Looking at Life Through the Lens Of Your Favorite Movie with Audrey Thorne

Jo & JJ Go Mental

This week, we sit down with Audrey Thorne, host of the Lights, Camera, Analysis podcast, teacher and mentor. Audrey herself is a film lover and invites her podcast guests to talk about life lessons through the lens of movies we all know and love. We talk with Audrey about how we can learn about mental health and emotional intelligence through the movies we watch, what our emotions teach us about our values, and how teachers are coping with the long hours and stress in the profession, particularly during the pandemic.

Takeaway:

[3:18] Audrey’s podcast, Lights, Camera, Analysis provides life lessons through the lens of different films. Audrey is a proud film nerd and her college thesis on “I Love Lucy” proved to her how much we undervalue how much we can learn from films. Audrey’s podcast serves young adults and teenagers for many reasons, one being that it is easier to learn something while you enjoy watching a film than simply listening to an adult telling you what to do.

[6:11] We discuss two movies that are great for analysis — Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Easy A. These movies have themes about handling mental health, shame, and stigma that can be relatable to young adults.

[15:31] Trigger warnings are often misconstrued. Instead of an invitation to completely opt out of a conversation or experience, it may be more an opportunity for boundary setting and resilience. We discuss that sensitivity isn’t something to run away from or invalidate, but is there also a possibility sometimes we are being too sensitive? Jo raises the point of how arguably there has been a pendulum shift from an older generation who were told to “suck it up” and who don’t want to talk about their mental health, to the opposite extreme where the younger generation may simply vomit everything they feel on to the table without any filter. Audrey’s podcast can help provide teens and young adults the tools for handling their sensitive nature that they may not be getting elsewhere.

[18:42] It’s important to have boundaries, but it’s also important for you to challenge yourself and encourage others to do the same. One thing Audrey loves about her work as a teacher is providing the students with social-emotional check-ins to understand how they are feeling and to validate their emotions. When they are clear on their values and show resilience and discipline, it builds their self-esteem and boosts their self-image.

[24:31] Mentors, teachers, and leaders shouldn’t be scared to challenge their students. It’s a teenager’s job to push out, and it’s the teacher, leader or mentor's job to push back in. When we walk on eggshells and hold back, we do everyone involved, including ourselves, a disservice.

[29:55] Things that make us feel passionate and alive can also be somewhat scary! It could be as simple as asking yourself, “Is this going to kill me?” and if the answer is no, finding the courage to move through it, and to remember times that we’ve been brave.

[35:24] There is no set formula to joy, and we don’t need to agree on what the exact steps to feeling joyful should be. Just that it gets a conversation started around emotional intelligence is great, as most people still think “emotional intelligence” means anger management.

[37:24] Audrey discusses how she and her teaching colleagues are taking care of her own mental health, especially during the pandemic. Longer hours and more screen time can also mean more fatigue and burnout, but it’s important to find a little pocket of joys and dedicate some offline time every couple hours.

[42:50] Audrey opens up about the fear of being a terrible teacher in her early years. She learned to have a growth mindset and accepted that you can never be perfect and serve everyone optimally at all times.

Connect With Us:

Joanna Denton | Dr. JJ Kelly

Resources

Lights, Camera, Analysis | Audrey Thorne