Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is my all-time favorite film.
So, when I was invited on to Mental Health Film Comment Podcast, I wasn’t passing up the chance to fit David Lynch, surrealism, and trauma into an interview.
Brian’s show explores some aspect of mental health through the lens of a film.
We offer up a lot of mental health resources and exercises, and do a deep dive into the sterile—and sometimes pathologizing—way mental health is often approached that can minimize the richer emotional associations.
Surrealism gives us a window into someone’s emotional realities.
And it gives us clues on how to holistically heal. Like art therapy, we can use metaphor and associations to transcend the limitations (and sometimes re-traumatization) of pure intellect.
We talked about disassociation and numbness and trauma on a continuum with sensitivity to life.
We talked about why I’m a big fan of art therapy and associative therapies.
We talked about why surrealist works hit the mark and tap into deep, unconscious emotions when we’re talking about mental health.
It’s a really deep and fun one. Feel free to check it out above. And let me know what you think.
This one, especially, is a different type of interview for me, and I think the topic opens a lot of discussion.
