HYPERNORMALISATION by ADAM CURTIS WITH AN INTRODUCTION by CONN HOLOHAN

We live in a time of great uncertainty and confusion. Events keep happening that seem inexplicable and out of control. Donald Trump, Brexit, the War in Syria, the endless migrant crisis, random bomb attacks. And those who are supposed to be in power are paralysed - they have no idea what to do.

Adam Curtis’ film Hypernormalisation is the epic story of how we got to this strange place. It explains not only why these chaotic events are happening - but also why we, and our politicians, cannot understand them. Curtis argues that what has happened is that all of us in the West - not just the politicians and the journalists and the experts, but we ourselves - have retreated into a simplified, and often completely fake version of the world. But because it is all around us we accept it as normal.

Archival material is edited seemlessly giving a constant stream of varied, stunning visual information that shows a world reacting to societal control through a staunch sense of self, focusing on some of the biggest events of the last 40 or so years.

The film will be introduced by Dr. Conn Holohan.

Adam Curtis is a British film-maker, known for documentaries on "power and how it works in society". His documentaries often focus on less-explored sides of 20th and early 21st Century history, often discussing political and philosophical movements and ideas that were in play behind the scenes of mainstream media and political theatre.

Dr. Conn Holohan is a lecturer in film studies at the Huston School of Film & Digital Media and Course Director of the BA in Film & Digital Media.