The Century of the Self (2002)

Name: The Century of the Self
Genre: Documentary
Rating: 8.7
Cast: Adam Curtis, Anne Bernays, Martin Bergmann, Robert Reich, Edward L. Bernays

Documentary

The legacy of famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud informs the lives of people throughout the world even to this day, though it's a phenomenon to which most are unaware. The film is an exhaustive examination of his theories on human desire, and how they're applied to platforms such as advertising, consumerism and politics.

IMDb rating: 8.7 (6,959 votes)
Episode average: 8.3 -0.4 vs IMDb
Seasons: 1
Language: EN
Type: Mini-series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 1 season indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (2002)

8.35 avg 4 episodes 8.5 → 8.2 59 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Happiness Machines	8.5	305
2	The Engineering of Consent	8.4	223
3	There Is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed	8.3	192
4	Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering	8.2	181