Who created the six-part 1992 BBC documentary series Pandora’s Box?

Adam Curtis created the six-part 1992 BBC documentary series Pandora’s Box.

The series examines the political and intellectual history of attempts to use scientific, economic, and technological ideas to manage society. Curtis uses archival footage, interviews, and historical narration to explore subjects including cybernetics, Soviet planning, nuclear strategy, and economic policy. The title invokes the idea of opening a container whose consequences cannot easily be controlled.

Pandora’s Box was an early major work by Adam Curtis, who later became known for documentary series such as The Century of the Self, The Trap, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, and HyperNormalisation. His approach often combines historical argument with striking archival montage.

The series should not be confused with a fictional drama or a direct adaptation of the Greek myth. Its six episodes use the mythological title metaphorically. It first aired on BBC Two in 1992 and helped establish Curtis’s distinctive method of linking political history with ideas about systems and control.