After watching Paul Mazursky's An Unmarried Woman, a film hailed upon its release in 1978 as a groundbreaking feminist text, and celebrated for the central performance of Jill Clayburgh as a cheated-on spouse, Dara wonders about the legacy of strong female characters on screen and asks who of today's actresses best represents ideas of female power and strength.
Latest Episodes
Dara presents an interview with his friend Sean Whitehill. Sean is a dedicated traveller and artist, among other things. He talks about what travelling means to him and what some of his favourite places are.
Dara is thinking about imprints, specifically the ones left on us in our formative years. He argues that our sense of wellness is very much connected to how successfully we negotiate or accommodate those imprints in our adult selves.
In this episode, Dara discusses some hot potatoes that are being passed from hand to hand in Hashtag Blessed. Beyonce's new album art raises some concern, as does Marilyn Monroe's appearance on the screen on Dara and his daughter's scheduled movie night. Are these icons of female beauty and performance actually problematic? Is there a radically different experience in how they are perceived by men and women?
In this episode, Dara takes a deep dive into two very different on-screen depictions of what the French call 'amour fou', or 'mad love'. 1986's Betty Blue (37.2 Le Matin) and Hitchcock's 1958 classic 'Vertigo' are the two texts in question.
Dara presents the second of two parts of an in-depth interview with author, artist, and abuse survivor, Aisling Creegan.
Dara presents the first of two parts of an in-depth interview with author, artist, and abuse survivor, Aisling Creegan.
Dara begins this week's episode by looking at the Irish discomfort with self-approval and putting it in the context of small-island, village mentality. He argues that it is a product of a damaged national psyche that leaves many Irish people with a pathological self-deprecation born of superstition and distrust of success.
In this week's episode Dara reflects on a week in recovery from Covid and realises he enjoyed dropping down to his slowest gear. It prompts him to think about the benefits of living with one's defences down. He argues that it makes us more receptive and more capable of seeing positive things in the world.
Compromised by a cold-induced fogginess of brain which precludes his normal freestyling approach, Dara decides to recite some American poetry from the Confessional School, and cautiously takes on Allen Ginsberg's Howl as the closing piece of this verse-drenched episode.
About the Podcast
Welcome to the turbulence!
Join Dara Clear, a domesticated Irishman who is trying to work out the best ways to cope with what life throws at him.
Husband, father, actor, writer, teacher, karate instructor, and sea swimmer, Dara wants to take the wuss out of wellness.
Mixing storytelling, philosophy, humor, psychology, and emotional honesty as a recipe for increased wellness, positivity, and resilience.
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