Howdy friends. This week’s guest is comedian, Substacker, and cultural commentator, Christian Finnegan.
Before we get to the actual questions in our episode, Christian and I spend some time catching up, covering everything from the recent Riyadh Comedy Festival held by the Saudi Government to Christian’s unhealthy obsession with the New York Knicks that culminated in a rather wild gift.
As always, Christian is hilarious, self-effacing and astute as we tackle the whitewashing of tyranny and the surprising appeal of body pillows.
Once the questions begin, Christian theorizes that animated characters are perhaps better able to tell us deeper and more difficult truths than human actors can. We talk about the myriad representations of mental health in what is often seen as “children’s entertainment”. Whether we are plumbing the depths of depression with Eeyore and Charlie Brown or exploring the concepts of grief in a film like Up, animated works can often distill tougher themes down to digestible elements.
As we move our discussion on to the film that most informed his world view, Christian looks intently at the class hierarchy within the neighborhood of one film that changed his outlook on the idea of monolithic communities. As a high schooler, he was enlightened by the nuance and diversity of this seemingly connected neighborhood.
Christian and I explore the differences of love and infatuation, allowing Christian to describe love as a daily or devotional act, as opposed to a mere feeling. We talk about the openness and willingness to be truly hurt that love requires. And Christian breaks down the misogynist myth of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl.
We learn about a fairly recent cinematic treasure that Christian feels is underseen. There is also a look at the similarities between a famous failed artist and the way that Christian and I often see ourselves in that sad, frustrated character. Christian shares the story of seeing a movie that he was sure would be terrible, and we happen upon a film that I deeply dislike, but may have misjudged.
Come get all of that and more with me and Christian Finnegan. This one runs a bit longer than a normal Six Questions installment, but I am pretty sure you’ll enjoy that extra time just as much as Christian and I did.
Let’s get into it.
Cheers,
Matty C
Show Notes
Thank you so much to Christian for joining me. Be sure to subscribe to his Substack, New Music For Olds, you’ll find a link in the show notes.
Six Questions With Matty C is a production of What Am I Making. The show is hosted, written, and produced by me, Matty C.
Our theme music was written by the great Pete Coe.
You can subscribe to all of our work today at whatamimaking.substack.com.
Our work is solely sponsored by listeners and readers like you. Please lend your support today with a paid subscription at whatamimaking.substack.com.
You can email the show us at whatamimakingblog@gmail.com. You can also leave us a voicemail with your questions or concerns at speakpipe.com/whatamimaking
