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Hypernormalisation | Full Documentary | Adam Curtis

Adam Curtis Documentaries
Documentaries
YouTube
1 HN user recommended this documentary1 month2024–2026 score 1.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN points to it for its account of propaganda that sows distrust and confusion, and as a starting point for Adam Curtis's work.

Adam Curtis's 2016 BBC documentary arguing that politicians, financiers and technologists retreated into a simplified, fake version of the world because reality became too complex. It ranges across Trump, Brexit, Syria, Surkov's Russia and more.

“Adam Curtis is great, definitely check out his other work.” (HN, 2026)

1 strong recommendations · 2 citations · Documentaries

3 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@adwi Aug 2026 Strongly recommends
on HN thread The USSR in 100 Photographs
Adam Curtis is great, definitely check out his other work. Hypernormalisation is a good place to start: [this video]
Good starting point for Adam Curtis's work

Citations, criticism and jokes

@zackmorris Feb 2025 Cites it
on HN thread The Strike Is Coming
Read more
We should be mindful that HN doesn't have an unflag button. The post shouldn't be flagged, so flagging it acts on behalf of the status quo. Let the flagging stand as a testament to collaboration. We already experienced a general strike during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than breaking billionaires and multinational corporations, it made them stronger. So withholding our labor is part of the equation, but not all of it. We're moving into hypernormalization: [link] I only learned of this documentary this morning, so have yet to watch it: [this video] Hypernormalisation | Full Documentary | Adam Curtis Within a corporation, one person at the top dictates all behavior in exchange for monetary compensation, meaning that it's the job of each subordinate to shield superiors from work or anything that's against the interests of the corporation. Yes-men are rewarded handsomely while objectors are laid off. Over time, corporations become akin to feudal states, vying for control of the kingdom. The wealthiest/most powerful person performs the role of king and dictates each corporation's behavior in exchange for that corporation's right to exist. What this means is that corporate strategies such as running government like a business are eroding democracy globally. Where is this all going? Labor compensation diverged from productivity in the 1970s when global industrial capacity and energy production could no longer keep pace with the rising cost of the Cold War - aka the guns vs butter model
Commenter hasn't watched it yet but cites it

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