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Brexit. The rise of Trump. The rise of IS. The financial crisis. The housing crisis. The refugee crisis. In the past few years we’ve had to assimilate a string of ever more extraordinary events into our understanding of the world. How this surreality became our new reality is the subject of Hypernormalisation, a film by cult documentary-maker Adam Curtis.

In his 25 years as the BBC’s in-house iconoclast, Curtis has won six Baftas, blown countless minds and enraged those on both the Left and the Right with a journalistic stance he describes as “post-political”. His films are not merely historical documentaries or beautiful arrangements of archive footage and music, they offer up alternative paradigms of power.

In Hypernormalisation, Curtis locates global power not in our governments but in finance, computing and management. It is this system, he says, that creates and maintains our sense of “transparent disenchantment”. The sense we have that things aren’t quite right, yet we’re unable to do anything about it.

He describes how this all plays out in the world’s most global city:

The Cityscape

“If you’re in London, what you see around you is all these new buildings being built and they all look exactly alike. But what you also know about these buildings is that none of us are ever going to be able to afford to live in them. After the financial crash of 2008 there was a wave of money coming into the city that couldn’t go into the stock market, so it went into property instead. These blocks you’re actually looking at are not buildings, they’re blocks of money.”

Work

“You go into an office. Are you sure that’s your real job? The economy used to be based on making things. Now the only thing that keeps it going is shopping. Maybe that’s your real job — and your days in the office, in the “service industries”, are just invented jobs to give you the money to go shopping.”

Social media

“You are in an office doing your fake job but you’re spending your time being angry on social media. You’re writing posts saying, ‘This is outrageous!’, but because of the filters, that anger only goes to people who already agree with you, so nothing changes. What does happen is that those angry messages get sent round the system more than sweet little messages. The fact is that angry people click more and clicks are gold dust, clicks are the measure of success for all corporations and media platforms. So the more angry you get, the more you actually keep everything stable. Your anger fuels those systems.”

Brexit

“Then came Brexit. In this city we are surrounded by journalists, think-tank people who appear on Newsnight, television presenters, politicians, researchers and academics. Their job was supposed to be to tell us about the world. What Brexit showed is that absolutely none of them had any idea. Brexit gave people outside of London this big button that just said “F*ck off” and, naturally, they pressed it.

“The day after Brexit, internet activist Tom Steinberg, a Remainer, wanted to know what Brexit people felt but he couldn’t. He couldn’t because the filters that were set up, in this supposedly democratic knowledge-gathering machine, were so strong.”

The rise of Trump

“Maybe even politicians aren’t really politicians any longer. Increasingly they have become pantomime figures whose real job is to make us angry. Trump is another example, a bit like Gaddafi — we invent these simplified pantomime villains. His function is actually to make liberals very angry and that anger, far from changing anything, just fuels this modern system of managerial power through social media and all the clicks that go nowhere. Click, share, go nowhere; that’s the motto of our time. But maybe the pantomime figures are now running the world.”

Hillary Clinton v Donald Trump: US Presidential Election 70 show all Hillary Clinton v Donald Trump: US Presidential Election 1/70 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump votes at PS 59 in New York Carlo Allegri/Reuters 2/70 U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton fills out her ballot at the Douglas Grafflin Elementary School in Chappaqua, New York Brian Snyder/Reuters 3/70 Topless protestors cause commotion at the site where Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is scheduled to work at PS 59 located at 233 East 56th Street in Manhattan NY Daily News via Getty Images 4/70 Republician presidential nominee Donald Trump arrives at a polling station in New York to cast his ballot in the presidential election Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images 5/70 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrives to vote in the U.S. presidential election at Grafflin Elementary School in Chappaqua, New York Mike Segar/Reuters 6/70 A voter looks at a sample ballot as he waits in line at a polling location in Kansas City, Missouri. Whitney Curtis/Getty Images 7/70 Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton cookies are on sale at the Oakmont Bakery in Oakmont, Pennsylvania Jeff Swensen/Getty Images 8/70 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and her husband former President Bill Clinton, leave their polling place in Chappaqua Seth Wenig/AP 9/70 lay Smith is the first voter to cast the ballot in the US presidential election, in the small village of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire Herb Swanson/EPA 10/70 Poll workers look on as US President Barack Obama gestures towards the press as he votes early at the Cook County Office Building in Chicago, Illinois Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images 11/70 President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the University of New Hampshire in Durham Elise Amendola/AP 12/70 Donald Trump takes a break from speaking to compare his face to a mask during a rally at the Sarasota Fairgrounds in Sarasota, Florida Loren Elliott/The Tampa Bay Times via AP 13/70 Lady Gaga speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Raleigh Gerry Broome/AP 14/70 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and husband, former President Bill Clinton take the stage during a campaign rally in Raleigh Gerry Broome/AP 15/70 Madonna sings a song as she campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during a surprise performance at Washington Square Park in New York Matt Rourke/AP 16/70 Musician Bruce Springsteen performs at an election eve rally for Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Spencer Platt/Getty Images 17/70 Supporters hold signs and a copy of the Bible during a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Manchester Charles Krupa/AP 18/70 Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, speaks to a campaign rally before the arrival of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Manchester Bill Sikes/AP 19/70 Jon Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga perform during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Raleigh Gerry Broome/AP 20/70 Musician Jon Bon Jovi performs at an election eve rally for Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on November in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Spencer Platt/Getty Images 21/70 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton boards her plane at Philadelphia International Airport Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 22/70 Part of a Nov. 6, 2016, letter from FBI director James Comey to Congress is photographed in Washington. Comey tells Congress that a review of new Hillary Clinton emails has "not changed our conclusions" from earlier this year that she should not face charges Jon Elswick/AP 23/70 Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cheer during a campaign rally in Leesburg Evan Vucci/AP 24/70 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan Carlo Allegri/Reuters 25/70 NBA basketball player Lebron James introduces U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during a campaign rally in Cleveland, Ohio Carlo Allegri/Reuters 26/70 A member of the audience holds a sign during a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Sterling Heights, , Michigan Paul Sancya/AP 27/70 President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Kissimmee. Florida John Raoux/AP 28/70 Secret Service agents rush Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump off the stage during a campaign rally in Reno John Locher/AP 29/70 Hillary Clinton smiles holding a mask onboard her campaign plane on Halloween Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images 30/70 Supporters of Donald Trump pose with a Hillary Clinton character during a campaign rally at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas John Gurzinski/AFP/Getty Images 31/70 Donald Trump holds a rainbow flag given to him by supporter Max Nowak during a campaign rally at the Bank of Colorado Arena on the campus of University of Northern Colorado Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 32/70 Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign event at The Manor Complex in Wilton Manors, Florida Getty Images 33/70 A Donald Trump supporter's pet bulldog is decked out in campaign stickers Jason Connoll/ AFP/Getty Images 34/70 Hillary Clinton joins Jennifer Lopez at a campaign concert in Miami, Florida Brian Snyder/Reuters 35/70 A Donald Trump mural covering a building in Miami, Florida Rhona WiseAFP/Getty Images 36/70 Hillary Clinton, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, greet supporters during a campaign rally in Winston-Salem Chuck Burton/AP 37/70 A crowd gathers to watch as Donald Trump's vandalised star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is cleaned up Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images 38/70 Hillary Clinton delivers birthday cake to reporters on her campaign plane Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 39/70 A Donald Trump look-a-like walks with bikini-clad women in Times Square. The stunt was organized by artist Alison Jackson Drew Angerer/Getty Images 40/70 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hugs a the American flag as he arrives to speak to a campaign rally in Tampa Evan Vucci/AP 41/70 Katy Perry speaks at a rally in support of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Las Vegas AP 42/70 Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton waves to a member of the audience as she walks off the debate stage as Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump remains at his podium after the conclusion of their third and final 2016 presidential campaign debate at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada Mike Blake/Reuters 43/70 NFL fans wear Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton masks during a game between the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals Norm Hall/Getty Images 44/70 Donald Trump holds a child onstage during a campaign rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin Jonathan Ernst/Reuters 45/70 Hillary Clinton (Kate McKinnon) and Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) take on the 'Town Hall Debate Cold Open' on SNL Saturday Night Live 46/70 Hillary Clinton chats to Ellen DeGeneres during a commercial break during the filming of the Ellen Show Brenan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 47/70 A Donald Trump themed fortune telling machine stands on the street in Columbus Circle in New YorK Lucas Jackson/Reuters 48/70 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump kisses a "Women for Trump" placard during a rally at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Florida Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images 49/70 Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during the town hall debate at Washington University Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 50/70 Kevin Lake of Jefferson, Iowa, wears a wall outfit in honour of Donald Trump's pledge to build a wall along the Mexico border Scott Morgan/Reuters 51/70 Donald Trump holds two-year-old Hunter Tirpak, who is dressed as Trump, during a rally at Mohegan Sun Arena Christopher Dolan/The Citizensí Voice via AP 52/70 Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during the town hall debate at Washington University Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images 53/70 Ken Bone found himself going viral after his attention-grabbing question during the town hall debate at Washington University Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 54/70 Donald Trump's daughters-in-law Lara Trump and Vanessa Trump and daughter Tiffany Trump Scott Olson/Getty Images 55/70 Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump leave the stage after the first presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images 56/70 Melania (L) and Ivanka (C) Trump sit next to Republican vice presidential nominee Governor Mike Pence ahead of the first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Joe Raedle/Pool/Reuters 57/70 Hillary Clinton shakes hands with husband and former U.S. President Bill Clinton after the first Presidential Debate Joe Raedle/Getty Images 58/70 Donald Trump with wife Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr.'s wife Vanessa Trump, Eric Trumps wife Lara Yunaska, and Eric Trump Paul J. Richards/AFP 59/70 US actresses Lena Dunham and America Ferrera speak at the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Peter Foley/EPA 60/70 Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live 61/70 Hillary Clinton attempts to open a pickle jar on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Andy Holmes/ABC 62/70 Donald Trump greets supporters at a rally at Ladd-Peebles Stadium Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images 63/70 Denis Leary and James Corden on The Late Late Show CBS 64/70 Donald Trump reacts to the cries of three-month-old Kellen Campbell, of Denver, right, while holding six-month-old Evelyn Keane, of Castel Rock, Colorado Joe Mahoney/Getty Images 65/70 Bill Clintonon on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mike Segar/Reuters 66/70 Alicia Keys performs at he Democratic National Convention Shawn Thew/EPA 67/70 Meryl Streep at the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center Alex Wong/Getty Images 68/70 Donald Trump hugs his daughter Ivanka Trump at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 69/70 Sarah Palin endorses Donald Trump's run for the Republican presidential nomination Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images 70/70 Donald Trump during a campaign stop on the campus of the University of Central Florida Joe Raedle/Getty Images 1/70 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump votes at PS 59 in New York Carlo Allegri/Reuters 2/70 U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton fills out her ballot at the Douglas Grafflin Elementary School in Chappaqua, New York Brian Snyder/Reuters 3/70 Topless protestors cause commotion at the site where Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is scheduled to work at PS 59 located at 233 East 56th Street in Manhattan NY Daily News via Getty Images 4/70 Republician presidential nominee Donald Trump arrives at a polling station in New York to cast his ballot in the presidential election Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images 5/70 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrives to vote in the U.S. presidential election at Grafflin Elementary School in Chappaqua, New York Mike Segar/Reuters 6/70 A voter looks at a sample ballot as he waits in line at a polling location in Kansas City, Missouri. Whitney Curtis/Getty Images 7/70 Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton cookies are on sale at the Oakmont Bakery in Oakmont, Pennsylvania Jeff Swensen/Getty Images 8/70 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and her husband former President Bill Clinton, leave their polling place in Chappaqua Seth Wenig/AP 9/70 lay Smith is the first voter to cast the ballot in the US presidential election, in the small village of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire Herb Swanson/EPA 10/70 Poll workers look on as US President Barack Obama gestures towards the press as he votes early at the Cook County Office Building in Chicago, Illinois Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images 11/70 President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the University of New Hampshire in Durham Elise Amendola/AP 12/70 Donald Trump takes a break from speaking to compare his face to a mask during a rally at the Sarasota Fairgrounds in Sarasota, Florida Loren Elliott/The Tampa Bay Times via AP 13/70 Lady Gaga speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Raleigh Gerry Broome/AP 14/70 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and husband, former President Bill Clinton take the stage during a campaign rally in Raleigh Gerry Broome/AP 15/70 Madonna sings a song as she campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during a surprise performance at Washington Square Park in New York Matt Rourke/AP 16/70 Musician Bruce Springsteen performs at an election eve rally for Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Spencer Platt/Getty Images 17/70 Supporters hold signs and a copy of the Bible during a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Manchester Charles Krupa/AP 18/70 Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, speaks to a campaign rally before the arrival of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Manchester Bill Sikes/AP 19/70 Jon Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga perform during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Raleigh Gerry Broome/AP 20/70 Musician Jon Bon Jovi performs at an election eve rally for Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on November in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Spencer Platt/Getty Images 21/70 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton boards her plane at Philadelphia International Airport Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 22/70 Part of a Nov. 6, 2016, letter from FBI director James Comey to Congress is photographed in Washington. Comey tells Congress that a review of new Hillary Clinton emails has "not changed our conclusions" from earlier this year that she should not face charges Jon Elswick/AP 23/70 Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cheer during a campaign rally in Leesburg Evan Vucci/AP 24/70 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan Carlo Allegri/Reuters 25/70 NBA basketball player Lebron James introduces U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during a campaign rally in Cleveland, Ohio Carlo Allegri/Reuters 26/70 A member of the audience holds a sign during a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Sterling Heights, , Michigan Paul Sancya/AP 27/70 President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Kissimmee. Florida John Raoux/AP 28/70 Secret Service agents rush Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump off the stage during a campaign rally in Reno John Locher/AP 29/70 Hillary Clinton smiles holding a mask onboard her campaign plane on Halloween Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images 30/70 Supporters of Donald Trump pose with a Hillary Clinton character during a campaign rally at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas John Gurzinski/AFP/Getty Images 31/70 Donald Trump holds a rainbow flag given to him by supporter Max Nowak during a campaign rally at the Bank of Colorado Arena on the campus of University of Northern Colorado Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 32/70 Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign event at The Manor Complex in Wilton Manors, Florida Getty Images 33/70 A Donald Trump supporter's pet bulldog is decked out in campaign stickers Jason Connoll/ AFP/Getty Images 34/70 Hillary Clinton joins Jennifer Lopez at a campaign concert in Miami, Florida Brian Snyder/Reuters 35/70 A Donald Trump mural covering a building in Miami, Florida Rhona WiseAFP/Getty Images 36/70 Hillary Clinton, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, greet supporters during a campaign rally in Winston-Salem Chuck Burton/AP 37/70 A crowd gathers to watch as Donald Trump's vandalised star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is cleaned up Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images 38/70 Hillary Clinton delivers birthday cake to reporters on her campaign plane Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 39/70 A Donald Trump look-a-like walks with bikini-clad women in Times Square. The stunt was organized by artist Alison Jackson Drew Angerer/Getty Images 40/70 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hugs a the American flag as he arrives to speak to a campaign rally in Tampa Evan Vucci/AP 41/70 Katy Perry speaks at a rally in support of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Las Vegas AP 42/70 Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton waves to a member of the audience as she walks off the debate stage as Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump remains at his podium after the conclusion of their third and final 2016 presidential campaign debate at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada Mike Blake/Reuters 43/70 NFL fans wear Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton masks during a game between the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals Norm Hall/Getty Images 44/70 Donald Trump holds a child onstage during a campaign rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin Jonathan Ernst/Reuters 45/70 Hillary Clinton (Kate McKinnon) and Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) take on the 'Town Hall Debate Cold Open' on SNL Saturday Night Live 46/70 Hillary Clinton chats to Ellen DeGeneres during a commercial break during the filming of the Ellen Show Brenan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 47/70 A Donald Trump themed fortune telling machine stands on the street in Columbus Circle in New YorK Lucas Jackson/Reuters 48/70 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump kisses a "Women for Trump" placard during a rally at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Florida Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images 49/70 Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during the town hall debate at Washington University Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 50/70 Kevin Lake of Jefferson, Iowa, wears a wall outfit in honour of Donald Trump's pledge to build a wall along the Mexico border Scott Morgan/Reuters 51/70 Donald Trump holds two-year-old Hunter Tirpak, who is dressed as Trump, during a rally at Mohegan Sun Arena Christopher Dolan/The Citizensí Voice via AP 52/70 Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during the town hall debate at Washington University Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images 53/70 Ken Bone found himself going viral after his attention-grabbing question during the town hall debate at Washington University Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 54/70 Donald Trump's daughters-in-law Lara Trump and Vanessa Trump and daughter Tiffany Trump Scott Olson/Getty Images 55/70 Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump leave the stage after the first presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images 56/70 Melania (L) and Ivanka (C) Trump sit next to Republican vice presidential nominee Governor Mike Pence ahead of the first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Joe Raedle/Pool/Reuters 57/70 Hillary Clinton shakes hands with husband and former U.S. President Bill Clinton after the first Presidential Debate Joe Raedle/Getty Images 58/70 Donald Trump with wife Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr.'s wife Vanessa Trump, Eric Trumps wife Lara Yunaska, and Eric Trump Paul J. Richards/AFP 59/70 US actresses Lena Dunham and America Ferrera speak at the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Peter Foley/EPA 60/70 Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live 61/70 Hillary Clinton attempts to open a pickle jar on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Andy Holmes/ABC 62/70 Donald Trump greets supporters at a rally at Ladd-Peebles Stadium Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images 63/70 Denis Leary and James Corden on The Late Late Show CBS 64/70 Donald Trump reacts to the cries of three-month-old Kellen Campbell, of Denver, right, while holding six-month-old Evelyn Keane, of Castel Rock, Colorado Joe Mahoney/Getty Images 65/70 Bill Clintonon on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mike Segar/Reuters 66/70 Alicia Keys performs at he Democratic National Convention Shawn Thew/EPA 67/70 Meryl Streep at the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center Alex Wong/Getty Images 68/70 Donald Trump hugs his daughter Ivanka Trump at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 69/70 Sarah Palin endorses Donald Trump's run for the Republican presidential nomination Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images 70/70 Donald Trump during a campaign stop on the campus of the University of Central Florida Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Hyper-normcore

“The key thing about cool is instead of getting engaged politically with groups of other people to whom you have to surrender your identity, we wanted to be self-expressive individuals. Look at the Seventies and Eighties, you had the rise of radical art, music and culture. Somewhere in the Nineties, the politics dropped away altogether and you were left with the ironic, cool distance, the ‘whateva’. Cool irony originally had a political analysis that said, ‘We’re detaching from this and looking at it’. Then it just became ‘We’re detached’.

The whole point about the ‘normcore’ trend, for instance, is that you’re pretending to be normal, but you have to send out signals that you’re not really normal. Pretending not to be normal has also become normal. Or rather hypernormal.”

Protest groups

“People know there is this inequality that’s bad, people know there is corruption, but when they try to protest against it, that always seems to fail. Look at Occupy London. They had emotional impetus and support way beyond the normal radical movements and they blew it because they didn’t have an idea of an alternative world. They thought they were outsiders attacking the system but actually they were adopting its very ideas. The only way to get a change is to pull back and see the system for what it is. And what that system is trying to do is desperately keep things stable, keep things as they are. But in a dynamic world you can’t do that — and what we feel today as odd, unreal and sometimes fake are really the cracks beginning to show though.

Change is terrifying but it’s also thrilling. The first person who comes along and grabs that is going to take us somewhere else.”

Follow Ellen E Jones on Twitter: @MsEllenEJones

Hypernormalisation will premiere on BBC iPlayer at 9pm on Sunday