Journal Entry #3: Happiness Machines

The Century of the Self: Happiness Machines (Part One) is a film that portrays the rise of philosopher Sigmund Freud's dynasty. Freud is a well known philosopher who is known for his many theories in religion, psychology and philosophy and his creation of pyschoanalysis. His theory of the Self is about the power and understanding of our "self". The film portrays the story of the social world and mass consumption. It explains how the all-consuming self is created and what has made humans such big consumers. We now live in a society where we are consumed with media and other such things on a daily basis. This contrasts from Freud's days, when media wasn't available on a daily basis. The movie shows how Freud's theory of psychoanalysis changed the world by introducing new techniques and tools to understand the masses. He proclaimed that happiness and satisfaction are the ultimate goal to man; and they can achieve this through media, technology, and new "machines".
Part One of Happiness Machines is about Freud and his nephew Edward Bernays. In the 1920s, Bernays invented public relations and used his uncle's ideas to manipulate mass audiences. He linked mass produced goods to what their unconscious desires were. American corporations took Bernays' ideas into consideration, in order to get consumers to want their product. Bernays used persuasion in order to get consumers to buy. He used techniques such as celebrity endorsement,
stunts, tricks, and more, to persuade consumers. His most notable achievement was when he broke the taboo on women who smoke by persuading them that cigarettes were a symbol of independence and freedom. Bernays came up with new political ways of how to control the masses and sell consumer goods. Using his uncle's ideas and theories, Bernays implemented happiness into consumer minds. The all-consuming self has since dominated the world today, with media and products bought and used on a daily basis.
I feel like the main point this video was trying to get across was that people purchase things with an unwanted desire. When we go out shopping, most of the time we end up buying more than we planned to. We might go to the grocery store with a small list of products, but will end up with twice as much food, depending on whats on sale or things that catch our eye and look tasty. This goes to show that Bernays and Freud's theories are true; in today's society, the all-consuming self has taken over our unconscious minds.