HyperNormalisation

“HyperNormalisation” is a 2016 BBC documentary, produced by Adam Curtis.  No stranger to political docs, Curtis is responsible for 2004’s “The Power of Nightmares”, among others.

While the majority of Curtis’ work focuses on political propaganda, it seems to coalesce into a dramatic point with “HyperNormalisation”.  Without a doubt, this is as poignant in 2020 as it is in 2016, and arguably even more so.  

The central point, and definition of the term “HyperNormalisation”, is when drastic, dire, or unusual societal conditions are artificially accepted, usually at a faster-than-normal or “hyper” pace.  This is, according to the documentary, the result of world leaders who have an increasingly slippery grasp on increasingly complex world problems.  The answer to this lack of real control over adverse conditions has caused the world itself to retreat into a “fake” version of reality, where what amounts to modern superstitions are the new rule.

Think of this in terms of what has been declared “the new normal” in 2020, and the obvious connection are going to be hard to miss.