Can't Get You Out of My Head (2021) User Reviews

Mixed feelings

[janamar-29705 · 7/10 · 18 March 2021]

The good: The individual stories, especially in the first part, are superbly interesting. Many other montage parts are informative, some are mesmerizing to look at and listen to, and the overall feel of the documentary series is almost hypnotic. The issue I have with it though are its generalizations and some of the conclusions and supposed insights, which are sometimes obvious, and sometimes just derived out of flimsy reasoning, derived from somewhat dubious or arbitrary premises.

The individual/collective dichotomy is strained at best, and could be challenged by many alternative arguments in the context of history and sociology. The technology part is interesting, but there is nothing new there. The political commentaries are also standard issue and a bit all over the place. The conspiracies narrative, again, selective and based on certain opinions and aspects, ignoring others, which is the approach in the film overall. That's fine it it is supposed to show only the author's POV, but here it seems to aspire to reveal some deep universal truths, and in that it fails through a faulty - or deliberately tendentious - methodology.

Overall, it's a fascinating series, but I think the author overreached in his ambition to tell a grand narrative that explains everything.

Adam Curtis' best yet.

[musaw-57675 · 8/10 · 12 February 2021]

First thing to say is that I've only watched the first episode so far. I loved his previous two documentaries, Hypernormalisation and Bitter Lake. I find it very difficult to describe Adam Curtis' style, but I'll have a go. It as if he has discovered a massive archive of TV and Movie reels, has spent several years watching them, then has taken numerous clips, stitched them together, and then concocted a theme that connects these seemingly random events together, in order to make a coherent story. He then uses music to great effect, which creates a kind of dissonance. It's brilliantly done. A visual treat. I feel after watching the first episode that my IQ has been improved by a couple of percentiles, but this may be part of the trick. You get the feeling when watching his documentaries that there is something even deeper, that you just can't quite grasp, which makes you want for more. I found myself walking the dog later, and reappraising what I had seen in my mind, and then later again seeking to look up on Wikipedia and Google some of the issues that were only touched on during the film, from such diverse subjects as the Voynich Manuscript, to William Keswick & Lord Kindersely. A must see series.

A hundred strange stories strung together

[paul2001sw-1 · 8/10 · 28 February 2021]

How come we live in a world where toxic nonsense like Q-Anon is so widely believed? To address this question, Adam Curtis has made his most ambitious documentary series yet, essentially a personal history of the modern world. His thesis appears to be that the answer lies in the loss of political ambition coupled with the ever growing power of the new technology (whose greatest power, he suggests, is to convince us that it can indeed control us). As usual, he shows a great aptitude for digging out extraordinary, obscure stories and moreover finding great footage to illustrate them. Also as usual, the narrative is sprawling and Curtis has a certain join-the-dots tendency of his own that might not seem completely alien to that of the conspiracy theorists that are his part of his subject matter. Perhaps the greatest weakness of this programme is that it takes as unquestioned that the story of just about every major country is one of decline and failure. Planet earth faces many major problems, not least global warming, but the world has never been perfect and to summarise recent history solely in terms of "things fall apart" while urging the populous to adopt (unspecified new forms of) societal optimism is frankly bizarre. Ultimately, Curtis' conclusions are of less value than the extraordinary journey he takes to reach them. He himself certainly does not lack ambition; there's a self-indulgence here, but also a hundred strange tales that make you think about the world.

The most important thing you will watch this decade

[geek_party · 10/10 · 26 February 2021]

Keeps you interested, comes at you with surprises, creeps up on you, then blows your mind.

Utterly brilliant.

[hartj-75983 · 10/10 · 23 March 2021]

This should be required viewing for any person planning to join an organisation or belief system of any kind which has a 'Grand Plan' to change the world. The last century should have taught everyone where those sort of cults always lead but here we are.

It's not supposed to be easy

[dannymoore-95-854601 · 10/10 · 21 February 2021]

I would recommend watching no more than one episode per day. There is a grand narrative there that's tied up neatly in the final episode. As always Curtis drivers an interesting collection of stories to feed your imagination and provoke. Documentary as art. Superb

Sprawling and important

[jellopuke · 9/10 · 10 March 2021]

This is dense and at times feels all over the place, but it comes together and you'll have moments of sublime horror and comedy on the journey. It's cynical and dark at times but illuminating and powerful at the same time. Great soundtrack too!

One of the most unique docs I've ever seen

[nicobattersby · 9/10 · 3 March 2021]

Schitzophrenic, complex, profound and revealing. Seemingly unrelated stories intertwine with others to tell new stories if their own. Reality and fantasy intertwine and influence eachother on an international scale. I've only learned of Alex Curtis recently, but I can comfortably say he's a creative genius.

Another 10 magnifications of 'reality' from the mastery of Adam Curtis...

[dillllinja-83111 · 10/10 · 13 February 2021]

The tapestry that sits protected within its depressurised security glass seems enchantingly rich and lush, but when it's no longer attended to then it suddenly and rapidly begins to wither away until just the slightest wind is enough to detach the fibres into nothing more than a flailing and ruined mess. The same thing that captivated you suddenly becomes indistinct from anything else you saw before it... 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' is a work of art that is mesmerising just as much as it is troubling. As a Brit that has suffered in what I would call an 'empty meaningless life' then I recognise everything that Adam Curtis is divulging to us and from the merest mention of its subject matter until it's inevitable conclusion. This docu-series could of been told in an invariable amount of different ways and yet this 'mini-encyclopedia of reality' strikes chords that make it feel and seem so damned evidently true. A masterful production edited in AC's typical 'shock therapy fashion'. My advice is simply turn off the lights, get comfortable, and join the dots. Note: The BBC deserve a big shout out for showing this. They themselves could be guilty of using subterfuge and/or reverse psychology in playing this but whatever, 'props' are due because I thoroughly enjoyed this...

Half-eye-opener for those who believe mainstream media

[justified-3 · 7/10 · 16 February 2021]

This is greatly edited and produced video. A pleasure to watch and a great piece of art. There are several fascinating stories going through the movie deserving further research by viewers. Soundtrack is amazing too.

There are couple of things that put me off though:

The documentary sets kind of demotivating mood: everything is in vain, whatever you do is pointless. Thus comforting viewers into status quo.

Secondly, even though it looks like Adam criticizes common western narrative he still goes along: he mentions Navalny as just sort of a hero Putin's opponent, without digging into his roots as a nationalist who once compared Islamic fundamentalists to cockroaches in his pro-gun ownership video. Also, author criticizes the politicians in power for failing to do anything for poor people as though they really try to do anything except for pretending.

Also it's puzzling how Adam Curtis managed to cover war crimes and mass surveillance without ever mentioning Julian Assange and Edward Snowden.

Thus 7 of 10.

Outstanding Doc Serie

[portal1790 · 9/10 · 17 February 2021]

This one was a truly surprise. A documentary focused on amazing stories. The difference is that each one of them it's not well known by the public. The arquive images are astonishing and the music it's surreal by songs from bands as This Mortal Coil and Cocteau Twist . I strongly recommend.

A difficult view

[Rob-O-Cop · 7/10 · 26 March 2021]

A very detailed and long winding story, on a very depressing topic. Why we're in this mess that we're in now. Why we don't trust anyone and anything. Adam does a long version of what Adam does and that was part of the problem. The Story and detail was long winding and sometimes hard to keep the attention up and follow, and you kind of need to do that to get to the end. It was interest that Adam identifies the faked conspiracies and fake news as a leading cause of the situation of mistrust, but, a lot of the material Adam presents could easily be part of the fabrication. Some of the players were unfamiliar names, and the events were not common knowledge, so we had to take Adam's information and perspective on trust, which is part of the problem in the modern world. We have to take so much information on trust. Adam also spends a lot of time feeding us interesting and weird videos that don't always contribute to the story, pretty and strange pictures with music. Maybe it's supposed to be to help with pacing but for a story this long it may not be helping, as it's hard to remember where we were up to after the 'interludes'. The ending was slightly disappointing and bleak. This is why it is as it is, no solutions, not positive directions, just a series of random acts that lead to a mess.

By Far Adam Curtis' most incoherent, weakest work so far.

[bobby007 · 2/10 · 20 February 2021]

As an admirer of Adam Curtis and much of his work, so much so that I dug up his rarest films from the '80s onwards, this is probably the lowest ebb in his CV. His '80s and early work showed huge promise and were captivating. His best, his great masterworks, were probably from about 'The Century of the Self' to 'The Trap'. 'The Power of Nightmares' was full of excellencies but was weak on geopolitics. His best work treads a narrow bandwidth, following a concise tight yarn with original interviews, tight and intoxicating cutting, superb use of music by the likes of Herrman, Morricone and many others of the same ilk. The result is usually very cinematic and with tight storytelling anecdotes nugget-ted into the bigger tapestry. The best of his work has a narrow focus, 'The Mayfair Set', 'The Century of the Self' and 'The Trap'. Unfortunately, in his latest work, as with his previous two, 'Bitterlake' and 'Hypernormalisation', that tight narrow investigative field woven by others and well illustrated by Curtis has been replaced by a diffusive, haphazard style and manner. Gone are original interviews from his days as a documentary film-maker seeking a truth, to be replaced by grand proclamations that set off a new strands of discursive thinking. And I'm thinking, "Wait a minute, mate!". It's ok if you've only been exposed to BBC media indoctrination but for anyone that reads books, listens to podcasts, knows anything at all about history, psychology or geopolitics - he rings hollow, false and self-contradictory. For instance, in one segment he stresses how the EU has been designed to take away the power of the politicians and leave the people voiceless, yet the following segment is about how Brexit was a response for those hankering for a mythical golden age when the people lived in villages and were taken care of by the landowners. It's a completely disingenuous argument, that he can see the flaws of the system set up by a technocratic elite, yet ordinary people might not feel the loss of choice in their lives and vote against a system imposed upon them by a managerial class of rulers. It is a high-minded, narcissistic, metropolitan elitist view of the commoner. At other times, he dismisses conspiracy theories and seems to believe in the Magic Bullet of Delay Plaza. Many times, he starts a story that seems set to pay-off but just fizzles. Unlike his previous two films, which were hyper kinetic, this one almost has a langour that seems lazy, the music is curiously off too. And the voice-over seems to have an aged feel. Perhaps, the biggest flaw is that it actually seems to be a parody of the Curtis style, a Charlie Brooker snippet stretched and stretched by a filmmaker in the throes of ADD and dementia. There are moments of inspiration, short segments in episode 3 when he addresses Globalism, or episode 6 when he looks at the technological structures being built up around societies where he gathers some of his old charge and his use of 'Song for Zula' is inspired and hypnotic.

An interesting historical perspective of how we got here.

[fustbariclation · 9/10 · 13 February 2021]

This is an enjoyable personal view of how we got to where we are, and how paranoia and a loss of value became so pervasive.

He mentions the collapse of so much psychological research, but still uses quite a lot of it, including Skinner's behaviourism, which is a bit of a disappointment, but the broader arc makes sense.

I've marked this as containing a 'spoiler', to avoid disappointing anybody who is looking for suspense, but what struck me forcibly throughout, and is, pretty much his conclusion is that the ætiology of much of what is depressing about the way we are is corruption. Not just pure corruption, but things like the corruption of google's high ideals into feeding advertising and consumerism.

Everything tried so far has failed, foundering mainly on the rock of corruption.

So there's a job here, for a philosopher, or a new Marx, Bakunin, Adam Smith, or Plato to use complexity theory, orsomething else, to eliminate corruption.

Narcissistic/authoritarian personality disorders are created, rise to the top/systemic failures

[umchinagirard · 10/10 · 14 February 2021]

Long look at history of human failure, to manage or prevent narcissistic and authoritarian personality disorders rising to the top. The paralysing bureaucratic and bullying systems parallels our dysfunctional narcissistic family systems and family scapegoating dynamics. Humans need to watch this with a focus on family systems as the cause and foundation of privilege and prejudice. Privilege isn't just money it's what you have not been exposed to. A bullying parent or extreme favouritism creates intractable sociopaths and narcissistic bureaucratics.

A masterpiece that you absolutely must watch

[peateey · 10/10 · 23 May 2021]

Hard to say anything other than that this should be required viewing. Truly one of the most important programs you could watch in your life. Curtis is a genius.

Humans Are Stupid

[bozbontins-1 · 9/10 · 21 December 2021]

'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' is so informative on so many levels. For anyone interested in politics, check it out.

For anyone interested in psychology, check it out.

For anyone interested in the modern evoluton of humanity, check it out!.

Incredible, Unmissable

[josephw-32691 · 10/10 · 23 March 2021]

Adam Curtis is a treasure, and his latest documentary is a triumph. Revealing his truths through a compelling and excellently edited film and making an incredibly convincing point, he never fails to dazzle and entertain. I'm never glued to the edge of my seat quite the way Curtis makes me, and his 2021 release is no different. A remarkable piece of film, a great success, and thoroughly unmissable.

This is what happens when Authority becomes a bad word

[Concordancy · 9/10 · 10 September 2022]

I am an avid fan of Adam Curtis and have watched most of his work. This one is another fine specimen, done in the usual style with the familiar editing, soundtrack use and commentary.

This series could be construed as a summary and update on his perhaps most popular three productions (Century of the Self, The Power of Nightmares and The Trap) - it puts together a number of concurrent narratives:

• The shift from collective to individual;
• The changing nature of political power and governments;
• The shift of power from governments to commercial parties;
• The increasing distrust of ideologies and those who promote them.

Ultimately, however, the way I see it, this is really another Curtis documentary that deals with just two things: Unintended Consequences and the disappearance of Authority. These are the main themes which come back time and again in every narrative presented. Though he may not have every detail correct, and no doubt has made a mistake of two ascribing or inferring the importance/relevance of some aspect or another - the main point I think he is trying to get across is that history is shaped more by "chance" events than by designs, and that nobody can claim to truly be the author of the events as they unfold, certainly not in the grand scheme of things.

Good, but omitting a lot of important cases

[akad-53203 · 7/10 · 3 September 2021]

The presented material is of a great quality and huge interest - I knew most of the events discussed, but in less detail, and some of the new details were really important for proper high-level understanding. What _is_ covered is of a great value.

The problem is with events left out of focus. Basically this series is about US, GB, Russia and China and in the most part only events directly related to them are discussed. Based on them a - totally reasonable - question whether there are some new ways of building society is posed. But hey! Please open your eyes and look what is happening in other countries. You are disappointed in revolutions in Europe in mid-20 century? Check out revolutions in post-USSR countries (not Russia)! You don't know what common ideas besides communism or individualism can be there? Check out those same post-USSR countries, India, Pacific region, and Latin America. Not everything is great there of course - but they are very different, with other questions being relevant, and other answers given.

In short: if you are really interested in different options - spend less time looking at yourself (that only leads to making more conspiracy theories: most of the real information was thoroughly analysed already by many people), look around instead! Experience of other countries can give some real insight - both on what is worth trying and what is best to avoid.

brilliant but...

[A_Different_Drummer · 9/10 · 28 November 2021]

The first episodes in the series are not merely brilliant but comforting and provocative. Even better they make the viewer think, which is always a worthy goal in our much too complex society. However in the Finale the auteur, Curtis, reaches into his magic hat and astonishingly posits that every "conspiracy theory" currently on the net is an indirect result of the influence of AI and data collection algos on our weak, pathetic human minds. Marshall McLuhan, wherever he is now resting, would have had a good twirl on that one. Not only is this notion facile but -- the irony -- it passes none of the "tests" that Curtis himself established in the earlier episodes. It is almost as if the series creator himself had a psychotic break with reality which, in many ways, really does make a wonderful conclusion to the entire adventure.

By times fascinating, but barely watchable

[stairways · 5/10 · 12 December 2021]

This is a truly fascinating but deeply flawed 6-part documentary on, it would appear, the strained relations between the individual and the collective, particularly in our media-dominant world. I say 'it would appear' here because one of the many huge flaws of this series is that it's never really clear what is supposed to be the organising theme or structure that brings together all of its disparate stories, told much like those of a rambling uncle at a family gathering: heavy in the bloodshed and drama but vague when it comes to making meaningful points or revelations.

Of all of the auteur's documentaries this is perhaps the best served by wonderful and evocative (and often very rare) historical footage - but it's also his least coherent, most repetitive, most rambling, worst structured and most indulgent. Driven by a kind of 'I told you so' tone, it nevertheless tells us little that is not already well known (about Chairman Mao's revenge-driven wife, about the moles that infiltrated and diverted the Black Panthers from their rightful aims), and has such an odd obsession with central characters that end up committing suicide that perhaps that could have been the theme (the weight of disappointment and disillusion), were there just two and not 6 sprawling episodes to wade through.

And therein lies the problem. The excesses of capitalism (one possible theme) are only mirrored by the excesses of the production itself, on whose cutting room floor the auteur would be able to eat his dinner. Was nothing left out, cut back, clipped and trimmed in order that an overall narrative could be glimpsed and followed?

If we are, as the series appears to argue, enslaved by invisible forces (the internet being only the latest of same) surely a production like this has a responsibility to clarify, to risk detail and precision and conclusion and not to simply hop from subject to subject (many admittedly very interesting) as if the virtuosity of the research and the vitality if the performance was sufficient reason for the show to go on. It's not.

Give me more!

[euhafshzs · 10/10 · 27 May 2021]

Hypernormalization not long enough for you? Here's a series twice its runtime! Enjoy, as I did.

Seriously though, I liked the new interesting concept of following often overlooked revolutionaries and thought leaders of the last century. Adam had perfected the craft of musical interludes that feel much like music video breaks on television before MTV had been invented. Keep it up, and I hope to see more.

A wild miniseries, and the best thing Adam Curtis has made so far.

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 8/10 · 30 July 2023]

Can't Get You Out of My Head represents the most that Adam Curtis has ever Adam Curtis'd. If he tops this one in Curtisity at some point in the future, I will happily give it a 5/5 rating.

This is a miniseries that might be best watched all in one go, just for the sheer number even one hour of it manages to do on your brain. It's paranoia-inducing and bleak, recounting various historical events throughout the second half of the 20th century that have led to the world being in its seemingly fractured state for the 21st century so far.

It fluctuates between being absorbing, silly, repetitive, thought-provoking, alarming, and overwhelming, all at different points. It covers everything and nothing. I did not love every single minute of Can't Get You Out of My Head by any means, but I liked a lot of it, and I really respect its ambition and dedication to its central premise, which is just so expansive it makes my head hurt just thinking about how one would go about writing (and then editing) this.

Seriously compelling and depressing

[svendaly · 8/10 · 31 March 2021]

As with all his films, could genuinely we watched without the commentary, with some fantastic visual and aural detours.

The content itself is maddeningly disorientating and - if true (and this is key) - simply depressing and draining of hope in mankind and it's future. But who knows really. A lot of probably is right though - sleep tight!