Adam Curtis created the 1992 BBC documentary series Pandora’s Box about political and economic rationalism. The six-part series examines how ideas presented as scientific or rational can shape government, economics, social planning, and individual behavior.
Curtis uses archival footage, interviews, speeches, and historical commentary to build arguments across different periods and countries. Rather than retelling the Greek myth, the title suggests that powerful systems of thought can be opened and then produce consequences that are difficult to control.
The series is an early example of Curtis’s essayistic documentary style. His later programs also combine archival montage with broad arguments about politics, technology, and modern society.
The title can cause confusion because Pandora’s Box is also the name of films, books, songs, and television episodes. The BBC series is specifically associated with Curtis and was first broadcast in 1992.