HyperNormalisation

HyperNormalisation, by Adam Curtis, argues that in an age of perplexing world events and uncertainty, politicians and the public alike have retreated into an over-simplified version of reality.

Over the past 40 years, those in positions of power—particularly politicians, technological utopians, financiers, and various social actors—have given up on confronting the complexities of the real world and have instead constructed a “fake world” in order to cling to power. The public, including leftists and radicals, have also been drawn into this artificial reality because of its reassuring simplicity, which, the film argues, is why their opposition fails to bring about meaningful change.

HyperNormalisation weaves together the history of recent decades through a vast cast of figures, including the Assad dynasty, Vladimir Putin, Henry Kissinger, Donald Trump, Colonel Gaddafi, as well as gangsters, terrorists, and intelligent machines. The film’s title is taken from a book that explores the paradox of the final twenty years of the Soviet Union’s existence, when everyone knew the system was failing, yet no one was willing to imagine an alternative. Instead, both citizens and politicians resigned themselves to maintaining the pretence of a functioning society. Over time, this collective delusion became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Through extensive use of archival material, this thought-provoking documentary sheds light on the damaging over-simplification that permeates today’s world.