Recommended Television Programmes

[kernelbogey]

I've now watched all six parts, some eight hours of film. Its completely fascinating - yet I'm struggling to make sense of a coherent message, or series of messages, embodied in Curtis's work. I'm tempted to make a new thread for it, as I'd like to know more views on it.

Any thoughts?

[kernelbogey]

This review has helped me accept that it's not just me having difficulty finding the 'coherent message'....

https://artreview.com/the-reverse-marxism-of-adam-curtis-cant-get-you-out-of-my-head-bbc-iplayer-review/

This, too, is interesting, if, like me, you are new to Curtis's work.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/can-t-get-you-out-of-my-head-review-adam-curtis-b1800407.html

[Nick Armstrong]

I've now watched all six parts, some eight hours of film. Its completely fascinating - yet I'm struggling to make sense of a coherent message, or series of messages, embodied in Curtis's work. I'm tempted to make a new thread for it, as I'd like to know more views on it.

Any thoughts?

Yes create a dedicated thread, starting with these recent posts.

[kernelbogey]

Posts 1602-1608 have been copied into this new thread:
Can't get your out of my head

[Serial_Apologist]

https://artreview.com/the-reverse-marxism-of-adam-curtis-cant-get-you-out-of-my-head-bbc-iplayer-review/

I think Tom Whyman has got it right there in his assessment of both series and Curtis, in nutshelling it all down to an upending of the Marxist base/superstructure in which the individual and cultural are made the chief determinants over the economic substrate.

This is because the culture elevates the individual over the collective then denies it effective empowerment. But this in turn devolves onto the ways in which both categories have come to be defined, and that definition is in terms of the economic. This - to foreshorten what really needs to be a much more filled out picture of social and individual evolution - boils down to the human capacity to out-graze the carrying capacity of its environment, as demonstrated from pre-historic times when tribes battled over the resulting scarcity and ruling classes emerged as perceived protectors - though this is by no means universal nor ubiquitous as we know from anthropological evidence of tribes which managed to live in equilibrium and without exhausting the natural resource base. Presumed superior means of technological control, substantiating systems of belief, and conceptual evolvement to a point at which definitional finality trumped heeding and acting on inextricable connectivity with the surrounding ecosystems, created and shaped the consumer as king of his infinite imagined shopping mall domain, in opposition to imposed de-personalising models of collectivity.

The self isn't a bad place to start the process of unravellment, so long as we first ditch the self-cancelling inculcation of mistrusting its inner, beyond-identity core and see it as ontologically pre-connected.

Edit

Sorry to cause trouble, I didn't see that a new thread on this subject had been set up; would it be possible to transfer this and the previous post over, please?

[Bryn]

Just started on Sky Arts, Charles Hazlewood on Beethoven.

[MickyD]

We've just watched Ep 3 and are finding It's a Sin very moving, compelling, entertaining and involving - we do care about the characters. Also enlightening since we lived through that period and were obviously aware of the AIDS situation but we had no direct personal contact with anyone affected and were ourselves more preoccupied at the time with other things like babies, mortgage, work.

Being over here in France, I can't pick up It's a Sin but will certainly try to get it on DVD once it is released. I was in my twenties in the eighties, working at a central London television studio and so many wonderful, talented friends and colleagues disappeared like flies during that terrible time.

I will be interested to see how it is all dealt with in the series, and if that feeling of downright fear of the unknown at the time is explored. I can remember organising a film crew to go and do an interview for a current affairs programme with an AIDS patient in hospital - it was quite hard to find personnel who were not frightened to enter the room.

[kernelbogey]

Just started on Sky Arts, Charles Hazlewood on Beethoven.

A dedicated thread now here.

[Bryn]

A dedicated thread now here.

To which, you may have noted, I added a link to this one, 2 minutes after Dave started his.

[cloughie]

Am I the only person on the forum who owns up to enjoying ‘The Bidding Room’. Other than the occasional unsold item it appears that the bidders most times pay far above what items are worth but it is good harmless entertainment and what appears genuine love of the collectibles/ resaleables that are purchased - and the dealers not short of spare cash.

[johncorrigan]

Am I the only person on the forum who owns up to enjoying ‘The Bidding Room’. Other than the occasional unsold item it appears that the bidders most times pay far above what items are worth but it is good harmless entertainment and what appears genuine love of the collectibles/ resaleables that are purchased - and the dealers not short of spare cash.

Took me a while to work out what the purpose was, cloughie, but particularly enjoy the relationships between the dealers - good banter. Can't be bothered with Nigel Havers!

[johncorrigan]

Just another comment on 'It's a Sin', which finished its run on Channel 4 last night. I thought Keeley Hawes was outstanding in the final episode and the scenes with her and Jill quite wonderful TV.

[gradus]

Am I the only person on the forum who owns up to enjoying ‘The Bidding Room’. Other than the occasional unsold item it appears that the bidders most times pay far above what items are worth but it is good harmless entertainment and what appears genuine love of the collectibles/ resaleables that are purchased - and the dealers not short of spare cash.

I enjoy it too since it plays to my auction enthusiasm. Wasn't there a slightly upmarket version called called 4 Rooms at one time?

[eighthobstruction]

Can't be bothered with Nigel Havers!

....in our household (in the days when i had a household)....he used to be an adjective...."Oh he's gone all Nigel Havers on us"....

....and I'm sorry to say it cloughie : but Bidding Room and such like are definitely the Sheffield Weds of TV....

[eighthobstruction]

....in our household (in the days when i had a household)....he used to be an adjective...."Oh he's gone all Nigel Havers on us"....

....and I'm sorry to say it cloughie : but Bidding Room and such like are definitely the Sheffield Weds of TV....

....but the family did get hooked on Changing Rooms at one point in 90's....