23 Adam Curtis Quotes for You to Enjoy

Adam Curtis

British Director

Born: May 26, 1955

History People Power Sometimes World You

Related authors: Christopher Guest Christopher Nolan Derek Jarman Louis Theroux Richard Eyre Ridley Scott Sam Mendes Val Guest

Nobody trusts anyone in authority today. It is one of the main features of our age. Wherever you look, there are lying politicians, crooked bankers, corrupt police officers, cheating journalists and double-dealing media barons, sinister children's entertainers, rotten and greedy energy companies, and out-of-control security services. Adam Curtis

Today You Age Police Cheating Greedy Politicians Energy Lying Our Out-Of-Control Security Entertainers Corrupt Crooked Features Main Journalists Nobody Look Police Officers Sinister Trusts Officers Authority Bankers Children Anyone Wherever Companies Rotten Media Services

In the battle for Kobane on the Syrian border, everyone talks about the enemy - IS - and the frightening ideas that drive them. No one talks about the Kurdish defenders and what inspires them. Adam Curtis

Battle Enemy Drive Everyone Syrian Border About Inspires No-One Ideas Talks Kurdish Frightening Them Defenders

One of the guiding beliefs of our consuming age is that we are all free and independent individuals. That we can choose to do pretty much what we want, and if we can't, then it's bad. But at the same time, co-existing alongside this, there is a completely different, parallel universe where we all seem meekly to do what those in power tell us to do. Adam Curtis

Time Age Free Power Universe Our Guiding Those Independent Tell Bad Parallel Pretty Seem Consuming Individuals Alongside Same Same Time Where Different Want Then Us Much Choose Beliefs

Things come and go in the news cycle like waves of fever. Adam Curtis

News Waves Come Like Come And Go Go Fever Cycle Things

In our age of individualism, we see computers as ways through which we can express our individuality. But the truth is that the computers are really good at spotting the very opposite. The computers can see how similar we are, and they then have the ability to agglomerate us together into groups that have the same behaviours. Adam Curtis

Truth Good Together Age Truth Is Our Ways Ability See Similar Through Computers Individualism Individuality How Opposite Very Same Which Then Us Really Groups Express

The latest rule is: you cannot have protectionism - otherwise you will get a world war. Other rules say you cannot have collective ideas that involve the surrender of the individual to the group - otherwise, you get totalitarianism or, even worse, religion. Adam Curtis

War Religion You Surrender World Will Collective Totalitarianism Group Other Otherwise Latest Rule Worse Say Rules Individual Ideas Involve Protectionism Get Cannot Even Even Worse World War

In 'Mad Men,' we watch a group of people who live in a prosperous society that offers happiness and order like never before in history and yet are full of anxiety and unease. They feel there is something more, something beyond. And they feel stuck. Adam Curtis

Happiness History People Anxiety Men Before Live Group Society Mad Mad Men Something More Stuck Never Feel Like Prosperous Beyond Unease Offers Order Full Who Watch

The idea of elegance and aristocratic indulgence of an ocean cruise was born out of the image of the rich men and women who ruled the British Empire slowly sailing to India and the Far East while sipping gin and tonic on deck - served by men in white jackets. Adam Curtis

Women Men Men And Women Ocean Rich White Ruled East Out India Gin Born Slowly Cruise Aristocratic Idea Empire Indulgence Sailing Sipping Jackets While Deck Far Far East Who Elegance Served Image Tonic British British Empire

There are two - parallel - universes of science. One is the actual day-to-day work of scientists, patiently researching into all parts of the world and sometimes making amazing discoveries. The other is the role science plays in the public imagination - the powerful effect it has in shaping how millions of ordinary people see the world. Adam Curtis

Work Science People World Sometimes Amazing Imagination Other Parallel See Shaping Day-To-Day Powerful Parts How Making Scientists Discoveries Effect Role Patiently Ordinary Ordinary People Public Researching Actual Millions Two Universes Plays

One of the main functions of politicians - and journalists - is to simplify the world for us. Adam Curtis

World Politicians Main Simplify Journalists Us Functions

Everyone goes on holiday in Britain. Even Hell's Angels. Adam Curtis

Hell Everyone Angels Goes Holiday Even Britain

Of course there are many factors that led to the Iranian revolution, but back in 1951, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company - which would later become BP - and its principal owner, the British government, conspired to destroy democracy and install a western-controlled regime in Iran. Adam Curtis

Government Democracy Become Revolution Back Later Destroy Would Factors Install Principal Course Iran Iranian Led Owner Oil Oil Company Which Regime Many Company British British Government

Journalists, whose job is to pull back and tell dramatic stories that bring power into focus, find it impossible because things like economic theory are both incomprehensible and, above all, boring. The same is true of 'management science.' Adam Curtis

Science Management Impossible Job Focus Power Dramatic Back Tell Find Boring Above Both Economic True Economic Theory Journalists Like Because Same Stories Theory Whose Things Incomprehensible Bring Pull

I have always thought that pandas, in evolutionary terms, are the most sophisticated animals in the world. They cannot look after themselves; they are useless at reproducing. But to compensate, they have managed to persuade the most advanced creatures on the planet - human beings - to care for their every need. Adam Curtis

World Care Thought Animals Every Evolutionary Advanced Sophisticated Look Most Terms Always Human Human Beings After Reproducing Cannot Themselves Planet Persuade Useless Beings Creatures Compensate Need

I have always wanted to make a series of films which would be like an 'emotional history' that conveys what it feels like to live through history as an experience rather than a grand story. It would be about the relationship between the tiny fragments and moments of personal experience, and the continual backdrop of big events. Adam Curtis

Relationship History Experience Events Big Live Films Fragments Backdrop Would Would-Be About Rather Through Emotional Between Feels Like Make Always Than Personal Personal Experience Tiny Wanted Story Grand Which Moments Series

I have always been fascinated by the story of Henrietta Lacks. Adam Curtis

Always Been Lacks Story Fascinated

As well as our relationship with Afghanistan, I am researching the legacy of other European empires - in Africa. We think of those empires as history, but actually, they still haunt our everyday lives in the strangest of ways. Adam Curtis

Throughout the western world, new systems have risen up whose job is to constantly record and monitor the present - and then compare that to the recorded past. The aim is to discover patterns, coincidences and correlations, and from that, find ways of stopping change. Keeping things the same. Adam Curtis

Change World Job Past Aim Ways Systems Find Constantly Record Risen Recorded Throughout New Discover Western Up Western World Same Stopping Patterns Then Compare Whose Keeping Things Monitor Present Coincidences

Back in the 1950s, America set out to intervene in Syria, liberate the people from a corrupt elite, and bring about a new democracy. They did this with the best of intentions, but it led to disaster. And out of that disaster, the Assad regime rose to power. Adam Curtis

Following the principle that you should know your enemy, the BBC has assiduously recorded the relentless rise of Rupert Murdoch and his assault on the old 'decadent' elites of Britain. Adam Curtis

You Enemy Old Relentless Rupert Murdoch Following Rise Recorded Know Principle His Decadent Should Your Assault Elites Britain

Together, the western elites and Gaddafi helped to lead us into a simplistic two-dimensional vision of the world - full of exaggerations and falsehoods. A fake bubble of certainty that has imprisoned us in the West - and is now preventing us from understanding what is really going on in the world outside. Adam Curtis

Together World Vision Understanding Preventing Bubble Outside Lead Simplistic Fake West Falsehoods Western Imprisoned Going Gaddafi Us Really Full Certainty Helped Now Elites Two-Dimensional

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