Is happiness possible?

"We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of."-Edward Bernays

Through the film "Happiness Machines", which is based on the ideas of Edward Bernays (the father of Public Relations), it can be inferred that Adam Curtis believes it is possible to be happy. The principle of the matter, however, lies in what brings one happiness and how this is controlled, which is explored further in this film.

In my opinion, the statement above made by Edward Bernays provides an accurate summary of the point Curtis' film is attempting to make. It is stating that we as individuals have undoubtedly lost control of shaping ourselves, and as a result, have also lost the power to decide what makes us happy. In the movie, Bernays points out that society is easily manipulated, and through this manipulation, we lose the control of defining happiness on our own terms. Viewers are shown how we have lost this control because of the influence of Bernays himself. Essentially, after Bernays discovered how effortlessly society can be mislead, he helped the American corporations have the ability to make people want things they didn't need, a power that still dominates today's society. Through the power of mass production, Bernays tricked the people of his time into acquiring unnecessary products that not only defined their happiness, but that they also believed defined themselves. A powerful example of this in the film is the way Bernays mislead women of the 1920's into believing that smoking cigarettes symbolized power, and perhaps even more important than power, freedom . He did this by presenting the cigarettes as "torches of freedom", leading women to believe that if they smoked, they would be fighting against the standards of the male-dominated society they lived in.

Currently, we are still manipulated by this same strategy that Bernays discovered back in the early 1900s, and I believe it is highly unlikely that this will change anytime soon. As of right now, we as a society are doing anything but fighting the control that media and advertisements have over us. Personally, I admit to feeling overwhelmed with happiness when I purchase something new, especially new clothes; however this state of bliss does not last long because as soon as different labels come out with exciting new fashion trends, I am no longer happy until I have this new article of clothing. This is a never ending cycle that we have been tricked into, a cycle that I feel began because of Edward Bernays.