Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and professional filmmaker Alan Seawright break down your favorite movies, searching the characters, themes, and plots to find things you can use to improve your mental health, your life, your looks? and your cardiovascular fitness (nope.)
Join them and their guests as they try to improve life, laugh at each other, and keep Alan from crying over everything.
I would actually argue that using Palpatine was the only way to pull off Kylo Ren having a redemption arc. Without an established villain that the audience recognises as being the ultimate evil of the franchise, having him turn good in the wake of everything he's done, facing a new and original villain (or even one pulled from the old lore) would have been extremely difficult. All that being said, I do think Kylo Ren should have been fully committed to pure nihilism and evil and not redeemed at all.
One thing I appreciate about the movies is that Indy doesn't win because the bad guys are stupid. Almost every enemy reacts appropriately for the situation and Indy comes back at them sideways
P.S. has anyone addressed the timeline issue with Ray? Like, for her to be Kilo Ren's age but Palpatine's granddaughter Ray's parents would have to be Luke's age, right? So did he have a kid real quick before becoming Emperor? Or, was it like a control thing after he was Emperor? I'm guessing the second one... 🤔
So good, this movie gets me every time Also I don't know that you guys ever do horror movies but I really liked the emotional beats in Abigail and would like to hear your thoughts
I've recently heard of the term "spiritual bypassing" and I almost wonder if the reason Vader was susceptible to the dark side is because he essentially became a product of the business of the light side. The light side became bureaucratic and mechanic in it's ways, and the dark side is encouraging him to validate his emotions. It makes me love Yoda's journey in Rebels that much more, because it's essentially a representation of the light side being forced to do their shadow work 🦹 Luke's "I'm a jedi" moment is fun, but a grey jedi all the way with Ashoka's "I'm no jedi" 🩶
I wanted to share about when Tony returns the shield to Steve in End Game... I also thought it was another peace offering. Remember when Tony attempted a peace offering with the pens in Civil War? I think it's Tony's attempt method of communicating he would rather work together than apart. Idk just some thoughts. You're guys' discussion and analysis was so fun and encouraged me to think about the scenes and moments in the MCU that have inspired me to keep watching.
When watching "Return of the Sith," I am unable to take my eyes off Ian McDiarmid whenever he was on screen. His charisma made Anakin's transformation that much more believable.
Please could you make a video about Ahsoka? All her arch in Clone wars is amazing!! She has so many qualities, I think we can learn a lot from her, and learning from your point of view it'd be great!
One of my fave movies. I think it was very intentional that the roommate was bitten outside of the home, not in a way that Sean could feel responsible for.
I’m surprised they didn’t mention how she seems to have ADHD. She is chronically late, forgetful, Often because she was distracted by something else like when she was writing down notes for the matchmaker. She is creative, thoughtful, and often thinks outside the box, and thrives in physically active roles. Also she’s just so relatable to me, and I have ADHD.
I'm not gonna lie, the secondary trauma bit through me off for a sec- I've seen this episode before, I just hadn't remembered that. My therapist is pretty sure I suffer from secondary trauma. A few years ago, my best friend got abused and assaulted her boyfriend, and her misery left a mark on me, to borderline be like, "YOU are the most important person in my life, and YOU deserve nothing but GOOD" to potentially an unhealthy level. As of right now it's hit unhealthy. This years been rough on her- she's had to move once because of an abusive relationship and abusive landlord/roommate (two separate people), was doxed by her abusive ex, had to move again due to people catcalling her and banging on her window, and in her THIRD place was nearly broken into at least two more times, not including the few assaults and rapes that have happened between all of this. Truthfully something small in comparison happened (her crush turned out to be a lying multiple cheater) and I just sorta snapped and lashed out to someone on social media who I thought didn't believe her when she was hurt at a party (I say hurt because I'm still unclear if it was a gang rape or a tall man screaming in her face). Said person figured out it to be her, reached out to her, and me and her are no longer speaking. I feel like shit. I deserve it, I shouldn't have gone behind her back and bullied someone out of the blue.
I dispute something in this video. Anakin isn’t dumb for killing Dooku in that scene he is just being manipulated by a father like figure. Palpatine is more of a father like figure than even Obi Wan is. Plus if you think about it Palpatine is not entirely wrong based on what he says. He is too dangerous to be left alive to some capacity Also Meesa called Jar Jar Binks. Meesa your humble servant
Love a good villain and he is great! I would love to see your thoughts on The Haunting of Hill House limited series on Netflix. It’s a favorite of mine and really goes into grief, trauma and mental illness while also scaring you quite a bit.
Obligatory trans guy in the comments who was still oblivious of, well, everything when the movie came out, but it definitely set things in motion in my brain. And I couldn’t understand why Mulan would go back to being a girl when she had the option to live as a man. Only took me another 25 years to figure out I’m trans. I still love this movie a lot. I start HRT next week and I kinda want to film a montage to demonstrate the changes over time with the Be A Man song in the background. I even have the martial arts experience to shoot some epic scenes 😀
I hate that the word grooming is exclusively used for manipulation. Grooming is specifically defined as preparing somebody for a specific task or purpose. It does not mean sexual manipulation or any type of manipulation. Grooming is just an instrument that manipulators use but that's not what grooming is. Kings and queens groom their princes and princesses to be kings and queens. LeBron James a professional basketball player groomed his son to be a professional basketball player.
Luke was 100% going to commit patricide right then and there and if it wasn't for Palps he would have. Which is why I cannot fathom people's issues with TLJ and Luke almost committing nepoticide but then *holding himself back.* **Frantic hand waving** HOW IS THAT NOT GROWTH? He didn't NEED that outside source to rein him in anymore! He was able to do it on his own! Grah...but this is a Palps video so...umm...yea the whole cloning thing in TRoS. Poorly executed....straight out of the Legends universe that everyone who had issues with the sequels kept saying the writers should have drawn from, but very clunky in execution. I'd have had Palps clone just slaughtered by Kylo and have Kylo be the big bad. "The past is dead." and saber through the chest. Just one and done right in the opening.
I always find it really weird when people complain about ‘cancel culture’, or talk about it how it's this new, socially dangerous thing that can cause innocent people's lives to be destroyed by a single misstep. Like, my father and grandfather's generations (and I'm very willing to bet both Jonathan & Alan's parents and grandparents as well) literally raised us talking about cancel culture, and how important and critical it is, and how we need to always be mindful of cancel culture, accept it, and improve ourselves if we were affected by it. It was literally a cornerstone of how I was raised! Previous generations just called it “the consequences of your actions.”
No ones gonna read this anyway, but still : This movie has a pretty special place in my heart. When I was a year old, my biological father "unalived" himself. And recently, my mother has found a special someone. But unlike Ian who had a loving father, mine was pretty abusive towards my mom. For instance, he'd slap my mom right across the face for trying to help him because 'she's pregnant and needs to rest'(atleast that's what he said). This went on for so long that the stress of it caused that poor unborn soul to loose it's life. Needless to say, I can't resonate with Ian about the "I wish I could've met my father" thing. But bio father's violence was so contradictory. Did he care about my mom ? Or did he just hate her ? What drove him to do what he did ? Did he not care about us ? Was it that painful ? What happened ? I just don't know. I kinda wish I could know. But maybe I i never will. I don't think, even as a child, I've ever thought "ohh, I wish I had a father" cuz I've been just fine without one, for years. Maybe cuz I've had people that support me. But I've never had that "special someone" Someone that I've shared special moments with. Ykwim ? So the scene where Ian realises that his big brother filled a very significant role for him, really got me. & I don't even normally cry over (or even watch) movies. The plot may seem boring for some, but this movie is about the small little boring things that make up our life. It taught me that life doesn't necessarily have to be filled to the brim with adventures cuz what's the the point of it all if you don't have anyone to share it with ? It taught me that no matter how hard you try, there's some things that you just can't have. That's not your fault, that's just how some things are. But that doesn't mean you have to stop trying, or that you're incapable. Merge, cuz you'll never be ready. (I'm sorry I didn't think it would be this long. I hope it makes sense, it's like 2 in the morning. Also if you read this far, thank you!)
My 2D Effects professor, Troy Gustafson, worked on many of the swirly smoke effects in this film and even helped establish its signature style. His scenes included when Mushu was introduced, anytime incense was present, and most likely that fireworks explosion at the end. Professor Troy dressed like a cowboy, had that "grumpy old man" kind of personality, and wore a black trenchcoat in the winter. He was one of those tough teachers that was hard to pass the class for, but he believed in us all, and he never stopped believing even after we all graduated. I don't think he ever stopped believing even right up to passing away a few years ago. Alan, it means a lot to hear you getting a burst of unbridled joy out of that fireworks explosion, and how much you both appreciate the subtle details that often go unnoticed. Every time I see those smoke effects in Mulan, I'm always on the brink of uncontrollably crying. He may be just a name in the credits, but he meant a lot to us. Miss you forever, Professor Troy. 💙
A few years back I watched this movie for the second time years after my first viewing. I was so mad at myself for forgetting what a sad ending it has. I need to be prepared to watch a movie that is going to bring me down
Is it implied that, after they tell each other their names, they remember everything they went through? I mean, the names were the catalyst, no? After knowing the names, the memories come back. Hopefully? 🥲
My take on parenting as a non parent who didn't have that great of a childhood is that being a good parent has nothing to do with not making mistakes, because the more I grow up I realize parenting is actually a superhero job that has to be done by people who are not superheroes, so it's impossible to not screw things up at least once in a while. Parenting I believe is all about being attune with your inner child and not be afraid to take accountability for your mistakes. If a parent can take accountability for their mistakes, learn from these mistakes and gradually grow into a slightly better parent and better human and model that to their children that's the greatest form of parenting in my opinion! My point is, Alan, I think you meet all of these criteria and the fact that you're in therapy and that you think you're mediocre as parent at worst and average at best proves that you're actually a great parent!
