important and I know from experience it's
easy to take films at face value.

~~~
creaghpatr
Narrative aside, there is some amazing footage from the 70s and 80s just
seeing those clips made the whole thing worth it.

Taken as a whole it comes off as a conspiracy theory and I think that was
intentional, but the individual parts contained a ton of interesting factually
correct history tidbits paired with said footage.

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erentz
The thesis is good. But like many of Adam Curtis's documentaries this can feel
like it takes too long to get to the point. For the curious (and montage
averse) the Chapo Trap House podcast had an interview with Adam Curtis
(Episode 65) in which the thesis was outlined much faster, and in more amusing
fashion.

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intopieces
I disagree. I listened to the Chapo Trap House podcast with Adam Curtis and
was incredibly disappointed. They seemed to have barely superficial
familiarity with HyperNormalization or Curtis' work in general. It was
awkward. Curtis can talk at length linking topics like government, culture,
science fiction, and 21st century monetary policy together while the podcast
guys made lame jokes that did not really fit with the theme or mood.

~~~
erentz
Hmm. I had watched the documentary before listening to the podcast, so maybe
my assessment was off since I was already primed with the info.

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mifreewil
Tip: You can right click on video and download for offline viewing.

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JackFr
Not really a documentary -- just an extended op-ed piece. If you already have
any deep knowledge of the topics he goes into, he's not terribly convincing
(sometimes even getting a bit looney.)

On the other hand it's nice to see a brazenly unapologetic Marxist, rather
than the milquetoast, watered-down socialists the media normally present.

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ironchief
I'd watch Oh Dearism II first [1] as it's only 5 minutes long. Then read
Sarkov's "Without Sky"[2]. These two pieces of information are the best way to
ground yourself against both "news" and apathy.

2014 - "Things are increasingly chaotic, along with the reporting of the
events in the culture of 24-7 rolling news, sound-byte feeds and the Internet.
The result, as we see, is not a coherent public understanding of these complex
events, but more a profound mass-confusion, with discourse destroyed"

[1][https://thoughtmaybe.com/oh-dearism-2](https://thoughtmaybe.com/oh-
dearism-2)
[2][http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue582/without_sky.html](http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue582/without_sky.html)

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apexalpha
Adam Curtis is, by far, the best documentary maker I know. His origin-of-
terrorism doc "Bitter Lake" gives an insight no one else will.

Hypernormalisation is, also because it is simply the most recent, his best
docu imho. If you liked this, take a look at The Century of the Self as well.

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dandare
In my book this is a post-truth for the left. All my hip friends shared this
on FB months ago. Hypnotizing voice, amazing imagery, cool music, selective
facts, far fetched conclusions, simplifications dressed as induction. Thanks
but no thanks.

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lunchladydoris
This was mentioned here a couple weeks ago. I watched it and his previous
film, Bitter Lake, in quick succession. Both were really interesting and well
worth the time.

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callesgg
Lack of sources and many unverifiable claims about peoples intentions and
interpretations of situations.

But it is and interesting view of the described events.

