Emotipod: Arts & Emotions

Series 1 Trailer

July 22, 2021 Frances Butt Season 1 Episode 0
Emotipod: Arts & Emotions
Series 1 Trailer
Show Notes Transcript

Why 'Emotipod'? 
Why arts and emotions?
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Frances Butt explains how this podcast series, featuring different creatives talking about their specialisms, came about.
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Art really matters.  Listen here to why this is.

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Music: Frances

Join Frances on Instagram:
@francesbbristol

or LinkedIn:
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Or visit Frances's website:
francesbutt.com

0:00
What did people do, to deal with their feelings, their experiences, their emotional responses to their situations, over those many thousands of years before therapists came along?

They’d tell their stories.  They’d make up stories.  They’d paint pictures.  They’d paint themselves different colours and make clothing and jewellery of different colours that would signify different things.  They’d sing songs. Dance, put their feelings into all kinds of art.  And we are ‘they’.  We still need to do all that.

0:37

The arts aren’t only for making us happier - although they do that brilliantly, of course, and they make life wonderful in that way.  Whether we’re making or receiving different forms of art, they offer ways to explain ourselves to ourselves, and safe ways to express our protest, grief, fear, or despair.  Art builds empathy and understanding between people.  It brings people together and teaches us compassion far better than any lecture or rule of law.  When it’s not politically safe to speak out directly, art often act as a subtle, subversive outlet, a saving grace, a saviour of sanity.

1:25

My name is Frances Butt.  Over the years, I’ve worked in film and music; but now I teach the Alexander Technique, which is about the way our thinking affects our movement for better or worse, and helping people with that.  

During the 2020 Covid lockdowns, I decided to study emotions more deeply, because they’re such a significant part of cognition, and great progress has been made in recent years in understanding how they work and what they’re for.  I had a huge penny-drop moment as I learned about the central importance of the arts for emotional health.  And of course, this was never clearer than when the Covid 19 pandemic hit the world and we lost so much access to live and performing arts.  That really has been a huge blow to countless people’s mental health.   

2:16

For those who really need it, of course, therapy is fantastic and the best course of action; so, if you are struggling persistently, please do seek professional help.  But this question needs asking:  have we over-professionalised our emotions, these days?  Are some of us all-too willing to hand over responsibility for our mental wellbeing to someone else? Aren’t going dancing, writing angry poems, reading, painting, joining a choir, whatever, just as vital as vegetables and exercise for keeping us healthy and well balanced? 

And here’s another question: whenever state funding of the arts is slashed, or they’re treated as less important subjects in education systems than sciences (no offence and the utmost respect to sciences), where will people learn to channel their emotions, develop empathy and understanding of what it is to be human, find joy in creativity, and ways to be seen, heard, and accepted?  

3:23

So, I thought it might be interesting and fun to celebrate and connect with the Arts by talking to all kinds of artists and creatives; to find out a little more about a particular art form, how they got into it, and what, in their experience, it can do for both maker and receiver.  

I came up with the rather silly but hopefully memorable name, ‘Emotipod’, road tested Episodes 1 and 2 with my very kind big sister Tirke, and since then I’ve been lucky enough to talk to more kind friends about a great variety of things: writing, acting, various kinds of music, dance, fashion, design, tattoos, poetry, burlesque, opera, horror movies, and more.  

4:05

Some guests have described how their work has helped them through tough times; either as a form of expression for their story or their feelings, or as a way of lifting them out of dark and difficult times and restoring them to full function, bringing joy back into their lives.

4:22

Most of us end up limiting ourselves or associating ourselves with only certain genres of music, or literature, or painting, or movies, or whatever.  And that would make sense, as life is short, and we can’t do everything.  But it’s been great to find out more about a wider variety of art forms and talk to experts in their field.  My sense of wonder has just kept on growing, as I talk to more people about more kinds of creative arts.  I hope it might do the same for you.  Who knows, maybe it could even inspire you to look further into something you hadn’t thought of doing.

4:59

I hope you’ll join me, and my brilliant guests, as we explore and celebrate the wondrous powers of art to heal us and make our lives better.