4 Fantastic Films - III

By Restless [Originally on goofyblog 11.30.07]

1. The Century of the Self (2002) Pt. 3

At the end of the 50s, Anna Freud’s psychoanalytic methods were being challenged by those alienated by businesses’ use of them to sell products and also by a growing awareness of several major failures: Dr. Cameron’s experimental treatments using drugs and shock had failed, and the family on which Anna had based her treatment model had suffered casualties. Then there was Marilyn Monroe.

The 60s: The Tower Burns

The Freudians

The abuses of Dr. Cameron and the sorry state of Anna’s failed guinea pigs were not well-known, but Marilyn was famous worldwide. In 1960, she had turned to Anna Freud’s Los Angeles associate, Dr. Greenson, for treatment. Employing Anna’s techniques, he tried teaching Marilyn normality and seeing her daily, even hiring an assistant to monitor her at home. His treatment included drug therapy, and Marilyn became dependent on barbiturates.

When she killed herself in 1962, many in and outside the psychoanalytic world were shocked. Challengers and critics rushed the gate.

The Challengers

In the late 50s, a small group of renegade therapists in New York City had begun practicing new therapies, influenced by the teachings of Wilhelm Reich – himself an original disciple of Sigmund Freud. Reich had formed a concept of human behavior radically different than Sigmund & Anna’s: repression of essential human nature was the cause of all individual and social ills.

According to Reich, sexual energy is the primal force animating every person, thus all neuroses were caused by failure to orgasm. Free a patient’s sexuality and he would flourish. Static societies needed to be changed to be made more livable, human, sexual.

The Critics

In 1957, Vance Packard published The Hidden Persuaders, a book that called attention to businesses’ use of Freudian theory to create Pavlovian mass consumers. It had been a best seller, the book title itself becoming a common figure of speech.

Radical philosopher, Herbert Marcuse, had begun criticizing the empty prosperity that had been created by the broad conformance to a static social model. The idea people needed to be controlled was wrong, said Marcuse, agreeing with Reich: the individual should not conform. The unhealthy forces Anna Freud had seen in people were caused by a repressive society.

Ghettos raging; student, hippies protesting, playing; Babylon burning

Marcusian theory was used by the new Student Left to justify protests that attacked corporations and demonstrations opposing the Vietnam War. The mindless conformity of the 50s had led inevitably to a mindless war in Southeast Asia. American business and US government interests had become one with neither the advice nor consent of the people.

The students saw themselves as autonomous citizens in a democracy, able to make their own decisions, and rejected any secret or overt manipulation by business and government propagandists, still using tired Freudian techniques. Rebelling against consumerism, they experimented with non-conformist, anti-corporate ideas: communes; sexual freedom; long hair; funky attire; civil rights; women’s liberation; gay lib.

When the strong leaders, those who had radiated hope and pushed for non-violent change, were assassinated, and the US continued pursuing the war, even in the face of massive student opposition, some of the Left decided they needed to go farther.

The Weathermen group began a series of bomb attacks against the corporate structure. The police and FBI struck back hard. At the 1968 Democratic Convention police were set upon protesters, clubbing them at will. After 4 students were killed by the National Guard at Kent State, the Left began falling apart.

Out-gunned, they started turning inward, using Reich’s theories again: go inside, change oneself, change society from within.

The 70s — The Me Generation? – Reichians triumph

Esalen, initially a small West Coast retreat near Big Sur became the locus of this move inward. Fritz Perls – an Esalen therapist trained by Reich – created gestalt therapy as a new way for individuals to see and express their hidden inner feelings, and in so doing, free themselves of all social conditioning.

Experiments in social change via personal liberation were attempted, first with black and white radicals, then with a convent. As the nuns found liberation, they released their repressed sexuality. In the end, over half renounced their vows, some became radical lesbians — the convent closed its doors.

Thousands flocked to Esalen and other centers that were founded to emulate it. Then philosopher/entrepreneur Werner Erhard developed a method for mass producing self-expressive individuals. Calling it est – erhard systems training – he did his trainings with large groups in grueling all-day sessions, stripping off participants’ layers of social conditioning, going down to their nothingness. Once there, individuals were free to re-create themselves from that nothingness. They could be anything they wished to be.

Erhard taught that it was one’s highest duty to become a fully actuated individual. One of his aphorisms was “Participation is health.” These newly actuated individuals would change society by sheer numbers.
Est became hugely successful and was replicated all over America, the UK and other parts of the world.

As this internal “revolution” took hold, Business wondered: how could they reach these new individuals? Their old focus group model was of no use — fewer people were interested in participating. Moreover, existing methods of mass production wouldn’t work with this new urge for individual expression by consumers.

A leading market researcher, Daniel Yankelovich, was hired. Using surveys Yankelovich discovered a surprising truth about the Human Liberation Movement. Expressing oneself had become the most important thing, superseding all else.

The urge to change society had become irrelevant. What now emerged was the idea that people could be happy simply within themselves.

By 1980, a vast majority of the population had become preoccupied with the self. Then Ronald Reagan stepped onto the stage, and using Reichian theory, became the first politician to talk to these new beings and in so doing he defined the way to political victory for the next 27 years . . . and counting.

[more tomorrow]