It starts of with Ayn Rand's theories on self and how they were interpreted, which led to capitalists taking control from politicians. Curtis illustrates how the likes of Alan Greenspan took these theories, and with the advancement of computers, put into practice a system of free economy which he believed could be self-regulating and self-sustainable. What the program shows you is whilst a system seems to be working, it is reliant on elite capitalists and can be destroyed at their whim. And whilst the illusion of equality and functionality may be there, it is a thin veneer to cover up what is really going on.
The second episode concentrates on man using ecosystems as a base to world order and why this is flawed. How computerised systems were thought to be able to copy a natural ecosystem in the belief that it could be self-correcting and self-sustaining. It looks into the environmental and commune movements of the 70s and how they were ultimately let down by natural human order. Curtis asserts that we are trying to reconstruct, through the medium of personal computers, a hippy commune network. Ergo, we are all equal nodes in a system. But no human system is equal. Throughout the series he explores the notion that we are all just a small cog in a larger system.
The final episode focuses on Africa and our relationship to animals. He concentrates on genetics and how we are merely a construct of a bigger purpose. How genes dictate human nature and how computers can enhance this process. How genetic is used by the powerful to exploit the weak and how humans are driven by their genetic programming.
The series is enthralling and deeply depressing. Curtis has a special talent for making documentaries. Instead of a direct approach, he likes to skirt round the edges and link fact and theories together. He turns the factual approach into riveting entertainment. It is very tenuous at times and he employs a style which does not expound solid fact but stays firmly rooted in grey areas. I prefer this way of presentation as it produces more question that it answers, and makes the viewers think and formulate their own opinions.
It paints a gloomy picture of the human race and how Utopian goals can never be reached, as they are sabotaged by the natural human instincts of greed and power. How the wealthy exploit the poor and how computers and the Internet are just a subtle extension of this. How perceived freedoms are merely mirages and why liberalism is often a curse. Curtis looks at the relationship between humans, computers, networks and power.
In the end it's human nature ingrained in our genes that prevents us living in harmony. How technological evolution has left us apathetic, and how we are merely programmed machines who are destroying the world with out thirst for power, wealth and dominion. The most depressing conclusion is that we can do nothing to change this.
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