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Host Manika sits down with TV writer and critic Latasha for a focused look at doubling, obsession, and the Jungian shadow in TV and film. They start with Sydney Sweeney’s “good jeans” campaign, how eugenics-adjacent language slips into glossy branding, and why audiences fixate on the star instead of the marketers, executives, and soft celebrity journalism that protect power from real accountability.

From there, they unpack persona, shadow, and projection through specific characters: the damaged detective and his obsessive double in Department Q, Rust Cohle’s self-annihilating focus in True Detective, Nina’s unraveling in Black Swan, Pearl’s break from the “good girl” role, and hitmen in Mr Inbetween and Patriot who cannot escape the violence that feeds them. The conversation widens to Watchmen, Tulsa, white supremacy, masks, and what it means when a Black woman takes on godhood on screen.

This episode is for anyone interested in character psychology, shadow work, and politically aware TV and film criticism.

00:15 – Manika welcomes listeners, introduces Latasha and the episode theme01:33 – Sydney Sweeney “good jeans” ad backlash and GQ interview overview

06:05 – Sydney Sweeney’s politics, MAGA family, and power with no consequences

07:44 – Soft celebrity journalism, influencers vs reporters, Barbara Walters/Wendy Williams

13:08 – Jungian persona vs shadow and why it matters in film/TV

20:11 – Department Q: Carl Mørck’s trauma, guilt, and obsession with cold cases

29:32 – Black Swan deep dive: Nina’s double, control, and unraveling

36:40 – Pearl: the “good girl” mask, denial, and a violent shadow self

39:24 – Defining the shadow self in media and how characters split themselves

43:00 – Mr Inbetween, Patriot, and hitmen: double lives and compartmentalized violence

55:43 – Watchmen (HBO): Tulsa massacre, white supremacy, and policing

1:03:21 – Why thinking critically about media doesn’t ruin enjoyment

1:04:12 – Watch list segment: One Battle After Another, The Vince Staples Show, The Patient

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