Below is a conversation between two of the most interesting people/actors in the world (in my humble opinion). Jon Bernthal has starred in many well known movies but his portrayal of venal cop Wayne Jenkins in We Own This City really struck a chord with me. Similarly, it wasn't until well after Shia LaBeouf's mainstream successes like Transformers (and even after starring in one of my favourite pop songs/videos of all time) that I sat up and took real notice - most notably with the release of Honeyboy. Both actors have deep wells of lives lived filled with shame and catastrophic flaw and this is something that resonates with me on a personal level. For insight into Bernthal's past look here. LaBeouf's multiple falls from grace have been much publicised; Honeyboy itself is a treatment on this.
In this Real Ones interview (Bernthal's Podcast) LaBeouf is captivating (as I've often found him in interview) for his candour, accountability and erudition. In some ways this speaks to my personal philosophy of accountability - the kind that can only come from living inside the feedback circuit of shame for the majority of your life. Trigger warning LaBeouf discusses his violent behaviour towards women and whilst I am advocating this kind of reflective conversation (that resembles, with Bernthal's active listening, what therapy may sometimes look like), some of you may feel that LaBeouf is undeserving of a platform. That is completely understandable and you exercise your own judgement. For me, this is precisely the kind of reflexivity that is needed of men and spotlighting this practice can only, in my view, hopefully be healing for us all.
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