In 1975, the UK held a referendum on whether it should remain a member of the European Economic Communities (EEC)—a sort of proto-EU. While continued membership was approved by voters at the time, the referendum can be seen as a precursor to Brexit.

Shortly before the vote, John Berger released his television series Ways of Seeing. The series features closed captions that linger on screen long after the words have been spoken. One such caption reads: “Why eventually are these publicity images so bleak?”—just moments before a “Say Yes to Europe” campaign poster appears in the background.

In the 1970s, the UK was known as “the sick man of Europe,” a title that has also been assigned to Turkey, Portugal, Spain, Germany—even the EU itself. Post-Brexit, Britain once again bears the name.

Berger begins the episode with the line: “On walls, on screens, we are surrounded by images of an alternative way of life.” But the images blur and the clarity once promised by posters dissolves—so too does the future they imagined.