In this episode, Dara talks about the characters we respond to in the art we consume. Having been very stirred by 'Joker: Folie a Deux', he stays in the world of movies and finds himself thinking about Jungian archetypes and the shadow self we can see reflected at us from the big screen. Speaking about that film, which has heavily promoted Lady Gaga as the joint draw of the story along with Joaquin Phoenix's compelling title character, he argues that it is what transpires between the Joker and Brendan Gleeson's prison officer that really unlocks the film and its grim depiction of human damage.

Further to that, Dara reasons that the film is really a stealth social realism movie in the style of Ken Loach or Mike Leigh, exposing as it does systemic failure and the impotent rage of the discarded. 1991's 'The Silence of the Lambs' is also discussed in psychological terms with particular reference to the 'daddy issues' of Clarice Starling as brilliantly played by Jodie Foster in her relationship with Anthony Hopkins' devious Hannibal Lecter. What makes Lecter such an attractive character to us, and why did audiences not feel the same way when Brian Cox played him five years earlier in 'Manhunter'?

Dara talks also about meeting earlier versions of yourself and whether change is just a nice story we tell ourselves. Part of that line of enquiry includes coping mechanisms and calming measures connected to seeking insights and encouraging curiosity, and importantly for him, resisting fatalistic thinking. Finally, there's time to quickly mention a moment of public sharing in connection with masculinity and demonstrated vulnerability and openness that was hopefully a moment of value.

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