The Living Dead: Three Films About the Power of the Past
The Living Dead: Three Films About the Power of the Past is a three-part documentary series presented by Adam Curtis, investigating the way that history and memory (both national and individual) have been used by politicians and others. The first episode "On the Desperate Edge of Now" examines examined how the various national memories of the Second World War were effectively rewritten and manipulated in the Cold War period. The second episode "You Have Used Me as a Fish Long Enough" looks at the history of brainwashing and mind control. And the third and final episode "The Attic" examines the Imperial aspirations of Margaret Thatcher.
| Episode 1 - On the Desperate Edge of Now |
Episode 1 - On the Desperate Edge of Now
The title of this episode comes from a veteran's description of the uncertainty of survival in combat. It examined how the various national memories of the Second World War were effectively rewritten and manipulated in the Cold War period.
Episode 2 - You Have Used Me as a Fish Long Enough
In this episode, the history of brainwashing and mind control was examined. The angle pursued by Curtis was the way in which psychiatry pursued tabula rasa theories of the mind, initially in order to set people free from traumatic memories and then later as a potential instrument of social control.
Episode 3 - The Attic
In this episode, the Imperial aspirations of Margaret Thatcher were examined. The way in which Mrs Thatcher used public relations in an attempt to emulate Winston Churchill in harking back to Britain's "glorious past" to fulfil a political or national end.
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