century of selves

I am sat here trying as hard as possible not to stare out of my window and instead do some reading for my assignment due next week...

so i thought i would write a small note about a series a friend of mine has just reintroduced into my life:

the century of the self

I remember watching this is at university.. it was so compelling i saw some of it sat in the library with headphones on, crammed into one of the small wooden boxes stacked with video players from the early 80's. the headphones even had the little foam removable covers. that made me smile.

It made the rounds through my friends, passed from computer to computer, filling our little creative minds with possibilities of what could have been and how it all has ended up. we finished up a little bit angry, and a little bit more confused about the state of the world.

almost 4 years on, some friends and I sat through the second episode of the series and something clicked with me that I hadn't thought of before. the whole documentary is so condemning of capitalism, of freud, of the individual self.. of democracy.
but in such a charming British way it barely seemed to scuff the edges of dissent.

what is democracy? Can democracy exist without capitalism? Is democracy ultimately the best thing for us? With the current climate of financial meltdown and credit crunch situation hitting the people hard every day, no one seems to notice the message written in the skies above all the broken promises that the governments public relations information (aka propaganda) that is asking for change...
but democracy keeps changing with us, following us with new promises of bright futures and change for the better...
i don't know if the word really has any meaning for me anymore.
maybe its time for a new word that holds a new idea inside?