Dara Clear, Author at The ClearOut

Critical Reaction and the Bestowal of Credibility – Episode 120

In this episode, Dara responds to a confronting conversation about the podcast that raised issues of self-worth, purpose, and the validity of the podcast itself. He looks at the specific criticism levelled at the show and what he does on it and makes a case for the defence. In a broader sense he looks at situations of personal conflict and how to remove emotion from the equation in order to view things more dispassionately.

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Chucking Original Sin in the Bin and the Pernicious Effect of Lifestyle Culture – Episode 119

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This power-cut interrupted episode picks up where last week’s episode left off – with no clothes on! Dara wraps up his thoughts on nudity by addressing some omissions from last time. He briefly looks at a couple of male movie nudes before talking about his life modelling experience while in acting school in England in the mid-nineties. An article on a new photo exhibition that replaces Helmut Newton’s chilly women with male models raises questions of conditioning, objectification, and the dominance of the male gaze.

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Naked As The Day You Were Born, or A Question of Exposure – Episode 118

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In this episode, Dara realises he omitted to mention three things in relation to the theme of nudity: shame, Viggo Mortensen’s willingness to bare all, and a ridiculous story from his acting school days that featured nudity, singing, and money! Things he may have to return to next week…

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Stop Laughing, This Is Meant To Be Good For You! – Episode 117

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In this episode, Dara is perplexed by the moral ending of Jennifer Lawrence’s new comedy, No Hard Feelings. What is the purpose of such moralising? Does the audience benefit from the character’s personal edification? Should we care about a dissolute character’s redemptive arc? He compares the sexual politics of that movie to Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot.

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Keeping Up With a Changing World, or Why Seahorse Dads Made Me Uneasy – Episode 116

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In this episode, Dara shares his thoughts on the late William Friedkin, of whose films he has long been an admirer, particularly The Exorcist and the lesser-loved Sorcerer, his 1977 remake of 1953’s La Salaire de la Peur. Those movies are discussed along with a general appraisal of Friedkin’s voice and greater artistic significance. Dara considers the changing astronomy of the world as more and more creative giants of that generation appear to be coming to the end of their time.

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The Voice of Truth and Anguish – Saying Farewell to Sinead O’Connor – Episode 115

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In this episode, Dara takes his time to say goodbye to Sinead O’Connor and speaks of her relevance to him from the early days of her career right up to more recent times when life presented her with a terrible burden to bear. He includes a clip from Ep 34 of the show when he spoke about the death by suicide of her son in January 2022.

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July Miscellany! Movies, Weddings, and Reading the Signs – Episode 114

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In this episode Dara reviews some recently watched movies, including William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in LA (1985), and Sidney Lumet’s Prince of the City (1981), two much-lauded cop thrillers that each have their strengths and weaknesses and are very much products of their time.

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The Importance of Orientation, or Why the Loss of Bearings is No Joke! – Episode 113

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In this episode, Dara’s aged cat has gone to the toilet in the wrong place, and the cause is not feline terrorism but dementia and disorientation. The loss of bearings is a very difficult thing to negotiate because it can result in dislocation. Dara argues that as fundamentally relational beings, we need landmarks and touchstones to position ourselves in the world.

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Riding the Gere-Stick to the Worst Poem in History! – Episode 112

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In this episode, Dara wrestles with the conundrum that is Richard Gere. Self-satisfied narcissus or instinctive, id-driven sex animal? Is he a good actor? Is he just a fantasy figure beloved of Generation X moviegoers? Is he forever the man who rescued Julia Roberts from the streets? Dara examines Gere’s legacy through some of his most memorable performances and discusses in detail Breathless, the bizarre 1983 Hollywood remake of Godard’s A Bout de Souffle with an uncontainable turn from Gere at his most overtly sexual.

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Don’t Mind if I Do! Helping Oneself to Moral Failure – Episode 111

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In this week’s episode Dara is bothered by the current controversy in Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE. He is bothered, but not surprised by it, because it is simply another example of institutional corruption and moral complacency. He looks at why people continually fail to rein in their greed and dishonesty.

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Dara Clear

Critical Reaction and the Bestowal of Credibility – Episode 120

Chucking Original Sin in the Bin and the Pernicious Effect of Lifestyle Culture – Episode 119

Naked As The Day You Were Born, or A Question of Exposure – Episode 118

Stop Laughing, This Is Meant To Be Good For You! – Episode 117

Keeping Up With a Changing World, or Why Seahorse Dads Made Me Uneasy – Episode 116

July Miscellany! Movies, Weddings, and Reading the Signs – Episode 114

The Importance of Orientation, or Why the Loss of Bearings is No Joke! – Episode 113

Riding the Gere-Stick to the Worst Poem in History! – Episode 112

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