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. 

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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/

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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 [email protected]

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