HyperNormalisation
HyperNormalisation
8.277%
We live in a world where the powerful deceive us. We know they lie. They know we know they lie. They do not care. We say we care, but we do nothing, and nothing ever changes. It is normal. Welcome to the post-truth world. How we got to where we are now…
Varun reviewedJanuary 28, 2025
One of the most relevant documentaries of our times. It was very engaging and interesting, I was hooked for almost 3 hours straight and it definitely has an impact. If I had to critique it, I think it can be simplistic in some areas, because it doesn’t go deeper into any leftist visions of a potential better world but I can’t fault it too much either because it makes sense why Curtis has a more nihilistic take after seeing how mass movements devolved into chaos, because the average person honestly doesn’t posses enough critical thinking, political/philosophical education or the vision to institute a right model of society. The majority are ignorant and easily manipulated. Even the smartest and most powerful people are easily made fools of by adversaries, technology or nature. I don’t know if there’s an answer to our societal and global problems, I really hope there is and I’m going to continue looking for it just to satisfy myself with the potentiality of a better future even though I don’t actually believe we’ll get there. The realist in me is just as cynical and nihilistic about the world as Curtis, but I hold on to optimism for the betterment of my own individual life. As Slavoj Žižek once said, “It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” I’ve given up on society but I’ll continue to help it. Inspired by the Gita, I take joy in just performing my rightful duty, I’ve stopped caring about the fruits of my actions. I think the best we can do now is to read up on history, and political/economic theories and find radical but practical solutions which we should then proselytise to our friends and family. Starting on a small scale is totally fine, but we need to make a compelling and lasting ideological impact on others. Influence their voting habits. If our education systems are failing us, it’s time to educate ourselves and others. It’s the Information Age, we have no excuses to sit around in our ignorance anymore. This doc came out in 2016, and the world has only gotten worse the past 9 years and it’s going to continue in this downward trajectory for a while looking at America now. It is bleak as hell, but stand your ground. Keep swimming against the current. Keep learning. Keep believing. You may lose some external freedoms, but never give up the freedom that your inner being naturally possesses. I’ll leave you with a quote by Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption: “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”