← The Broski Report with Brittany Broski
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Colleen Hoover fans, get ready. Her best selling novel Regretting youg is coming to the big screen. From director Josh Boone, who brought us the fault in our stars. This powerful story follows Morgan, played by Allison Williams and her daughter Clara, played by McKenna Grace, as they navigate love, loss and the secrets that can tear a family apart. With an all star cast including Dave Franco, Mason Tames Scott Eastwood and Willa Fitzgerald, Regretting youg brings to life everything readers loved about the book. First love, second chances, heartbreak and the complicated, beautiful bond between mothers and daughters. It's the kind of film you'll want to see with your mom, your best friend, your book club, anyone who loves to laugh, cry and gasp together in the theater. Don't miss Regretting you. Only in theaters October 24th.
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Direct from the Broski Nation headquarters in.
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Los Angeles, California, this is the Broski Report with your host, Britt Broski. So cool and statue. Control yourself, says Georgia. Welcome to Belsk. Hello, Ma. So little Els with a little smoke. Welcome to Bilski. Hey, guys. Welcome back to the Broski Report. Not much to report. I am experiencing caffeine overdose. Caffeine overdose. And I am wondering what. At what level is it? I'm in a dreamscape. At what level? You know, like I can't feel my hands. I feel like I've got double vision. I feel like. I feel like a white walker. I had so much damn caffeine, I turned into a white walker. So I just really feel like the way Killian Murphy's eyes are so icy blue in that one scene of Oppenheimer put it up on the screen, you know what I'm talking about? When the camera's real tight in on his face and it zooms in and he's. And then it's the music playing in the background as the bodies. He's stepping over charred bodies. That's how I feel. Had so many Red Bulls. Okay, here is something that I wanted to look up today. I want to look up because we're sticking with the theme of my gorgeous, beautiful set decorated by me. If you can't tell, I decorated the table. I don't know. Some of you are saying in the front, I need to change the lighting and I need to move the shit up to the front. But I can't because then it would fuck up the lighting of the whole show and fuck up lighting the whole show and fucking the lighting in the green screen. So I can't fucking do that. Just stop telling me to do that. Anyway, what we're gonna do today is Some more Victorian fun facts because they were eating mummies and fucking each other and they were 8 years old and being drunk. So I think that that is cause for curiosity ultimately, and I'm gonna go ahead and dive into that. So where any normal person would store is, of course, Reddit. Gov. Just going to move these, move these inches out of the way. Perfect. Okay, perfect. If y' all have any questions on this piece, just save it. Keep it to yourself. What's a weird fact you know about the Victorian era? This is r. Ask Reddit. People poison themselves with green dresses, most specifically because of the dye substance, which was arsenic. We know this. Taxidermy was huge. They collected many pieces and more notable, the works of Walter Potter, who would create taxidermies such as kittens having a tea party. Now is this that shit where, like, the mice are, you know, where he'll set him up and the mice will look like fairies and whatever? Yeah. The Curious World of Walter Potter. Now, how do we feel about taxidermy team? Because I don't love it. Okay, hot take. I don't love taxidermy. Kind of freaks me out, actually. Really freaks me out. Why was it so, like, why were bitches. People love taxidermy. Like there are those people who collect the, you know, safari jungle animals like taxidermy. That goes for millions of dollars. Why? Why is it some weird conquest over nature thing? I don't know. Walter Potter, 1835-1918. Damn. He lived a long time. Was an amateur taxidermist who built tableaux that became icons of Victorian whimsy. A new book by historian of taxidermy, Dr. Pat Morris and New York based artist and curator Joanna Ebenstein seek to preserve and celebrate the now dispersed collection with new photographs of his best works. Okay, so this is a monkey riding a goat. Sure. Okay, wait. Okay, wait. Rabbit's Village School. This is so fucking morbid though. Like What? Potter wanted 50 baby rabbits for the village school, but despite asking around in local villages, he could only get the 48, of course, that are here engaged in scholastic activities. The pupils are about a month old. Did he really use baby rabbits? Like, stop. Like they're holding pencils. This is making me feel. They're cute. Are they real? Oh, maybe I don't like this. This is nuts. The Death and Burial of Cock Robin. What? Who is Cock Robin? This Tableau is nearly 2 meters long and took Potter about 7 years. It features a hundred British birds, some crying with glass tears in their eyes. Now, see, he clearly was an artist. Why did you choose Dead animals as your medium, I'm afraid of you. At the end of the day, what you did here is kind of impressive, and I'm afraid so. What the fuck? Look, they're little birds. Oh, this is making me sad. I don't like this. I don't like that. I don't really. I'm not fucking with Walter Potter. I don't know what bulge Potter was doing. In 1853, the vaccination against smallpox, a deadly airborne disease, was made compulsory. If parents refused to have their babies vaccinated, they were fined. It's so interesting to think about how we handled Covid when, like an epidemic, a pandemic is not new to the human race. You know, we're very vulnerable, weak creatures. How have people and governments handled it in the past? And was it considered successful? Was it considered blase? Was it considered not enough? Was it too much like finding people all that, you know, it's like all of these are viable options to get people to vaccinate their kids. But at the same time, like, what? I don't. I don't know. I think it's interesting to read about it. Smallpox was one of the most common causes of death in Britain at the time and had a mortality rate of 30%. Those who survived were often blinded and or scarred. Victorian health reform. This act was a part of a series of laws that make vaccinations mandatory for the public. The 1853 act made it compulsory for all children to be vaccinated within the first three months of their lives to protect them against smallpox. If the parents of these kids refused to comply with the law, they were subject to pay a fine and could even spend time in jail. What? Immediately after the passing of the 1853 law, resistance to vaccinations began among the public. Violent riots occurred in Mitford, Ipswich, Henley and various other towns. And that same year, an anti vaccination group. There's always fucking anti vaxxers. The Anti Vaccination League was founded in London and provided an outlet for those who were opposed to the new laws. Okay, do you want to know? I'm actually going to just pivot really quick because. And the light is also making my eyes burn, so. And I had a hundred million cups of coffee, so my body's kind of failing right now, if you guys don't mind. My body's shutting down. On camera, not clickbait. And my bangs are sliding off my fucking head. Here's something that I have been interested in since my first read of the Secret History by Donna Tartt the idea of a bacchanal. Bacchus. Bacchus. Dionysus. Colleen Hoover fans, get ready. Her best selling novel Regretting youg is coming to the big screen from director Josh Boone, who brought us the fault in our stars. This powerful story follows Morgan, played by Allison Williams, and her daughter Clara, played by McKenna Grace, as they navigate love, loss and the secrets that can tear a family apart. With an all star cast including Dave Franco, Mason Tames Scott Eastwood and Willa Fitzgerald, Regretting youg brings to life everything readers loved about the first love, second chances, heartbreak and the complicated, beautiful bond between mothers and daughters. It's the kind of film you'll want to see with your mom, your best friend, your book club, anyone who loves to laugh, cry and gasp together in a theater. Don't miss Regretting you only in theaters October 24th.
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Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway this fall. Take care of the little ones in the family with Baby Club Savings now through November 4, spend $25 on select Baby Club products and save $5. Shop for items like Pediasure bottles, Pedialyte powder packs, Huggies baby wipes, Huggies diapers, Gerber Puffs and Gerber pouches. And save $5 when you buy $25 or more on participating products. Offer ends November 4th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
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The idea of carnal elation, the idea of indulging one senses to a degree that is hedonistic, the concept of a Bacchus, and I'll go ahead and define that here, today, right now, or I guess a bacchanal. Bacchus is the Roman God of wine, revelry and ecstasy, known for his association with fertility, vegetation and the liberation of the spirit. He is the Roman equivalent of the Greek God Dionysus and is depicted with his followers and the maenads and satyrs in frenzied celebrations and satyrs, which British people pronounce satires. That's something different, bro. That's something different in America. By the way, these are A satyr is the classic Mr. Tumnus, right? Is Mr. Tumnus a satyr? He's a faun, not a satyr. I'm humiliated. I'm fucking humiliated. I'm humiliated. While both are mythical creatures with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a goat, Mr. Tumnus is a faun, a gentle, peaceful woodland creature in contrast to the wilder, more aggressive nature of satyrs in Greek Mythology. Okay. But they're both half man, half goat, so fuck CS Lewis and his interpretation. I'm talking about Greek and Roman satyrs. Okay? So it's this concept through a bacchanal, which. Let me double check that. That's bacchanal. Pronunciation, Bacchanal. Bacchanal, sure. Bacchanal. I'm from. I'm from the South. I'm addicted to the concept of this because, of course, revelry is in any form is fun to read about, it's fun to write about, especially this reckless abandon that the characters in the Secret History experience this with. And now the context of the Secret History, for those who don't know and maybe don't plan on reading it, which I encourage you to read, it is my favorite book of all time. These are all classics students, so they're studying the Greeks, they're studying Greek as a language. The, like, Greco figures and themes and topics and pillars of Greek society that, you know, a lot of people, the way they're fascinated with the Romans and they think that Roman morals and ideals should be brought back today. There's a kind of fascination with that in this sense for the main characters in the Secret History, so much so that they decide they're gonna have a bacchanal on their own, and they go out and they create it. And some pretty horrific things happen during this bacchanal, and they're under the influence of so many different things, and it's such levels of ecstasy that the rest of the book is kind of dealing with what the consequences of this were. And I, you know, I think that there's. Obviously, I'm not a historian, I don't know if you can tell, but there is this historical interest in what were the Greeks trying to achieve through abecanal or, you know, what was Bacchus, I guess, mission other than to create and curate chaos. And what was I reading recently where it was like, I think it is Greek mythology. It's not heaven and hell. It's not good and evil. It's rather order and chaos. These are two opposing ideals that control a lot of the concepts and stories around Greek gods and. And Greek myths and Greek culture, society at the time, order versus chaos. And when you view these stories through that lens where there is no, you know, the gods are good and humans are bad, or humans are bad, and the gods or humans are good, gods are bad. It's never that black and white Christianity, Abrahamic religions, they really try to purify this concept of good versus evil that doesn't exist in Greek mythology, which I find to be so much more interesting. Okay, yes. Everything in the Bible has a lesson they're trying to teach you and whatever. Sure. The point of religion is to be a moral guidepost, signpost for how you should live your life according to what religion you subscribe to. Okay. Greek myths, I think, are interesting and they're fun to learn about because. What's the point? What's the point? It's just, yeah, this happened. Wasn't that crazy? Yeah. So. And I think some people can try to find meaning or lessons to take away from some of these stories of, you know, maybe greed, like the story of Icarus and pride and whatever. Like, yes, these things are there and you can have interpretations. But this is my hot take. I think a lot of the Greek myths are just for entertainment, especially when you think about Greek playwrights and whatever. Not everything has to have a mission statement or a takeaway. Sometimes it's just entertainment for entertainment's sake. So very, very interesting in that regard. I recently learned about all of this and how the concept of a bacchanal has influenced a lot of media and a lot of, you know, there's this. I think there exists a thin, thin veil between ordered human society and outright chaos, ungovernable chaos. And there are systems in place like shame and certain behavioral rewards of being and living in an organized society and, you know, holding each other accountable and things like the tragedy of the commons and whatever, where the benefits of community are so plentiful that you do want to hold yourself and your fellow community members accountable for certain things like law and order. However, every single human right under the surface has chaos brewing, and it is a concerted effort to keep that chaos at bay. So when you start reading stories and especially Greek mythology through that lens, oh, my God, I just. I'm very fat. That's been my fixation of the week. I'm very fascinated by this idea of order versus chaos and how thin, truly, how thin the. The veil is between the two. Because the gap between good and evil is so vast, it's so wide, it's easy, er, it's easier to say, this is good, that's bad, this is a good person, that's a bad person. You know, heaven and hell. The line is so stark. And I say that with an asterisk, of course, because religion is a gray area and what. Whatever. You know what I'm trying to say. Order and chaos, Very, very, very thin. It is, it is. The flood is barely being kept at bay. So with that being sad, this episode is sponsored by hungryroot. Shopping, planning and cooking Food really can be simple and stress free, but for most of us, it's not. Taking all that work off my plate is why I love Hungryroot. Hungryroot takes the stress out of mealtime by filling your cart with personalized picks and planning your week of meals. Getting smarter with every order. 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Hungryroot holds all its food to high standards, screening out over 200 additives including high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and preservatives. They source only high quality meat and seafood with no hormones or antibiotics. They offer organic produce and non GMO options and carry trusted healthy brands like Oatly, Vital Farms, Ithaca Hummus, Harmless Harvest and many more. Since I had my gallbladder removed, y' all know that I eat a very specific and demanding diet and Hungryroot helps me find low, low fat, dairy free options to keep in the fridge for meals and when I'm feeling snacky so I'm not just eating junk and acting like I don't know why my stomach hurts. You feel me? Take advantage of this exclusive offer for a limited time, get 40% off your first box. Plus get a free item in every box for Life. Go to hungryroot.com Broski and use code Broski that's hungryroot.com Broski code Broski to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice or for life. Hungryroot.com Broski Code Broski oh lo this episode is sponsored by Zocdoc. Remember that doctor's appointment you were supposed to make a while ago? Yeah, the one you meant to book and completely forgot about until now. You know that dentist appointment for your biannual cleaning? How about that dermatologist visit for that mole you keep meaning to get looked at rash you diagnosed with Google but still haven't checked out? Guys, why not book it today? Zocdoc makes it easy to find the right doctor right now and it's all online. You might even be able to book an appointment before the end of this ad. Read ZocDoc is a free app and website where you can search and compare high quality in network doctors and click to instantly book an appointment with Zocdoc. You can book in network appointments with more than 100,000 doctors across every specialty from mental health to dental health, primary care to urgent care, and more. 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That's Zocdoc.com Broski Zocdoc.com Broski zocdoc.com Broski Bacchus and Dionysus There is no fundamental difference between the two. Bacchus is simply the Roman name for the Greek God Dionysus. While both names refer to the same deity of wine, ecstasy and revelry, their cultural perception and portrayal differ slightly. Dionysus often is seen as a young, athletic demigod of emotion and chaos, and the Roman Bacchus sometimes depicted as a plump, middle aged, drunken figure associated with pleasure and festivity. So they are the same. They serve the same function, I guess, of hedonism and carnal pleasure. And I watched this really interesting podcast that I think is wrong. Let me see what it was. It's this play, it's this podcast called the Rest is History and I Watched one they did on Bacchus and I was so fucking intrigued because they touch on the ma. Y' all know I'm obsessed with madness. I'm obsessed with female madness. I'm obsessed with being pushed into that. That mental state based on the kind of overindulgence of artistic fancy. Fancy. Does that make sense? Like people who go so far deep into their own minds to pursue some artistic endeavor that they lose their fucking shit. I'm very fascinated by that. And if I were ever to do kind of an essay, if I were to go back to school and do an essay, I would kind of want to write about that. Of, like, when you reach so far deep into your own mind to find what's going on and then you can't come out again. I'm very, very. Okay, so in the academic definition of like, madness, and then in this context of like a Bacchic madness, which I guess, let's look up what that is. Okay, this is on R. Dionysus, the Dionysian ritual madness. What is a Dionysian madness? It's a harder question to answer than it sounds because it's hard to get across just what Dionysian madness is without having experienced anything close to it yourself. But I'm currently reading the Secret History by Donna Tartt. Yes, because Dionysus told me to. And that novel has some stunning descriptions of Dionysian madness. It is a Bacchae inspired murder story in which a group of college students deliberately host a bacchanal and end up killing someone in their frenzy. Spoiler alert. One of these students, Henry, gives us this splendid description of Dionysian ecstasy. Here we fucking go. Here we fucking go. This is what I wanted. And if my bangs are fucked up, don't say anything. It was heart shaking, glorious torches, dizziness singing, wolves howling around us and a bull bellowing in the dark. The river ran white. It was like a film in fast motion. The moon waxing and waning, clouds rushing across the sky. Vines grew from the ground so fast they twined up the trees like snakes. Seasons passing in the wink of an eye. Entire years, for all I know. I mean, we think of phenomenal change as being the very essence of time, when it's not at all. Time is something which defies spring and winter, birth and decay, the good and the bad, indifferently something changeless and joyous and absolutely indestructible. Duality ceases to exist. There is no ego, no I. And yet it's not at all like those horrid comparisons one sometimes Hears in Eastern religions the self being a drop of water swallowed by the ocean of the universe. It's more as if the universe expands to fill the boundaries of the self. How do you know what Dionysus is? Said Henry a bit sharply. What do you think it was we saw? A cartoon. A drawing from the side of a vase. I just can't believe you're telling me you actually saw. What if you had never seen the sea before? What if the only thing you'd ever seen was a child's picture? Blue crayon, choppy waves. Would you know the real sea if you only knew the picture? Would you be able to recognize the real thing even if you saw it? You don't know what Dionysus looks like. We're talking about God here. God is serious business. That was a quote from. From the book. This idea of the universe expanding to fill the boundaries of the self is a perfect way of putting it. In my mind. Dionysian ecstasy is not a state of sinking into the universe, but rather feeling the universe suddenly rage within you. It's comprehending the entire sublime absurdity of the world all at once. Letting it through you, letting it not make sense. It is a communion with the natural world. The only thing this sort of mystical experience is comparable to is orgasm. And, well, let's just say that's no accident. Bitch. And as we know, orgasm means little death. It means little death. Dionysian madness to me is a way of comprehending the universe that allows for things that are irrational and disturbing. All humans have darkness within. This is what I was talking about earlier. Yeah, he's kind of put it into words. All humans have darkness within. All humans can be barbaric and savage with the buried potential to tear a living thing to bloody pieces. It's healthier to actually engage with that buried panther shaped part of our souls that thirsts for blood. And to do so in a safe environment, for example, on a theater stage. It is healthier to acknowledge that no matter how civilized we consider ourselves, the natural world cannot fully be tamed. And it is better to ride the wave of life's insanity than to try to explain, rationalize or control every single aspect of it. Madness is what defines Dionysus as a God more than any. More than almost anything else. Dionysus was driven mad by Hera. Hera, Zeus's wife when he was young and he never really recovered. Madness is Dionysus natural state. Whether he is endearingly mad like the Hatter or violently psychotic like the Joker. Dionysus is mad. Therefore his worshipers are mad women who follow him around the mountains, dancing and screaming and eating wild animals raw. There's multiple stories of people who are drunk or frenzied committing horrible acts of violence. In their madness. Dionysus worshippers dismember Pentheus at his command. Orpheus is killed in the same way by other maenads, sometimes at Dionysus behest and sometimes not. Ikarios is killed by people to whom he gave the gift of wine because they were terrified of their mad and drunken state. And Dionysus cursed Lycurgus without madness. That would make him hack his own family to pieces, hallucinating that they were grapevines. I would argue that these states of madness are identical. Interesting. There is no difference between the madness of Dionysus maenads and the madness of Lycurgus or the shepherds who killed Ikarios. The former willingly embrace the madness, while the latter are overcome by it because they don't have a proper understanding of it. Dionysus is the God of wine and therefore embodies the dual nature of wine. Wine can loosen you up, remove your inhibitions, allow you to act more like a child or otherwise break cultural norms in a way that is mostly socially acceptable. It's a fun, liberating, temporary madness. But if you have too much, you could turn violent and like the college students in the woods, end up doing something you really regret. It all comes down to knowing your tolerance. This is why I ironically associate Dionysus with the Greek virtue of temperance. Because he allows you to playfully experience the savage and sensual without ever exceeding your limits, eh? I guess through Dionysus gift of wine, or through similar methods of ecstatic trance, dance, mask wearing, swinging, screaming sex, Dionysians experience spiritual transcendence. Now see, so many thoughts, so many things to say. Spiritual transcendence. This might be kind of like outside of the throes of this conversation on like a really. I don't even know what baseline level this is, but like, what is it about humans where we're not satiated with like the physical pleasures? We will never be solely satiated by what is tangible and what is pleasurable. Like this spiritual transcendence that they're talking about. We will always yearn for that. I talked about this about this a few months ago when I was talking about Angels and demons by Dan Brown of like. I don't know what it is about humans that we are so we cast our eyes to the heavens, open palmed, yearning for more we seek meaning. We seek purpose. We seek the intangible. And it's not promised, and it's very rare that we actually find it. And I think that's what separates us from other animals is, you know, this higher level of consciousness of why do we need to be spiritually transcended? And I think that the fact that the question is still unanswered to me is kind of awesome. It's kind of awesome. It's fun to see what a bunch of different theories are about it. Like, why do each of us, at some point in the night, at some point in all of our lives, in a moment of solitude, why do all of us feel that loneliness, that emptiness of I am alone in the universe? You know, like, why is there that desire to connect with something that is other?
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Why is that there?
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And what is that a defect in how humans were made? Or is that our superpower, that we yearn for something beyond? Have people really made contact with the beyond? And, you know, we just call them crazy because not all of us can see it. I think about all these things, especially in the context of Greek mythology, because it's like, girl, maybe they were right. Maybe we're like, they were all high on whatever they were smoking. I'm smoking on that Dionysian pack. I'm smoking on that Dionysian strand, and they're all high on red wine. It's like, yeah, but at the same time, right? What if they were cooking? What if they knew something we didn't? And we're like, these stories are crazy shit actually happened. What if at one point we were in touch with the gods and now we're not? What if. What if some great sin was. And I'm not talking about fucking Christianity. I'm talking about Greek mythology, Roman mythology, which was stolen from Greek mythology. You know what I'm saying? What if there is this grand other and we were created by a bunch of different gods and they really all do serve their own purpose, and we piss them off, and they're irrational and they're unfair and they're injust. Like, what about all the what if all that's true? I don't know. It's fun to think about. We should find safe outlets for that primal energy. Dionysus advises taking your sanity off like a mask so that you don't really go crazy trying to keep it all in. Let the madness express itself healthily so that you can rest easy, pour it into your art, play some violent video games, play a villainous role, journal about it, dance Naked and howl at the moon. Look the beast in the mirror and tame it. Whoever the fuck wrote this is cooking. I interpret Pentheus death in the Bacchae as something of a natural consequence of his refusal to accept Dionysus. Yes, it's presented as a divine smiting for his insolence. Yes, it's presented as a divine smiting for his insolence. But the particular grisly manner that Pentheus dies, which is the same way in which Dionysus himself died, implies a spiritual initiation or rebirth. How did Dionysus die? Oh, he was dismembered and eaten by the Titans. So though he was resurrected and is considered a twice born God because of this cycle of death and rebirth, in other myths, Dionysus dies when his mother Simile is incinerated by Zeus's divine form, or when he is. Oh, that's right. Or when he is torn apart by his own followers such as his mother and aunts. In the case of King Pentheus, yeah, there's some crazy. Zeus ran off with this woman. Simile. Simile. And Simile is Dionysus mother. And Hera does some fuck shit where she's like. Hera appears to Simile and says something like, you think you know him? Okay, fine, ask him to reveal himself. She's like, that's Zeus. You're fucking Zeus. And she's like, no, I'm fucking not. This is just some guy. And she's like, okay, ask him to reveal himself to you. Because I think he appeared to her in the form of an eagle or something. And so Simula is like, fine. So she's laying in bed with Zeus one night and she goes, can I ask you something? And he's like, yeah, anything, baby, anything. And she goes, will you reveal yourself to me if you really are him? Show me. I want to see. Don't lie to me. And he's like, please don't make me do this, please don't make me do this. And he does it. And showing her his true self in all of its glory, it incinerates her to death. It burns her to death. And. And through that, I think that there's some weird connection to Dionysus. I really need to. Let's read it. Simile and Zeus deceived by Zeus's wife Hera. Simile demanded Zeus appear to her in his true divine form. Zeus did so, but his appearance as a thunderbolt incinerated her, killing her. Zeus saved their unborn child. That's right, because she was pregnant. Sewing the fetus into his thigh until birth, giving rise to the name Dionysus, meaning twice born. Ah. In later versions of the myth, simile is resurrected and becomes a goddess called Theon, joining her son on Mount Olympus. Verity. Yeah. And she was the daughter of the Theban king. I mean, it's just all. It just goes on and on and on and on and on. But I've really been okay, back to the. Because I'm. I'm just addicted. I'm addicted to the concept of madness. I'm addicted to. In what cases can you get away with madness? You know, like, in what societal norms is it acceptable? Like drinking or smoking or whatever? You know, regionally is the house flavor. And on the flip side, when is it criminalized? When is it shat upon? When is it considered a disability? When is it considered all these things? It's like, how do we even begin to rank when the mind loses itself or when the mind fails? I just. I don't know. And is it failure or is it unlocking? I could talk about it for hours. Secondly, this is still this author on Reddit. It is extremely important to me that Dionysian madness is spiritual in nature. That seems almost oxymoronic. So many other spiritual and mystical traditions emphasize detachment from the world, whatever that means. Fast, pray, don't have sex, don't drink wine, Be emotionally disciplined. Keep yourself pure and above temptation and desire. Dionysian spirituality is about surrendering to that desire, to raw emotion, passion, carnality, savagery. And in that, we find the divine. So what's the. You know what I mean? And I also think it's important to note here that religion has always been a tool to control people. Sure. There is a side of it that deals with salvation and whatever that may look like for each person. And everyone's idea of, you know, am I good after I die, Am I good? Is my mortal spirit going to be taken care of, my mortal soul once I pass on? Yes. That is a selfish part of it, you know, like, am I okay? Will my family and the people I love be okay? Will I reunite with them someday? That is a very human curiosity to have. And you do things in life, you navigate your life trying to almost secure that. And, of course, that's a gray area. But this idea of if you remove that, if religion is not, for the Greeks, a way to control your fellow man, then that opens up a whole new can of worms, you know, of this for real. What did he just say? Surrendering to that desire, raw emotion, passion, carnality, savagery. And in that we find the divine. Like, what the fuck? That is so anti. Everything that the Christian church teaches you, you know, to participate in the revelry is actually how you find. Come on. In that we truly feel that we are a part of the universe and not separate from it. Dionysian madness is the madness of nature, the madness that accompanies birth and sex and death. Instead of suppressing everything that makes us uncomfortable or that's dismissed as decadent, we can find God in it. Damn. The romantic notion of the sublime is based on the idea that nature is ultimately something ineffable and unconquerable, not something that humans can ever completely understand with science or control, with industry. The romantic sublime is inherently intertwined with terror. When the magnificence and brutality of nature just hits you. Oh my God. Wait, I'm getting fired. Yeah, I can't even talk because this is my special interest. Okay, I guess my special interest is Dionysian madness. So awesome. This episode is sponsored by Shopify. When I started this podcast, I had a lot to figure out. Structure, setup, filming schedule, logos, set design. It was definitely overwhelming and every day seemed to introduce a new decision that needed an answer. When you're starting off with something new, it seems like your to do list keeps growing every day with new tasks. 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With world class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping to processing returns and beyond. If you're ready to sell, you're ready for Shopify. Turn your big business idea into success with Shopify on your side. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com Broski go to shopify.com Broski shopify.com Broski go now, now I think about this all the time, but I never know how to. Like, I can't articulate it. I can't articulate it. When I see a huge mountain, when I see a vast ocean, I genuinely get scared. This is so much bigger than me. When you think about things like floods, hurricanes, lightning, these are things that you think you can tame as a human. You think that you can have everything in place for when that happens, I will be okay. No, no. That is the one thing we cannot tame. And the more we try, the more we fail to tame nature. Okay? So this idea is so fucking period. And it is honestly very validating because I'm afraid of nature a little bit. I'm afraid of it because I'm in awe of it, because it is so much more infinitely powerful than I am. And ultimately I met its mercy. And that's a terrifying idea to me. Okay, anyone else? Is anyone else fuck with what I'm putting down? Are y' all getting what I'm putting down? Whatever. When you see Dionysus, really see him, not just a child's picture. He is downright eldritch. Now we're gonna go ahead and look up Eldritch. Strange, eerie, unearthly, often in a supernatural or frightening way that inspires fear or wonder. Yeah, period. Great use of that word. He is downright eldritch. Eldritch. Hiding behind that image of a handsome boy with ribbons in his hair is a Lovecraftian abomination. And I've talked about Lovecraft on this podcast before, so y' all should know about Lovecraft and his monsters. Dionysus may even appear in Lovecraft's universe as the lesser known entity called Gloon, called Goon. He was the Gooner in the Lovecraft cinematic universe. What the fuck? 6, 7, 6, 7. It will alchemically break down your mind and then reconstruct it. It is beautiful, it's terrible. And just looking at it will make you suddenly understand everything. But you have to be somewhat mad already for your brain to take it, girl. This shit is so period to me. It's so period. Here's another quote from the Secret History. If we are strong enough in our souls, we can rip away the veil and look that naked, terrible beauty right in the face. Let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones, then spit us out reborn. That, to me, is the terrible seduction of the Dionysiac ritual. Hard for us to imagine that fire of pure being. So this is why Dionysian madness is truly spiritual and transcendent. It's comprehending life and death on a cosmic and a personal scale. It's recognizing that even things that are considered base have their place in the workings of the universe and indeed are often integral to the workings of the universe. There is spirituality and beauty in the darkness, blood, sex, death. Carl Carigny describes it as a state in which man's vital powers are enhanced to the utmost, in which consciousness and the unconscious merge, as in a breakthrough. But here's the moral dilemma. Okay? You do all this, you push the human psyche into a place that every culture around the world says, don't go there. You know, don't succumb to those impulses. It's the worst of us. You push it there. You push it there. What's to be said about what comes after? What's to be said about that reckless abandon? Like, that's not sustainable. And it's not something, you know, in a very realistic conversation to be celebrated. It's not something to be celebrated that. That's a part of human nature. And I also don't think it should be encouraged. But if you're talking about, not salvation, but if you're talking about a spiritual transcendence like we are, if we're talking about bliss and some might say the point of life is joy, the point of life is pleasure, then this conversation is relevant. Am I. Are y' all still rocking with me if I lost anyone who, who clicked off? I know you clicked off. God saw you scroll. But is this, is this making sense? It's like, this is an interesting conversation, but of course it has guardrails. There are. There are bowling guards up on how much pleasure is too much pleasure. The synthesis of dualities is a common occult idea that fully expresses itself here. In addition to the dual nature of wine, Dionysus embodies so many dualities. He is the savagery hiding within civilization, beloved by the Athenians who so valued how civilized they were. He is usually considered male, but often looks androgynous and dresses like a woman, which is even more significant in the very misogynistic environment of ancient Greece. He shatters cultural taboos, everything from homosexuality to cannibalism, and offers marginalized people, like women and LGBTQ people, a place to be themselves. He is the bridge between human and divine. Having had a human mother and literally possessing mortals with wine induced enthusiasm. He is an Olympian that lives among mortals and wanders the Earth. He can also travel to the underworld to lead back the shades of the dead. He is loud and frenzied in the Summer, quiet and gentle. In the winter, he is unusually carnal for a God and known for being hedonistic. But it is through that sensual debauchery the Dionysians find enlightenment. It is through Dionysian madness that we mortals can become temporarily divine. And I say that with an asterisk. I read that from this author. With an asterisk. Asterisk. This further connects Dionysus with the idea of temperance, which, in a tarot deck, represents the alchemical synthesis of opposites to a God. These mutually exclusive things can coexist as one at the same time. You'd have to be mad in order to see the same thing as simultaneously black and white from every dimension. I think that it's safe to say that if you can look a God in the face without losing your mind utterly or contain it within your very soul, you're not all there mentally. And now, this is a quote from Lewis Carroll. We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad. How do you know I'm mad? Said Alice. You must be, said the cat, or you wouldn't have come here. Okay, now here's another thing. In this vein, I'm going to read Alice in Wonderland, and we'll come back next week. By the way, should I dye my hair black? Everyone say yes. Everyone say yes. I'm gonna read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland because I'm gonna do some research on it beforehand. By the way, I'm pre recording these episodes, so just know that. And I'm still reading Babel. I'm halfway through Babel. It's so good. Babel might be my new favorite book. RF Kwang is. If I could do a whole fucking separate episode on RF Kwang, she might be my favorite author of all time. I love Donna Tartt, but RF Kwang, she feels a bit more accessible. Donna Tartt, you know, there's kind of this wall between maybe the average reader and Donna Tartt. RF Kwang is so deeply intelligent. She tackles subjects and themes and topics that are very topical in such a strategic and fun way. And by fun, I mean embedded within a narrative that hooks you, and it also teaches you. And I think those are the best types of books. I mean, a book like Babel is tackling things like Empire and colonialism, racism, destruction of language, you know, preserving language and forever. Everyone who recommended Babel to me, thank you. Thank you. And I'm sorry it took me so long. RF Kwang, the interview she gives, I am in awe of her. Like, I truly am. Such a Fan. I am such a fan of hers. And right after this, I'm gonna do Alison Wonderland. That's separate, but I'm gonna read Poppy War. I've had the Poppy War on my shelf for forever. I'm gonna jump into that. She has so many good ones. I'm just such a fan. I mean, I've. I've heard of her, but I've kind of been more in this, like, romantasy. And now I'm moving into this. Holy shit. It's so well done. And you really. I love Robin as a main character. Oh, my God. I love Robin. And I. I just. What I really find interesting about Babel is with any story of Empire or of the Oppressor or of the systems that be. Where Robin finds himself is functioning as a cog, where he is benefiting from a system that ultimately is against his entire existence. And he has now been sucked into this pyramid scheme of making sure the Empire runs as it should. And he's one of the lucky ones. What's to be said about his community, Other people like him, you know, like, this same Empire killed his mother, and now he's reaping the benefits of Empire. So what do you do? And so he makes the decision to aid the rebellion. And that's where I'm at right now. I'm halfway through the book, and he's just started to assist in this rebellion through some crazy characters. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, actually, that's the way to do it, man. On the inside. And honestly, I don't know how it ends. I haven't seen any spoilers. I don't really know how it is. I'm very excited. So I'll keep you guys updated on what I think about the end. But my God, I truly cannot overstate. Like, I am blown away by her writing and the research. And she does this disclaimer at the beginning of Babel where she says, this is about as damn accurate to Oxford in the 1830s as I could get it. So you bitches shut the fuck up. Because this is also. There's a magic system in this book. Okay? So, yes, she made it historically accurate, as accurate as she could have. But ultimately, Oxford in this story is the safe harbor. It safe keeps the magic that keeps the British Empire running. Okay? So there's. Give. Cut her some slack. There is a map of the campus and the. Whatever. I just. It's very well researched. It's very well written. I'm just. I love her. I freaking love her. If I ever met rfquaid I'd freak the fuck out. That's my girl. So anyway, yeah, I want to read Alice in Wonderland and I'm going to do some preliminary. I might read some books related to Alice in Wonderland. I mean about, like loose. Lewis Carroll. Yeah, yeah, about Lewis Carroll's, who he was and kind of what some of his influences were. Because I think that I'm one of those people that the more you know about an author, the better. I want to know where these ideas came from. I want to know maybe. Because if you're ever going to deep dive into an author's works, which some people, you know, like a David lynch, it's like, don't worry about me. Take the art for what it is. Like, don't ask me questions about it. Don't ask me what I think it means. Don't ask. Whatever the art is for you. Cillian Murphy says that thing of like the. The film's not done until the audience sees it, then it's completed. Because that's who it's for. That's what it's for. So I'm intrigued by this idea of if I read some ancillary content about Lewis Carroll or, you know, about his, his relationship with maybe religion or about the surreal or about the other paranormal, whatever, will that affect how I can enjoy or better understand Alice and her adventures in Wonderland, Alice through the Looking Glass. So I'm very excited. Okay, you guys, Song of the week. I'm back on my Fontaine shit. I never left. Okay. I'm doing Death Kink by Fontaine's dc. I'm doing Is It Too Real for Ya? I'm doing Sha Sha Shaw. I'm doing Dublin and the rain is Mine. Can't get over it. And they just continue to get bigger. And again, I'm. I'm just going to say it because I mean it. Green chatting. Don't bring him around me. Don't bring green chatting around me because I'm definitely going to get a tattoo from one of his lyrics of Green Chad, but to stay the back. All right, I love you guys. Go to Broski shop for merch if you want it. We've got some exciting stuff coming later this year and we've got some exciting royal Courts coming up and that's pretty much it. So thanks for listening to me talk. This was. This was definitely a self indulgent episode. This is something that I love to talk about. If I lost some of you guys and you stayed to the end. Anyway, thank you so much. I appreciate you and I hope you learned something. And I hope that. Because again, this is not a podcast where I'm you should take what I'm saying at its face value. Go, if you're interested, research it on your own. I am not a historian. Don't use me as a fuck. Don't do that shit. Don't quote me, don't use me as a source. But you can use me as a trampoline to go and do your own personal research on any of this shit that interests you. Because I'm very interested in Bacchus, ultimately. Okay, y'. All. Love you. Be good. Bye.
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Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway now through November 4th. Shop the annual beauty event and save $5 when you spend $25 on select beauty products. Shop in store or online for items like Dove Body Wash, Native Body Wash, Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser, Dr. Squatch body wash, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel, Dial Liquid Hand Soap and Olay Body wash and save $5 when you spend $25 or more. Offer ends November 4th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
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