Hypernormalisation | Full Documentary | Adam Curtis
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN points to it for its account of propaganda that sows distrust and confusion, and as a starting point for Adam Curtis's work.
What it is
Adam Curtis's 2016 BBC documentary arguing that politicians, financiers and technologists retreated into a simplified, fake version of the world because reality became too complex. It ranges across Trump, Brexit, Syria, Surkov's Russia and more.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2024 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec adwi · 2026-08 · on “The USSR in 100 Photographs”
Adam Curtis is great, definitely check out his other work. Hypernormalisation is a good place to start: [this video]
Cites walrus01 · 2024-02 · on “Pro CCP 'spamouflage' network pivoting to focus on US election”
See also, the part from 2:22:53 onwards: Vladislav Surkov and propaganda methods of making people distrust everything and sow strife and confusion. [this video] [LINK]
Cites zackmorris · 2025-02 · on “The Strike Is Coming”
We should be mindful that HN doesn't have an unflag button. The post shouldn't be flagged, so flagging it acts on behalf of the status quo. Let the flagging stand as a testament to collaboration. We already experienced a general strike during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than breaking billionaires and multinational corporations, it made them stronger. So withholding our labor is part of the equation, but not all of it. We're moving into hypernormalization: [LINK] I only learned of this documentary this morning, so have yet to watch it: [this video] Hypernormalisation | Full Documentary | Adam Curtis Within a corporation, one person at the top dictates all behavior in exchange for monetary compen