Robots

For both (or either) Adam Curtis and Sigmund Freud, can we be trusted to take care of ourselves?

       After looking at Curtis and Freud’s views on civilisation, it appears to be highly unlikely as well as risky to let humans take care of themselves. At the beginning of the video, Century of the Self, it states that, “this series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy.” When looking at Curtis’ video Century of the Self you can dramatically see how people are practically brainwashed as consumers. A Wall Street Banker, Paul Mazer, declares "we must shift America from a needs- to a desires-culture” (Century of the Self) in the 1930’s; this statement expresses the particular values in a civilisation and whether it is for the benefit of the society, or not is another matter. It demonstrates the control that civilisation has in directing individuals how they want them to live.

       Looking back on the stock market crash, people needed to go back to consuming what was a necessity in their lives and it was devastating. It was as if once you took that step forward into a glamorous consumer lifestyle, it is difficult to go back to a simple way of being. Obviously there were a lot more complexities to it, but I’m trying to propose that it’s hard for people once they live a materialistic lifestyle to go back to a simple necessity-consumption-only lifestyle. The government and media have such a powerful influence in pushing people to move forward, thus it makes it extremely challenging for some to genuinely take care of themselves when now people rely heavily on something they cannot control.

       For example, now with cell phones when someone’s cell breaks it is dramatically compared to the end of the world for some people and they feel as though they have lost all communication with people out of their sight; which is horrifying for them. However, weren’t people surviving just fine less than fifty years ago without them? People have built such reliance on technology and for possessions to work instantly that when they break down they don’t know what to do anymore. This I believe to actually hinder human development, some people are losing their ‘street smarts’ so to speak, or even their common sense.

       Freud suggests that to be involved in civilization an individual must sacrifice some personal happiness in order to promote the interests of social unity and cohesion in their society. He believed we would be completely out of control with our true impulses, thus to be civilized we must do without the two vital claims to our instincts: sex and violence. Clearly, Freud believed we cannot trust ourselves and if someone is to participate in a society they must be civilised. Since people must live together in society, it is hard to strive for happiness while trying to avoid suffering or displeasure by not indulging in our impulses.

       Overall, I’d like to believe that humans can be trusted to take care of themselves, but after learning of Curtis and Freud’s views it seems as though it is virtually impossible for individuals to exist in society and live completely harmoniously with their impulses. Since civilisation controls these ‘dangerous’ impulses, it demonstrates civilisation’s influence in the ability to control individual lifestyles to an extent (example, making them consumers). After watching the video, I thought that it was a saddening picture, watching people being directed into a way of life like robots. However, I think now if people were to start being trusted to take care of ourselves, we would not know what to do, or where to start.