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Episode 063: Intersectionality is a Real Concept, Y’all — The Color Purple (1985) with Wind Goodfriend
Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Wind Goodfriend in a discussion of the psychological concepts in Steven Spielberg’s critical hit drama The Color Purple (1985), which stars a breakout performer Whoopi Goldberg, amazing Oprah Winfrey, and the immaculate Danny Glover (albeit a terrible character)! The main topic on the agenda: intersectionality, and what it meant for Black folks in Jim Crow rural south, but also Black women and the bonds they make and break. It’s a window into a challenging life, where women were treated as pawns and subhuman. It’s based on the book by Alice Walker, and there’s a lot of psych found within.…
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Episode 062: Listen! It’d Be a Lot Cooler If You Did — Dazed and Confused (1993) with Chris Miller
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Chris Miller as they discuss the wild and crazy Richard Linklater film Dazed and Confused (1993), a movie that came out in the 90s, but set in the mid-1970s. The film follows teens, such as Jason London, Anthony Rapp, Adam Goldberg, Parker Posey, Joey Lauren Adams, and Ben Affleck, as they end the school year with epic hazing for those matriculating students and a wild party in the forest. There’s a lot of adolescent and young adult drama, as well as some solid social psychological concepts found in this film. So, have a listen, and as breakout performance star Matthew McConaughey said, “it’d be a lot cooler if you did!”…
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Episode 061: McMurphy’s Stay at the State Hospital — One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Join Alex as he discusses One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), a tour de force from Milos Forman, Jack Nicholson, and Louise Fletcher! The film follows Randall McMurphy, an inmate at a work camp in Oregon who successfully (?) tricks them into thinking he’s insane and so he gets transferred to the Oregon State Hospital, a psychiatric facility. This episode explores the state of treatment in the early 1960s in America and elsewhere in the Western world, as well as the Dark Triad set of personality traits — the hallmark of psychopathy — in the character of McMurphy himself. Did the system fail McMurphy or did McMurphy fail in the system?…
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Episode 060: Baseball is a Game of Statistics! Moneyball (2011) with Jessica Hartnett
Join Alex and guest host Dr. Jessica Hartnett as they discuss the wonderful game of baseball and the even more wonderful subject of statistics in the film Moneyball (2011), a movie adapted from a book based on another book about all the stats in baseball! And as baseball fans AND teachers of stats, imagine the gushing and the excitement about two amazing topics all rolled into one! Follow as they discuss the wonderful portrayals by Brad Pitt as real-life baseball general manager Billy Beane and Jonah Hill as the fake stats guru Peter Brand in the real-life transformation of the game of intuition into a game of stats!…
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Episode 059: He Wasn’t Even Supposed to Be There Today! Clerks (1994) with Nic Baldwin
Join Alex and guest host Nicholas Baldwin as they discuss the wild antics of two clerks in Kevin Smith’s cult class Clerks (1994). Follow Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randall (Kevin Anderson) as they navigate a day of true terribleness at a strip mall with the Quik Stop and the movie store. Oh, and let’s not forget Jay and Silent Bob! The psych concepts are numerous in the world of Industrial-Organizational Psych and Nic is here to explain how even a clerk of a store are worthy of a closer IO look. Oh, and there’s plenty of “I’m not even supposed to be here today!”…
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Episode 058: Can I Persuade You To Stop Smoking? Thank You For Smoking (2005) with Ed Hansen
Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Ed Hansen in a discussion of the various psychological concepts in the hilarious and sardonic dark comedy Thank You For Smoking (2005). The film was written and directed by Jason Reitman, and stars Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, David Koechner, Cameron Bright, J.K. Simmons, William H. Macy, and Robert Duvall — a ton of huge names in a tight film that explores major health psychology and persuasion concepts. How does the film parody one of the leading causes of death for decades? How is Nick Naylor SO GOOD at talking and getting people to think he’s an amazing person?…
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Episode 057: Conditioning Kids to Not Chop Down Trees — The Lorax (2012) with Kiersten Baughman
Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Kiersten Baughman as they discuss the many clear learning principles in Dr. Seuss’ beloved classic The Lorax (2012), or more directly, the modern retelling of the classic, featuring songs! They discuss classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning theory, all found within the main story of conservationism and anti-capitalism! I know marshmallows are lovely, but they are worth cutting down all the trees, my little bear friends! As the Lorax says, “I speak for the trees, and they say could you f-in’ not?!”
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com…
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Episode 056: How Did Psychology Hurt Scott Calvin? The Santa Clause (1994)
Join Alex as he discusses a timeless Christmas classic, The Santa Clause (1994), starring Tim Allen in one of his more-famous roles. Watch as he becomes Santa after being tricked into it by magical law — this sounds like real life — and as he spends the entire runtime throwing psychiatry and psychology under the bus! It’s almost like the real Tim Allen put in his own disdain for an entire professional field into the movie! But don’t forget about all the great examples of belief perseverance and belief revision amongst the characters! Just press play on this episode — your ears will know what to do!…
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Episode 055: Autism and a Better Life for Cattle — Temple Grandin (2010) with Sara Bagley
Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Sara Bagley as they embark on a discussion of Autism Spectrum Disorder and visual eidetic memory in the lovely and inspiring biopic of the real-life ASD advocate AND cattle-life revolutionary, Temple Grandin in HBO’s Temple Grandin (2010)! They discuss the basics of ASD, what the film gets right and what the film ditches for the sake of the narrative, as well as Dr. Grandin’s amazing shift in the cattle industry’s practices. They include nuggets of visual storytelling so that the viewer can feel and experience Temple’s internal struggle and brilliance, expertly portrayed by Claire Danes!…
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Episode 054: Fatphobia and Misogyny in a Romantic Comedy? That Can’t Be! Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) with Jordan Wagge
Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Jordan Wagge (Twitter: @jorowags) as they take a closer look at the problematic themes and issues in 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary! A successful vehicle for Renee Zellweger, which spawned two sequels, it does have strong “romantic comedy” vibes, which includes things like fatphobia, misogyny, sexual harassment, and a lot more! Would it hold up today? Probably not, and not just because of those things — just look at how many people are smoking cigarettes on film AND inside!
More information on CREP, the Collaborative Replication Education Project.
Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com…