America didn’t just invent better products—it invented better ways to mess with your head.
Cigarettes became feminism, cake mix became motherhood, and “therapy” became a horror movie.
This doc is also featured on my colleague Rob’s list of top psychology documentaries and The 7 Best Documentaries on Public Relations.
Trailer for “The Century of the Self”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Edward Bernays (Freud’s nephew) convinced women to start smoking by branding cigarettes as “Torches of Freedom”. They staged a protest at the 1929 NYC Easter Parade where women lit up in public for the first time.
- Betty Crocker cake mix originally failed because it was too easy; housewives felt guilty. The fix? Add one step (cracking an egg). Sales exploded.
- Dr. Ewen Cameron tried to erase people’s memories using LSD and electric shock, then “reprogram” them with audio tapes. One patient said she lost all memory of her life before treatment.
Watch “The Century of the Self”
You can watch “The Century of the Self” on YouTube.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 96/100
- IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 90/100 (Users)
Director’s Note: Adam Curtis directed this nearly 4-hour BBC docuseries. He’s known for connecting big historical dots using archival footage and narration.
Release Date: 2002
Other Unique Stuff
- After WWII, nearly half of U.S. soldiers were sent home for mental health reasons. Experts said the real problem wasn’t war—it was their childhood. That idea helped launch therapy culture across America.
- A famous actress, Marilyn Monroe, was treated by a therapist who tried to “re-parent” her by bringing her into his own family. It went very wrong, and she died soon after.
- Researchers started filming people in their homes to study how they reacted to ads—basically the early version of tracking your behavior to sell you stuff better.
Wrap Up:
“The Century of the Self” will make you question whether your choices are actually yours.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc