Interview Adam Curtis: "People Stopped Being Real in 1998”
- Romy Kraus
- Jun 19
- 4 min read
Why Curtis thinks smartphones killed authenticity - and why that matters for the future of storytelling
In a rare interview, the genre-defying documentarian unpacks memory, melancholy, and the ghost stories we're living in now.
If you've ever watched one of Adam Curtis' films, you know what to expect—except you don’t. Known for his dreamlike use of archive footage, stirring soundtracks, and essayistic voiceovers, Curtis has been BBC’s quiet firestarter for decades. Now, in a rare interview with Marina Hyde and Richard Osman for Rest Is Entertainment, Curtis opens up about Shifty, his latest six-part series that charts the strange emotional and political landscape of Britain from 1979 to now. The vibes are haunted, the thesis is bold, and the footage—yes, there’s a gender-transitioning dog on daytime TV—is wild.
Curtis isn’t just tracing history; he’s tracing the feeling of living through history. Whether it’s the collapse of the post-war consensus, the rise of individualism, or the numbing effects of phone screens and AI, he’s interested in what it all does to our heads. This conversation dives into how Curtis uses archive to reveal social mood swings, what he thinks killed authenticity on camera, and why the culture feels stuck in a loop of its own greatest hits.
The Lowdown
Shifty explores Britain's evolution from 1979 to now, using unexpected archival moments to track deeper emotional shifts.
Curtis believes society is stuck in a twilight zone between memory and history—blocked from imagining the future.
Smartphones, social media, and now AI have turned expression into performance, draining reality from public life.
He sees liberals as having lost narrative power post-Brexit and populists as nostalgia merchants, not revolutionaries.
TV needs imagination, not categories. Curtis credits his success to mixing trash and theory—and being cheap.
He warns that AI may not be the future, but the end of the past—looping us forever in our own emotional fragments.
“Everyone Dreads the Future”
Curtis tracks the roots of Britain’s unease back to the collapse of the 1970s political consensus and the rise of hyper-individualism.
What’s Shifty really about? The breakdown of trust in institutions, the splintering of social narratives, and a creeping dread that the future’s been cancelled. Curtis starts in 1979, the dawn of Thatcherism, but looks for moments that reflect emotional currents, not just political ones.
Mickey Mouse-level finance ran wild. Liberals felt betrayed. Fear became ambient.
“There is a sense that all the culture of the past is sort of coming in towards us... blocking us from the future.” – Adam Curtis
“I Wanted to Make Films That Felt Like a Night Out Talking to Friends”
Forget standard history docs—Curtis’ style blends low culture, big theory, and bangers by Bucks Fizz.
Curtis ditched traditional formats in the '90s to mirror how people actually talk and think: chaotic, hybrid, and emotional. Archive clips jump between TV oddities and deep political theory. Shifty ends one episode with “Land of Make Believe” instead of “Ghost Town”—a pivot from cliché to cultural x-ray.
The goal? Juxtapose pretension and pop. No middle. Just meaning.
“The music you use has to be the music you like. The audience knows when you're cheating.” – Adam Curtis
“Television Grooms You. I Want to Provoke.”
He rejects comforting narratives. His aim? Disorientation.
Curtis isn’t here to confirm your beliefs. Whether he's portraying Pete Sinfield as a secret anti-Thatcher bard or exposing the ideological void in the Millennium Dome planners, his films force reappraisal.
Forget balance. Think intellectual ambush.
“If they don’t know where you’re coming from, then the BBC doesn’t get that worried.” – Adam Curtis
“People Stopped Being Real in 1998”
Smartphones didn’t just change media—they killed authenticity.
By the late ‘90s, Curtis noticed something eerie in archive footage: people stopped being themselves. Performance became default. Since then, he’s found it harder to locate real moments on camera.
The culprit? The rise of the self as brand. And now, there’s almost no off-camera.
“You saw the genuine self just receding… and being replaced by something else.” – Adam Curtis
“The Liberal Classes Never Forgave the Working Class”
One of Curtis’ most controversial ideas: liberals retreated when the people didn’t vote how they wanted.
Post-1979, then again post-Brexit, large swathes of liberals withdrew from politics when they felt ‘betrayed’ by voters. That vacuum left space for cultural policing and personal branding, not big ideas. Result? A politics of vibes, not visions.
“Never trust a liberal.” – Adam Curtis
“AI Isn’t the Future—It’s the Final End of the Past”
Generative AI doesn’t invent. It haunts.
Curtis sees AI as a “ghost machine,” reanimating our own emotions, phrases, and dreams in remix loops that sedate, not stimulate. It’s not a tool of progress—it’s a digital séance.
The real twist? AI might trap us in nostalgia so powerful we can’t escape.
“They are actually taking our own past and haunting us with it.” – Adam Curtis
Quickfire
What do you want audiences to feel after watching Shifty?
Like they’ve lived through something extraordinary—and are finally seeing it.
Would you still join the BBC today?
No. If I were 23, I’d go straight to YouTube. TikTok’s done. Instagram’s too neat.
What about Elon Musk being a fan?
Baffled. He must’ve been stoned.
Kanye’s feedback?
Liked it. But said it should’ve been 20 minutes. Executive producer energy.
How do you keep making these films at the BBC?
I’m cheap. I edit myself. Most of the footage is free.
“We Are Haunted by a Culture That Won’t Let Go”
We’re living in a memory fog where nothing settles into narrative. That’s why the future looks blank.
Curtis doesn’t claim to have answers. But he’s sure the crisis is conceptual. If we don’t develop a new language for what we’re feeling, someone else—probably someone worse—will.
He’s trying to hold up a mirror. It’s up to us whether we just stare… or smash it.
