HyperNormalisation explained by Adam Curtis
Carlos CaperCited 4× on HN, 2021–2025
interview · general · evergreen · 2021–2025 on HN
A 30-minute edit of a conversation between Adam Curtis and Russell Brand in which Curtis explains HyperNormalisation and his ideas on individualism, power and real change.
HN refers to it as a compact source for the term HyperNormalisation and the idea of a constructed fake world.
Up next
15 mo on HNIn Search Of A Flat Earth
Folding Ideas
17 HN recommender · 2020–2026
13 mo on HNThe Century of the Self (Full Adam Curtis Documentary)
David Lessig
13 HN recommender · 2016–2026
11 mo on HNThe Loving Trap
Ben Woodhams
15 HN recommender · 2012–2026
9 mo on HNThe Century of the Self - Part 1: "Happiness Machines"
JustAdamCurtis
13 HN recommender · 2017–2025
8 mo on HNThis Is What Winning Looks Like (Full Length)
VICE
7 HN recommender · 2014–2023
8 mo on HNThe Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire | The Secret World of Finance
Independent POV
6 HN recommender · 2019–2024
8 mo on HNContrepreneurs: The Mikkelsen Twins
Folding Ideas
10 HN recommender · 2022–2026
8 mo on HNMay 1, 1969: Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications
Road Less Marveled
9 HN recommender · 2015–2026
8 mo on HNSeattle is Dying | A KOMO News Documentary
KOMO News
10 HN recommender · 2019–2024
8 mo on HNSinclair Broadcast Group: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
LastWeekTonight
10 HN recommender · 2017–2026
7 mo on HNEverything is a Remix (Original Series)
Kirby Ferguson
7 HN recommender · 2017–2026
8 mo on HNRoblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper.
People Make Games
9 HN recommender · 2021–2026
4 comments from Hacker News
> The reality is it was an entirely fake constructed world designed by advertisers, and to some lesser degree, the political class Did anyone else hear this narrated in Adam Curtis's voice, or is that just me? link > HyperNormalisation is a 2016 BBC documentary by British filmmaker Adam Curtis. It argues that following the global economic crises of the 1970s, governments, financiers and technological utopians gave up on trying to shape the complex "real world" and instead established a simpler "fake world" for the benefit of multi-national corporations that is kept stable by neoliberal governments. ▶ this video HyperNormalisation explained by Adam Curtis link HyperNormalisation (2016)
> If maga were both sincere and intelligent then they'd be actual nazis. They lack the second quality so they just spout ineffectually in public spaces thinking they'll get support. If they knew history they'd understand that's not a viable strategy. Ya need a lot more than that to build authoritarianism bro. Their egos won’t let them go full nazi. Cognitive dissonance is overcome via suspension of disbelief through self-hypnosis at home and collectively online and at rallies. Their need to appear respectable prevents how deep down the rabbit hole that most are willing to go, which is why they lean in to extremism, because it alienates followers from moderating influences of family and friends who are not already indoctrinated. It’s a cult of personality. The liberals are baited for clicks and impressions, and the left are again sidelined until the next time they need to be chided for being insufficiently centrist by liberals. Non-extremists on both sides become the controlled opposition relative to each other vis-à-vis the political parties proper. We’re tilting at windmills while digital sharecroppers toil on company plantations, their blood from stones mere grist for the blood money paper mill. link link HyperNormalisation (2016) > In Russia, Vladimir Putin and his cabinet of political technologists create mass confusion. Vladislav Surkov uses ideas from art to turn Russian politics into a bewildering piece of theatre. Donald Trump employs the same techniques in his pr
Yeah, thanks, but it's Hypernormalization. By chance (or the algo realizing I read HN) I watched an interesting edit of Adam Curtis explaining the term on Youtube too. ▶ this video
I've been binging Adam Curtis documentaries recently, and the unifying thread has been the rise of individualism and its being coopted by commerce. In a discussion regarding HyperNormalization [1], he argued that we're beginning to realize how shallow this individualism is, and religion will rear its head at some point to fill this void. [1] ▶ this video