The father of American Propaganda

[Mark Stapleton]

Thanks for this Mark. I've never heard of him before today but am keenly interested in his adaptation of psychoanalytic techniques to achieve his ends. The manipulation of the Collective Unconscious for commercial profit. Wonderful!

Hi David,

Yes, Bernays seems to be a bit of a forgotten figure (by design, perhaps) but he definitely left his 'footprint' on all who lived in the 20th century consumer age, transforming American society from needs based to wants based without many of us realising we were all just lab rats.

The doco makes engrossing viewing and all six parts are there on Youtube (everything's on Youtube now of course). The interviews with Bernays are truly fascinating for their candour.

Interesting that Freud eventually became disillusioned with his nephew's exploits.