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Episode 077: Metascience, Faith, and Confirmation Bias… in Space! Contact (1997) with Jacob Miranda
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Jacob Miranda as they explore the metascience, confirmation bias, and the nature of faith vs. science in the sci-fi epic, Contact (1997). The film, directed by Robert Zemeckis and cowrote by Carl Sagan himself, stars Jodie Foster as Ellie Arroway, a SETI scientist who helps discover a message from the stars. The film also stars Matthew McConaughey, a religious person who acts as a foil for Ellie’s scientifically-oriented mind. Confirmation bias reins in all aspects of this film, but the commentary also includes a a healthy dose of metascience and the open science movement, especially what is part of the current discussion in Psychology — the replication crisis.…
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Episode 076: The Technosocial Commentary isn’t So Subtle — The Circle (2017)
Join Alex as he takes a solo look at the prophetic alternate reality in The Circle (2017), a film about a tech company and social media conglomerate that is parts Apple and other parts Facebook. The film, directed by James Ponsoldt and starring Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, Karen Gillan, John Boyega, and Patton Oswalt, explores the chaotic world of a tech company that creates technology to link everyone together and put cameras all over the world. You know, your typical data-farming and unregulated surveillance we’ve all come to integrate into our lives 24/7. There are a ton of psych concepts easily accessed through the blunt, low-hanging fruit conundrums our characters find themselves.…
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Episode 075: Disability and Laughing, They Do Go Together — The Fundamentals of Caring (2016) with Crissa Draper
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Crissa Draper as they discuss the the ins and outs of caring for a person with disabilities and the impact of grief in The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)! The films stars Paul Rudd as Paul Rudd playing a guy named Ben Benjamin, a father looking to make a major change in his life, becoming a full-time in-home caretaker. His first client is irascible Trevor, played by Craig Roberts, who has muscular dystrophy and is confined to a wheelchair. The film was written and directed by Rob Burnett, based on the book The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving.…
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Episode 074: Virgil Picked Up His Hammer and Saw, and Hated it — At First Sight (1999) with KatieAnn Skogsberg
Join Alex and guest host Dr. KatieAnn Skogsberg as they discuss the fascinating story inspired by a true one, about a man who regains his sight after being blind for decades, in At First Sight (1999)! The story follows Val Kilmer’s Virgil Adamson, as he receives cataract surgery and begins to “see”, exploring a whole new world of visual sensations, all for a woman he met massaging, played by Mira Sorvino. The story mirrors the real life struggles of Shirley Jennings, a blind man who underwent a similar surgery and told his story to Dr. Oliver Sacks. It’s an interesting romantic tale, chock full of really great sensation and perception concepts!…
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Episode 073: Self-Expansion Theory Across the Multiverse! Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) with Mona Xu
Join Alex and guest host Xiaomeng (Mona) Xu as they discuss the multiverse romp Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022), a film by writer-director team Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (the Daniels), starring Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, James Hong, and Stephanie Hsu. They explore self-expansion theory in identity formation, across the multiverse, as well as the central theme of the film: relationships within the immigrant experience. There’s a lot of silliness to be had here, so wear that googly eye while you listen to this engaging episode, doing your laundry and taxes!
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com…
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Episode 072: Gender Expression and The Patriarchy and Toys! Barbie (2023) with Molly Metz
Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Molly Metz as they jump into the pink land that is Barbie (2023)! There’s so much in this episode that they crammed in, and they didn’t even get to everything. Alex and Molly explore gender expression, gender identity, masculinity, femininity, queerness, relationships, and of course, the role Barbie has had in Western/American culture since her debut in the 1950s. There are lot of great nuggets of info and a lot of laughs, and that’s just in the podcast — imagine what’s in the movie!
Check out these links if you want to know more about Barbie, the film, and gender studies: BinaryThis, Fortune, The Mercury News, and AutoStraddle
This is the podcast episode Molly mentions in the episode: American Hysteria’s “Blame it On Barbie”
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com…
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Episode 071: Four Walls, Infinite Feels — Room (2015) with Chelsea Robertson
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Chelsea Robertson as they discuss the tragedy and the triumph of a mother and her 5-year-old son in the heart-wrenching book adaptation of Room (2015). They explore the social and cognitive development of Jack, the little boy, who for five years, has only known the inside of a shed that they call “Room.” We also explore the role of trauma in both Jack and his Ma, Joy, as they navigate their life inside and outside of Room. It’s a tough book, it’s a tough movie, and of course, it’s going to be a tough chat with hard-to-discuss topics — take breaks if you need to!…
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Episode 070: Physics Avengers… Assemble! Oppenheimer (2023) with Sy Islam
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Sy Islam as they discuss the smash-hit from 2023, Oppenheimer! Christopher Nolan’s three-hour peek behind the creation of the team that formed the Manhattan Project and the literal fallout from the creation and dropping of the first atomic bombs, featuring the amazing performances by Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Josh Hartnett, among many many more others. The pair discuss the formation of the “Physics Avengers” from an Industrial-Organizational Psych perspective, while exploring how they prevented the bias groupthink from pervading the critical decisions. It’s a wild ride!…
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Episode 069: The Doc with Staged Wilderness and Cultural Missteps—Nanook of the North (1922) with Phil Duncan
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Phil Duncan as they discuss cinema’s first documentary, Nanook of the North (1922), which was actually the second filming of said documentary! Dr. Duncan is a cinema studies professor and documentarian filmmaker, so he comes with receipts about how this documentary is more like a docudrama, with behind-the-scenes drama and some piping hot tea about the filmmaker, Robert Flaherty.
Check back for a link to his documentary, Mississippi Mud: The Natural History of the Blues
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com), on Facebook (@CinPsyPod), or Twitter (@CinPsyPod).…
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Episode 068: This Music Makes Me Feel… The Psychology of Star Wars (1977) Music with Jim Davies & Joe Kraemer
Join Alex and guest hosts Dr. Jim Davies and Hollywood composer Joe Kraemer as they discuss the powerful music of composer John Williams’ immaculate score of Star Wars (1977) and its subsequent film franchise. In 2015, the two guests hosts wrote a chapter — after decades of friendship and a shared love of nerd culture and music — on the psychology of the music from the famous sci-fi/fantasy film from George Lucas. The trio chat about how the music makes the viewer feel and how Williams uses the concept of leitmotifs to signal how characters interact and why certain sounds within music theory are associated with deeply subconscious processing.…