content: Yes, but despite the total BS of much of his theory, he was right on some level about the internal battle between the different levels of consciousness. As this documentary illustrates, his understanding of ego and subconscious combined with the rise of mass media led to levels of subversion we'd never experienced before.    Bernays took his ideas about subconscious desires and turned them into some of the most influential PR campaigns ever created, and I'd say pretty much all modern advertising is based on these principles.  They appeal to root fears and subconscious desires rather than selling you on a cognitive level about why a product is better.  The same goes for all sorts of propaganda--they want you looking at "children in cages" rather than having an intelligent policy discussion about immigration, etc.