The Loving Trap
Why Hacker News recommends it
Recommended as the standard companion to any Adam Curtis film, since it lampoons the style and gives reasons to take his claims with skepticism.
What it is
A three-minute parody of Adam Curtis's documentary style, assembled from archive footage with his typical narration and leaps of logic.
Recommended by 15 HN commenters across 11 different months, 2012 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec fimdomeio · 2021-11 · on “Can't Get You Out of My Head”
You should always acompany this documentary with a watch of this short little video. The Loving Trap ( [this video] ). It mocks adam curtis style while making some very good points.
Recommends HarrietJones · 2012-07 · on “All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace”
If you're going to watch any Adam Curtis documentary, it's worth watching the parody video "The Loving Trap" [this video]
Recommends craig552uk · 2012-07 · on “All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace”
These are not good films. These are bad films. Adam Curtis is not a good film maker. Adam Curtis is a bad film maker. This is better [this video]
Recommends jn · 2013-12 · on “What the Fluck”
Have you seen "The Loving Trap"? [this video] (spoiler: it's a parody of Curtis's methods)
Recommends JonnieCache · 2013-12 · on “What the Fluck”
That's his whole thing. His films typically come in three or four 60 minute sections. He occasionally does stuff like stage live action interactive theatre versions of his documentaries in abandoned warehouses. He once did a show with Massive Attack. So when he writes articles like this, it's him being restrained. See the following brilliantly observed parody for the reasons to take him with a pinch of salt: [this video] That said, he is one of my intellectual idols, however much he does enjoy gimmickry.
Recommends andreaja · 2014-01 · on “Amusing ourselves to death”
And if you're interested in Adam Curtis, I recommend this parody/critique: [this video] Not saying that Curtis's documentaries are without merit, just lending a little context.
Recommends benkant · 2015-02 · on “Adam Curtis: Bitter Lake”
Yes. I disagree with most of his points of view. Some of his statements are outright incorrect and a majority are at least questionable or wanting for references. In _The Trap_ he constantly uses the phrase "based on numbers" in a negative fashion, as if it were an inferior method of analysis. I find that particularly strange considering that if you just listen to his narrative without the images, there is no analysis and often no cogent argument. One argument, if I remember correctly, was that game theory should no longer be used as a tool because it was largely developed during the cold war, which is over now. And yet I'm utterly I'm fascinated by his movies. I probably (re)watch one every
Recommends thackerhacker · 2017-02 · on “HyperNormalisation (2016) [video]”
It's easy to get sucked into thinking it all makes perfect sense but there's a few pretty big implied leaps of logic. This spoof sums it up pretty well I think [this video]