Faith and Aaron discuss the idea of “Specificity creating universality” by discussing the recently-released Star Wars show Andor.
We’re back! Aaron and Faith discuss the (much less controversial than last year) Oscars, including a discussion of Nepo Babies, Method Acting, why both of them hate The Last Jedi, the psychological phenomenon of “BIRGING,” and the actual Oscar-winning movies themselves, too.
Send us an email (or a comment, complaint, or insult) at psychandcinema@gmail.com
Aaron and Faith continue discussing “transgressive” Christmas movies by reviewing Krampus, comparing it to Home Alone and discussing how the so-called “counter-programming” in Krampus actually makes it an even more authentic Christmas movie. They then close out the discussion by talking about their favorite/perfect Christmas movies.
Our episode is late (Aaron is giving finals and Faith is still fundraising for Sundowning, link below), but the first part of our Christmas-Themed Two-Parter is out!
Aaron and Faith start their discussion of Christmas movies by discussing “counter programming” and “transgressive” Christmas movies (with a detour past a potential writer’s strike and the new Indiana Jones movie) before discussing the holiday classic “Home Alone,” which Aaron did not expect to dislike but does actually dislike.
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Sundowning on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sundowning/sundowning-a-senior-centered-horror-short
After Faith brings up some Catholic woes and Aaron bemoans democracy in Art, the two tackle Guillermo Del Toro’s Netflix Anthology Series, Cabinet of Curiosities, during which Aaron tries to convince Faith of his theory regarding good horror movies and the difference between horror and mere fear, including mild overuse of the words “cognitive” and “intellectual,” while Faith tries to get Aaron to abandon his theory. Because Aaron writes the show notes, we are going to state that Aaron ends up winning.
Also, a reminder that the Kickstarter for Sundowning is still running and has been featured under the “Projects We Love” category! You can find that kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sundowning/sundowning-a-senior-centered-horror-short
Find the Sundowning on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/sundowningfilm/
Send us an email at psychandcinema@gmail.com
Aaron and Faith discuss the psychology and philosophy of horror movies - what makes them scary, what makes them good, and what makes us love them - as well as introducing Faith’s upcoming project (now on Kickstarter!) Sundowning.
Send us an email at psychandcinema@gmail.com
Sundowning on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sundowning/sundowning-a-senior-centered-horror-short
Recorded right after Faith’s initial viewing of the finale, Aaron and Faith discuss their final views on Season 1 of Rings of Power. The hosts disagree on philosophy of adaptation, with Faith offering industry insider perspectives on why some of the more questionable decisions might have been made while Aaron channels his Tolkien fanboy.
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After missing a week due to unexpected hospitalization, Faith and Aaron dedicate an entire episode to a discussion of movie soundtracks. Aaron goes over the psychological research indicating soundtracks to be fundamental elements of how we interpret and respond to film, while Faith discusses the importance of soundtrack variation and how they allow for nonverbal storytelling. Then during the kvetching corner, the hosts explain the recent controversy over the YouTuber “Dream” to each other, each succeeding in making the other angry.
A Psychology Today going over Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and why Aaron has such distaste for self-diagnosis of it and the internet’s version of it: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder
An actual qualified therapists’ perspective on DID and why the TikTok trend surrounding it is both dangerous and denigrating towards people who actually suffer from the condition: https://medium.com/invisible-illness/having-dissociative-identity-disorder-looks-nothing-like-it-does-on-tiktok-995f266c57c9
Battling through Aaron's COVID fog, Faith and Aaron discuss the hit multi-verse spanning film "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Faith discusses the "maximalist" nature of the film, as well as its themes of generational conflict, angst, and nihilism, while Aaron talks about the psychology behind counterfactual thinking and how much he enjoys the transgressive (as opposed to "transgressive") nature of the film.
The "Turn Down for What" Music video that launched the directors' career: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU
Faith and Aaron discuss the first two episodes of Amazon's Rings of Power, including what they liked, disliked, and specific predictions for what will happen in the show, all in the light of Prof. Tolkien's own lore. For an on-topic kvetching corner, Aaron talks about the toxicity that a small but loud number of fans are exhibiting in the light of the psychological study of bias.
The song version of the Battle of Sauron and Finrod Felagund by Clamavi de Profundis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eWZCYuYR6s
Faith leads a discussion of the hit AppleTV show “severance.” Faith brings up how it relates to the “quiet quitting” phenomenon, and also brings up how the show exemplifies a form of speculative science fiction that’s less commonly seen today. Aaron discusses the real-world psychological phenomena that relate to the show’s depiction of the severance procedure, including self complexity. The pair then visit the kvetching corner again, where Aaron fulfills Faith’s request to kvetch about psychology with horrific aplomb. Also, Aaron’s baby daughter makes an auditory cameo appearance!
Notes_______
YouTuber Danny Gonzalez on the “Liver King,” the person Aaron described as astrology for men: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zZk0NPxiGM
Send us your questions, requests, comments, nasty comments, and insults at psychandcinema@gmail.com
Show note: both hosts have a slight hum sound to their sound because they both live in hot climates and had local AC units going. We apologize for the sound quality but are still glad the hosts didn’t overheat.
Aaron and Faith discuss the recently-renewed “What We Do in the Shadows” TV show, using it as a starting ground from which to discuss psychological theories of humor and the challenges of writing comedy. They also introduce the new segment, “The Kvetching Corner,” and take their first listener-requested topic.
Have a question/comment/complaint? Email us at psychandcinema@gmail.com!
In the wake of the second half of Strangers Things Season 4 releasing on Netflix, Faith and Aaron discuss one of the real-world inspirations of this season's events, the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s, covering the psychological motivations for belief in conspiracies like the Satanic Panic, the shaky psychological grounds used to justify it (such as so-called "repressed memories"), and what we can learn and apply from seeing moral panics depicted in our entertainment.
Inspired by some of the discourse around the upcoming Amazon show "Rings of Power," Faith and Aaron tackle the idea that "representation matters." Rather than just stating platitudes, the duo try to dig more into what "representation" means, what it looks like in practice, and the psychological theory that helps to explain not only "why," but also "how" representation matters.
Hello there! Aaron and Faith do their broad, spoiler-lite (not spoiler-free) overview of the Obi-Wan show that concluded this week. They discuss their perspectives on the show, the respective influence of actors, directors, and writers on the show's direction, and fan/critics' views on the show.
Also, we have an email now! If you want to reach out to us, you can write to psychandcinema@gmail.com!
A psychologist and Hollywood screen writer have known each other for over half of their lives. They have spent over a decade complaining about movies together. They thought you might want to listen in. And what better movie to explore the themes of writing, the interplay of the human psyche and the stories that we write to explore it, and the distillation of that process into the visual medium, than a discussion of Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers?