One of the main functions of politicians - and journalists - is to simplify the world for us. Adam Curtis More Quotes by Adam Curtis More Quotes From Adam Curtis Nobody trusts anyone in authority today. It is one of the main features of our age. Wherever you look, there are lying politicians, crooked bankers, corrupt police officers, cheating journalists and double-dealing media barons, sinister children's entertainers, rotten and greedy energy companies, and out-of-control security services. Adam Curtis you age today children Things come and go in the news cycle like waves of fever. Adam Curtis waves like fever news The Kurds had always had a bad time. They were oppressed by the Ottoman empire. Then, at the end of the First World War, they were promised a homeland, but the new Turkish state refused to give them any land, while the British went and created the new state of Iraq and sent aircraft to bomb the Kurds there into submission. Adam Curtis end time war world Sometimes history repeats itself. And sometimes it doesn't. Adam Curtis itself repeats sometimes history Henrietta Lacks' cells are immortal. They are known as the HeLa cell line, and they have become deeply involved in all sorts of medical and genetic research - sometimes in the most unexpected ways. Adam Curtis medical unexpected research sometimes In our age of individualism, we see computers as ways through which we can express our individuality. But the truth is that the computers are really good at spotting the very opposite. The computers can see how similar we are, and they then have the ability to agglomerate us together into groups that have the same behaviours. Adam Curtis good truth age together The latest rule is: you cannot have protectionism - otherwise you will get a world war. Other rules say you cannot have collective ideas that involve the surrender of the individual to the group - otherwise, you get totalitarianism or, even worse, religion. Adam Curtis you war world religion Ever since the economic crisis in 2008, millions of people have accepted cuts in all sorts of things - from real wages and living standards to benefits and hospital care - without any real opposition. The cuts may be right, or they may be stupid - but the astonishing thing is how no-one really challenges them. Adam Curtis care stupid challenges people Both individuals and societies tell themselves stories to simplify and make sense of the messy chaos of reality. Adam Curtis tell messy chaos reality At the end of the nineteenth century, a fanatical craze for physical fitness swept through Britain. Millions of men and women took up gymnastics, body building, and other physical exercises. Such a thing had never happened before, and it was given a name - Physical Culture. Adam Curtis women fitness men culture Events keep happening that seem inexplicable and out of control. Donald Trump, Brexit, the War in Syria, the endless migrant crisis, random bomb attacks. Adam Curtis brexit random control war In 'Mad Men,' we watch a group of people who live in a prosperous society that offers happiness and order like never before in history and yet are full of anxiety and unease. They feel there is something more, something beyond. And they feel stuck. Adam Curtis happiness men history people The idea of elegance and aristocratic indulgence of an ocean cruise was born out of the image of the rich men and women who ruled the British Empire slowly sailing to India and the Far East while sipping gin and tonic on deck - served by men in white jackets. Adam Curtis rich women ocean men There are two - parallel - universes of science. One is the actual day-to-day work of scientists, patiently researching into all parts of the world and sometimes making amazing discoveries. The other is the role science plays in the public imagination - the powerful effect it has in shaping how millions of ordinary people see the world. Adam Curtis imagination work science people There is a lurking sense that there is a kind of seedy corruption underlying a lot of public life today. But while journalism does a very good job of describing that corruption, it is failing to bring it into a bigger focus. To explain what it is all about. Adam Curtis good corruption today life Documentaries shouldn't just reflect the world: they should try and explain why reality is like it is. Adam Curtis explain try reality world At its heart, 'South Park' has a touching faith in human beings: that despite their absurdities and flaws, people have the capacity to create a better world. Adam Curtis faith heart people world Al-Qaida became the new Soviet Union, and in the process, Bin Laden became a demonic, terrifyingly powerful figure brooding in a cave while he controlled and directed the al-Qaida network throughout the world. In this way, a serious but manageable terrorist threat became grossly exaggerated. Adam Curtis new serious way world Tyler Kent himself is weird and mesmerising - but still unrepentantly anti-Semitic. Adam Curtis anti-semitic himself weird still Everyone goes on holiday in Britain. Even Hell's Angels. Adam Curtis angels everyone hell holiday
