The Dark Side of Black Friday: Madness of a Lost Society [Documentary]

What you are about to watch in this three-part micro documentary is mainly a byproduct of the work of Edward Bernays, the father of public relations — or modern advertising. The Jewish, Vienna-born man was the nephew of Sigmund Freud and, since the 1930s, has worked with major corporations of manufacturing and advertising, politicians, and the CIA.

Bernays considered the masses to be a bewildered herd driven by dangerous, chaotic, and irrational primitive forces which needed to be guided and contained. As we can see from the zombies in the videos, as well as all around us, the man had his reasons to believe so.

Bernays combined the ideas of Crowd Psychology or Mod Psychology with his uncle’s school of thought. He had a crucial and successful role in manipulating the masses by using their inner desires and fears to engineer public consent. The American citizen was then redefined as a ‘consumer’ and corporate greed was incepted, while Bernays became rich and famous in the process. He was later named one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century by Life magazine.

“We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. …In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.”
– Edward Bernays, Propaganda


Much more about the topic, its history, and how it all began can be found in this earlier exposé of mine, Mass Control and The Redefinition of Freedom. Also, more disturbing Black Friday videos can be found on Here.

It is quite ironic that Americans trample each other to buy stuff the very next day they are celebrating being thankful for what they got.  

When I first watched the first part of Madness of a Lost Society I was residing in Canada, so I couldn’t help but compare between both countries in terms of overall health.

Canada is healthier by ranking 33 on a 2007 list of fattest countries, according to Forbes. The US ranks number 1, spending about 147 billion each year to treat obesity. Yes. One can easily spot the difference by taking a walk in the streets or going to the grocery stores.

According to data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two-thirds of U.S. adults today are overweight or obese; half are afflicted with chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure which can often be prevented with better diets.

Likewise, 17 percent of American children and adolescents aged 2—19 years (or 12.5 million) are obese, compared to only 5 percent in the 1970s. More obesity facts can be found on this Link.


In Canada, obesity rates have also increased since the 1970s. They have doubled, even tripled in some age groups to reach 24 percent for adults, and 12 percent for children (aged 5 to 17). Though according to this Joint Report From The Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Institute For Health Information, rates in Canadian children are still at as low as 9 percent.



One of those times we crossed the borders from Canada to Buffalo, N.Y to attend a Roger Waters concert, we went to some casino diner for a quick bite. Due to some bureaucracy by the borders we ended missing the concert. So we thought that since we made it in the U.S, we might as well have dinner and ended up at that casino.

The sizes there were a clear reminder that we were not in Kansas anymore and that Houston does have a problem — of both portions and people.

The next table were three morbidly obese women; small, medium and large, just like the Goldilocks bears. The biggest, calling her papa bear for short, was attached to some breathing apparatus with wheels and had cheesy oily nachos drop on her triple GG breast, which were serving as a bed tray. I’m not sure if she couldn’t feel the dripping or if she had reached a point of no return in not giving a fuck, knowing that we were in a very public place.

Stopping myself from staring too much, I began to wonder if the rest of the bear family didn’t care for the health of their papa or how she looked since them, too, were busy devouring the fatty meals. Or, perhaps the sight was rewarding to their own self esteem. You know, with “I can keep eating as long as I don’t look like her” kind of thought.

It is sincerely hard not to feel bad when seeing such people. But when you think about it, you find it kind of strange to be so unhealthy yet still choose to eat unhealthily. It’s like they get themselves into a self-destructive mode. On the short run, it may be easier, cheaper, and more convenient to eat junk in the United States. But it’s our own health and lives we’re putting at stake here, and choosing the healthy lifestyle will always win at the end.

Then again, you can get some McDonald’s ‘meat’ burger for less than $1 while a small bottle of water costs $2 and a salad costs $5! Do you really think the ones-in-charge want a healthy general population?

This Article may try to answer why fruits and veggies happen to be more expensive than meat.




One of the things that would help Americans greatly is reducing the number of doughnuts shops all over the country. Because, between every doughnut shop and the next there is a doughnut shop.

Another would be introducing healthy meal to kids at school, like Europe and Japan.

Of course, the melted cheese and the temptation were so intense in Buffalo, that we ended up by ordering and feasting on those yummy nachos before heading back to Canada. Year later when I roamed around the States, I realised that the huge portions and the unhealthy eating habits in general is a thing pretty much everywhere. Only when I reached the Westside in Los Angeles have the menus and lifestyle radically changed.


Enjoy the madness.

*Originally published December 2011




ALSO VIEW:


Kicking That Sweet Habit: Why and How to Drop Sugar

How I Dropped Two Waist Sizes in a Few Months

 

Paycheque Addiction and COVID-19
 
Why I Share Stuff

What Being Conscious Mean

Change Is The Only Constant 

Kicking That Sweet Habit
  
How I Dropped Two Waist Sizes in a Few Months

Are You Addicted To The News?

Dear Single Parents

What Nomad Lions Can Teach Us About Growing Through Life

The Parents Dilemma

Do Parents Know Best When it Comes to Our Life Choices?

Different Shades of Passion

Debunking Myths We Were Exposed To While Growing Up