Bad Will Hunting – your shame is not your fault 13 December 2018 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Arts , Shame , No Comments “It’s not your fault.” In the Oscar-winning film Good Will Hunting, much-loved actor Robin Williams plays a psychologist who treats an angry, uncommunicative South Boston janitor (played by Matt Damon) […]
Unporn – a new take on sexual shame 21 September 2018 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Shame , 1 Comment “Our world is becoming increasingly visual. Yet, when it comes to the visual expression around sexual subjects, we’re limited to medical diagrams and porn.” So writes Mikael Cho, Founder/CEO of the excellent free stock photo […]
Is sexual shame keeping you single? 24 May 2018 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Sexuality , Shame , 2 Comments When I was young, for a few years we used to holiday at a hotel on Lake Lugano in northern Italy. And, every year, two English gentlemen—brothers—were there at the same time. One of […]
Unconscious shame and the ‘full body massage’ 10 May 2018 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Shame , 1 Comment I have blogged repeatedly about society’s unconscious shame about emotions and sexuality, a shame that—as well as erupting in violently destructive ways—largely hides in plain sight. Our unconscious sense of ‘sex is dirty’ and ‘I’m […]
Lawrence of Arabia – a shame-driven hero? 18 February 2018 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: History , Shame , No Comments Shifting Sands, an exhibition at the British Civil War Centre in Newark, examines the perennially fascinating story of T. E. Lawrence—a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia—from multiple perspectives: historical, archaeological and personal. Pursuing clues in […]
American Ugliness – the fall of Kevin Spacey 9 November 2017 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Arts , News , Shame , 1 Comment I don’t have a single favourite film. But there is a bunch of films, indeterminate in number, that rise above the rest. Wonder Boys, Shakespeare in Love, Apocalypse Now, Chinatown, […]
Harvey Weinstein – why men must address their sexual issues 13 October 2017 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Arts , News , Shame , 2 Comments As I write, social media is ablaze with furore over multiple sexual allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Until just a few days ago Weinstein was in a […]
Why do we hug with our bums sticking out? 1 October 2017 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Shame , 2 Comments Have you noticed how different people hug? Some people hug standing straight, with the whole length of their bodies touching. Some, however, lean in and clasp each other around the shoulder. This posture […]
Why is it so hard to ask for help? 14 July 2017 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Shame , 1 Comment I can still remember it vividly. It was 1975 and I was 14 years old. My friends and I were learning to ride motorcycles. My best friend’s dad had a 50cc Honda step-through, […]
Horror films and the shame of sex 18 June 2017 Posted by: Michael H Hallett Category: Arts , Shame , 1 Comment While most film genres rise and fall in popularity over the decades—we are currently in a mini-age of comic book action films—one genre stands head and shoulders above all others in durability: horror. […]