What should we make of this war on Scientology being conducted by the enigmatic internet group – Anonymous? (I hesitate to label them as anything beyond a ‘group’ since they themselves seem to try to resist various kinds of labels (such as hackers)) For those who don’t know, this group has popped up in the [...]
I went into the city today to watch the APEC protest and took some photos. I was absolutely amazed at the size of the police presence and the lengths to which they had gone to prevent the organisation of an effective protest. It seems they had totally surrounded all entry points into Hyde Park where the protesters where trying to gather – allowing them only one entry and exit point. They then set up stations blocking off various streets. It really looks like massive over kill – which will only fuel the negative public perception of the event. We the ordinary folks just watch on in childlike wonder while our leaders swan around playing ‘Nations’ with their friends.
A while back I wrote about the brave new revenue sharing world that is fast approaching. I argued that in order to infiltrate word of mouth distribution channels, companies would begin to share revenue with their services. I predicted that the result would be the total commodification of our social lives and I painted nightmare scenarios where we were paid to influence our friends, colleagues and loved ones for the sake of a share in the profit. I want now to explore the possible effects of this change on our day to day lives. To what extent will our private, social lives become an extension of a capitalistic process that begins with a marketing decision made by the board members of a corporation, or the political advisors to a demagogue? To what extent was this always the case? And what would be the danger to society were this to become the case? Might we lose something vital that protects society – that allows it to adapt in response to change?
Adam Curtis does not shy away from controversial subject matters in his documentaries, nor does he hold back from taking a particular point of view, eschewing the idea of a neutral narrator. In his 2002, 4 part documentary series ‘The Century of the Self’ he explores the influence of public relations techniques developed by Edward [...]
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