Allegory Lounge is a four-part mini podcast series that explores psychology and philosophy through cinema, treating film as modern myths that illuminate the human condition.

How We Change

The first two episodes explore the process of transformation — how growth unfolds within us.

Why We Change

The second half explores the deeper reason behind transformation — the existential pressures that push us to grow.

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: Throughout the series, we discuss films and shows freely. We recommend watching them beforehand if you’d like to avoid spoilers.

CREDITS

Hosts: Laiza Rodriguez Kenney & Katie DeAscanis

Creator, Producer & Editor: Laiza Rodriguez Kenney

Art Design: Brian Rodriguez Kenney / briandrewkenney.com

Music: Botanist Boogie Breakdown by Ryan James Carr, courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

From Jung and Nietzsche to films like Thunderbolts, The Substance, and Mickey 17, we explore the Shadow—the parts of ourselves we repress—and what becomes possible when we dare to face them.

👉🏾 Watch the Allegory Lounge video series on Youtube.

FILMS - SPOILER WARNING

- Thunderbolts, dir. Jake Schreier 

- The Substance, dir. Coralie Fargeat

- Mickey 17, dir. Bong Joon-ho — based on Mickey7 by Edward Ashton

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

- Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche (1883–1885)

- Aion, Carl Jung (1951)

- The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, Carl Jung (1959)

- The Astrology of Fate, Liz Greene (1984)

- Romancing the Shadow, Connie Zweig & Steve Wolf (1997)

- Pathways to Bliss, Joseph Campbell (2004)

- The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers (1988)

- The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images, ARAS, edited by Ami Ronnberg & Kathleen Martin (2010)

- Motherhood: Facing and Finding Yourself, Lisa Marchiano (2018)

- The Vital Spark: Reclaim Your Outlaw Energies and Find Your Feminine Fire, Lisa Marchiano (2021)

- This Jungian Life (podcast), Lisa Marchiano, Deborah Stewart & Joseph Lee

- Daring Greatly, Brené Brown (2012)

- The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron (1992)

- Sweet Surrender, Suchitra Mattai (2021), suchitramattaiart.com

CREDITS

Hosts: Laiza Rodriguez Kenney & Katie DeAscanis

Creator, Producer & Editor: Laiza Rodriguez Kenney

Art Design: Brian Rodriguez Kenney / briandrewkenney.com

Music: Botanist Boogie Breakdown by Ryan James Carr, courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

In our second episode we explore how Moana, Paul Atreides, and Neo follow the Hero’s Journey—and why this ancient pattern still mirrors our own psychological growth.

👉🏾 Watch the Allegory Lounge video series on Youtube.

FILMS - SPOILER WARNING 

- Moana (2016), dir. Ron Clements & John Musker

- Dune (2021) Dune: Part Two (2024), dir. Denis Villeneuve

- The Matrix (1999), dir. Lana & Lilly Wachowski

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

- The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell

CREDITS

Hosts: Laiza Rodriguez Kenney & Katie DeAscanis

Creator, Producer & Editor: Laiza Rodriguez Kenney

Art Design: Brian Rodriguez Kenney / briandrewkenney.com

Music: Botanist Boogie Breakdown by Ryan James Carr, courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Through films like Groundhog Day and Heretic, we examine how people either create meaning through reason and personal agency or refine belief through faith and trust, and how both paths can either liberate or trap us depending on how rigidly we hold them.

👉🏾 Watch the Allegory Lounge video series on Youtube.

FILMS - SPOILER WARNING

- Groundhog Day (1993), dir. Harold Ramis; starring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell

- Russian Doll (Netflix), created by/starring Natasha Lyonne 

- Heretic (2024), dir. Scott Beck & Bryan Woods

- The Sunset Limited, play by Cormac McCarthy, dir. Marco DiGeorge at Theatre on the Edge in Orlando, FL. 

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

- Friedrich Nietzsche. The Gay Science (1882; 1887 ed.)

- Albert Camus. The Myth of Sisyphus. 1942.

- Irvin D. Yalom. Existential Psychotherapy. 1980.

- Benson, H., et al. (2006). Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP). American Heart Journal, 151(4), 934–942.

CREDITS

Hosts: Laiza Rodriguez Kenney & Katie DeAscanis

Creator, Producer & Editor: Laiza Rodriguez Kenney

Art Design: Brian Rodriguez Kenney / briandrewkenney.com

Music: Botanist Boogie Breakdown by Ryan James Carr, courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

In this final episode, we explore the ancient sisterhood of Mortality and Morality - born together at the dawn of humankind - through the Tree of Life, Interview with the Vampire, and What We Do in the Shadows. 

👉🏾 Watch the Allegory Lounge video series on Youtube.

FILMS & SHOWS - SPOILER WARNING

- The Tree of Life (2011), dir. Terrence Malick

- What We Do in the Shadows (FX TV series), created by Jemaine Clement

- Interview with the Vampire (AMC TV series), based on the novel by Anne Rice

- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), dir. Stanley Kubrick

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

- The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker

- The Power of Myth (with Bill Moyers, PBS, 1988), Joseph Campbell, 

- Genesis 3 (Garden of Eden)

CREDITS

Hosts: Laiza Rodriguez Kenney & Katie DeAscanis

Creator, Producer & Editor: Laiza Rodriguez Kenney

Art Design: Brian Rodriguez Kenney / briandrewkenney.com

Music: Botanist Boogie Breakdown by Ryan James Carr, courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.