The Century of the Self

(starts a little abruptly...think it was recorded off TV!)

Okay...this is not exactly about CSR but I was reminded about it after our conversations about consumerism on Friday.

This is a very highly acclaimed, if not widely enough known, 4-part documentary by Adam Curtis about how "the masses" have been pacified, minipulated and controlled by capitalist corporate culture.

The first episode tells the story of Edward Bernays, a cousin of Freud, who is widely recognised as the inventer of PR. Bernays was fascinated with minipulating the mind and took a lot of inspiration from the Propoganda used by the Nazis in the Second World War.

The story of making smoking acceptable for women (around 12:00) fascinates me.

All four episodes are a must see - especially when dealing with the retail industry.