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The Engineering of Consent

The programme explores how those in power in post-war America used Freud's ideas about the unconscious mind to try and control the masses. Politicians and planners came to believe Freud's underlying premise - that deep within all human beings were dangerous and irrational desires and fears. They were convinced that it was the unleashing of these instincts that had led to the barbarism of Nazi Germany. To stop it ever happening again they set out to find ways to control this hidden enemy within the human mind.

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  • Originally Aired March 24, 2002
  • Runtime 60 minutes
  • Content Rating United States of America TV-MA
  • Network BBC Two
  • Created December 17, 2017 by
    Administrator admin
  • Modified December 17, 2017 by
    Administrator admin
Name Type Role
Adam Curtis Writer
Adam Curtis Director