Pill Pod 37 - Adam Curtis Episode (Exclusive)
Added 2021-04-15 12:01:01 +0000 UTCWe're a little late to this one, but we had some different interpretations as to whether Can't Get You Out of My Head is art, history, documentary, art-history, history-documentary or art-documentary. In any case, it's one of the more interesting popular media artefacts we've seen this year (lot of academic hand waving this one away, so we did make a conscious effort to not get to critical on particularities).
Spoilers for Can't Get You Out of My Head: it's free on YouTube!
Comments
I came away from this doc just thinking how truly prophetic Baudrillard was, how he saw all this coming and how he just keeps becoming more and more relevant by the day. Another masterpiece from Curtis for sure. Although I don't buy the optimism at the end as such, because although the techniques of control aren't as effective as the people developing would like them to be, they're definitely effective enough to maintain capitalist realism while the climate crisis continues to worsen. Unfortunately, the BBC has been taking down the youtube videos for copyright reasons, so if anyone still wants to watch this now, your best bet is going here https://thoughtmaybe.com/cant-get-you-out-of-my-head/#top
anacidcommie
2021-07-04 09:32:21 +0000 UTCI should have been writing a paper yesterday about Adorno’s use of Freud in the discussion of anti-semitism and fascism; but instead I watched the first five episodes of this and i am very happy with that decision! Truly incredible piece of media. Thanks for the recommendation!
Will Thomas
2021-06-11 00:07:51 +0000 UTCI was half way through the documentary when I listened to this. The various perspectives you give really enriches the experience.
Theis Egeberg
2021-04-23 02:40:47 +0000 UTCTupac’a Thug life was not “regressive individualism”, it was an effort to unite gangs in LA and New York. To stop killing each other and instead unite against the Police State. People often misunderstand Tupac and thug life because of the way he was portrayed in the media and the displaying of his thug life tatoo without context.
1DimeMan
2021-04-21 04:03:12 +0000 UTCI haven't watched Curtis' work yet, but the way all of you are discussing it at the front of the episode reminds me of Orson Welles' F for Fake (1973). It's a lot shorter than Adam Curtis' work (88 minutes total + 9 "trailer" that uses no footage from the film), but it sounds like they share similar aesthetic and affective goals in terms of the style and medium of documentary film making.
Echoes from Elsewhere
2021-04-20 14:37:02 +0000 UTCThis discussion was really good. Pills it was nice to see you connect so many thinkers and ideas.
Matthew
2021-04-20 14:12:54 +0000 UTCI watched Adam Curtis; "The Century of Self," several years ago and then "Hypernormalization." I then really enjoyed "Can't get you out of my head." I found it helpful to view as a whole, from Freud to Trump to now.
john 7
2021-04-18 17:23:24 +0000 UTCI said it was a good one!
Plastic Pills
2021-04-16 22:17:49 +0000 UTCOMG. You actually took my suggestion.
Srijith Nair
2021-04-16 22:16:01 +0000 UTCAyeee Pills makin documentaries I like it
Walker Goff
2021-04-16 17:05:04 +0000 UTCI wonder where we lost that over the atlantic, what do you use as the informal equivalent?
Plastic Pills
2021-04-16 16:08:06 +0000 UTCDamn the point this guy's making is exactly my point about the point this guy's making. Media is ONLY judged as message, and almost never as medium. The critique of adam curtis is only ever "I don't get understand what the message is. Be better Adam"
Plastic Pills
2021-04-16 15:17:08 +0000 UTCAlso, as a Brit, that passive voice with the 'called' is pretty common in formal summaries/analyses/histories. We relish the opportunity to sound extra cunty over here.
Zacharius Bowen
2021-04-16 15:14:04 +0000 UTCBrilliant episode guys! I think you all will enjoy this: https://youtu.be/x1bX3F7uTrg
Zacharius Bowen
2021-04-16 15:11:28 +0000 UTCIn his own words Adam Curtis ... https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/talking-politics/id974670140?i=1000516214004
Nacho
2021-04-15 16:54:04 +0000 UTCI haven’t seen this documentary yet, and I know what I’m going to be watching tonight. Hearing your conversation about this reminds me over and over again that you should have a look at Zuboff’s The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. The first two thirds exhaustively lay out arguments contrary to your assertions that what google is doing is not working. The third section gets more theoretical and prescriptives are sadly weak if you agree with her outlook. Essentially she’s arguing that we have entered a third modernity where our personal sovereignties are at stake and state sovereignty as wielded by neoliberal capitalist democracy is too.
brightski
2021-04-15 15:05:41 +0000 UTC
