All Things Narrative

Why We Love Slice of Life (Comedies & Dramas)

Companionship, grief, work, parenting, coming of age. Sometimes, we just need stories that remind us of what it means to be human. And for our final entry in our genre series, we focus on those kinds of Slice of Life stories. These films and shows fluctuate between the comedies and dramas of life, causing us to wrestle with what it all means. And for the first time, the guys are joined by Derrick's wife, Tori, making for a fitting finale of this series. 
Introduction (0:00)
Defining the Slice of Life Genre (2:07)
Tori's Pick: Secondhand Lions (8:36)
Nick's Pick: Inside Llewyn Davis (23:22)
Joseph's Pick: Good Burger (46:12)
Jason's Pick: King of the Hill (54:33)
Derrick's Pick: The Wonder Years (1:06:21)
Final Thoughts + Important Updates (1:28:05)
Check out Derrick's list of Slice of Life films
Check out Joseph's stop-motion films
All Things Narrative cultivates personal development through storytelling. Become more purpose-driven by learning how to better understand and communicate your life story. Offerings include: The ‘Live A Meaningful Story’ Coaching Program, workshops for organizations, storytelling classes, the All Things Narrative Podcast, 1-on-1 Narrative Coaching, speaking engagements, and facilitating storytelling events. Led by award-winning Narrative Practitioner Derrick Hatch, we will be your guide towards telling and living a meaningful story. Learn more at allthingsnarrative.com and schedule a FREE consultation to see how we can support you!
Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative
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Read my Film Diary (including reviews and rankings) on Letterboxd @thenarrativeguy

Why We Love Superheroes

When two Jewish immigrants published a story in 1938 about a Superman, they birthed something that would take the 21st Century by storm: the superhero genre. And now 85 years later, many argue that the genre is running out of steam. We investigate how superheroes stay alive by blending with other genres, while wrestling with what this genre means for our lives, and whether or not it's time to move on to other kinds of stories. Join us for a celebration (and potential funeral) of a genre that's helped us all live a meaningful story. 
Introduction (0:00)
Defining the Superhero Genre (4:26)
Romances & Superheroes [Spider-Man 2, The Amazing Spider-Man 2] (6:38)
Metaphysical Journeys & Superheroes [Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Across the Spider-Verse] (14:57)
Action & Superheroes [Captain America: Civil War, Kick Ass] (26:42)
Fantasy & Superheroes [Batman Returns, Zack Snyder's Justice League] (31:31)
Sci-Fi & Superheroes [Hancock, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Superman] (43:13)
War & Superheroes [X-Men: First Class, The Suicide Squad] (51:49)
Crime & Superheroes [The Dark Knight, The Batman] (59:54)
Westerns & Superheroes [Logan] (1:05:41)
Horror & Superheroes [Chronicle] (1:12:23)
Criticizing the Superhero Genre (1:16:38)
Check out Derrick's list of Superhero films
Check out Joseph's stop-motion films
All Things Narrative cultivates personal development through storytelling. Become more purpose-driven by learning how to better understand and communicate your life story. Offerings include: The ‘Live A Meaningful Story’ Coaching Program, workshops for organizations, storytelling classes, the All Things Narrative Podcast, 1-on-1 Narrative Coaching, speaking engagements, and facilitating storytelling events. Led by award-winning Narrative Practitioner Derrick Hatch, we will be your guide towards telling and living a meaningful story. Learn more at allthingsnarrative.com and schedule a FREE consultation to see how we can support you!
Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative
Follow us on Instagram @allthingsnarrative
Read my Film Diary (including reviews and rankings) on Letterboxd @derrickhATN

Life in the Gray - Our Journeys with God, Church, and Culture [feat. Luther Menard]

When things aren't black or white, we live life in the gray. On this special episode, Derrick reunites with Luther Menard, his former co-host from the 'Life in the Gray' podcast. While listening to old clips from the show, they reflect on their journeys of deconstructing ideas about God, church, and culture in a public manner. This conversation also explores Luther's path towards Eastern Orthodoxy, Derrick's growing struggle with the 'Christian' label, and how to embrace the messiness of the stories we find ourselves in. 
Introductions (0:00)
Why We Started 'Life in the Gray' (5:01)
Our Journeys with the Church (16:54)
Addressing Topics in Culture (52:12)
Our Panel on Race Relations (58:47)
Revisiting our 2020 Predictions (1:13:32)
Confronting the Messiness of Christianity (1:20:09)
Reflecting on our "Am I Still a Christian?" Episode (1:29:27)
Where We Are Today (1:49:09)
Check out Luther's Youtube channel: @TheTransfiguredLife
All Things Narrative cultivates personal development through storytelling. Become more purpose-driven by learning how to better understand and communicate your life story. Offerings include: The ‘Live A Meaningful Story’ Coaching Program, workshops for organizations, storytelling classes, the All Things Narrative Podcast, 1-on-1 Narrative Coaching, speaking engagements, and facilitating storytelling events. Led by award-winning Narrative Practitioner Derrick Hatch, we will be your guide towards telling and living a meaningful story. Learn more at allthingsnarrative.com and schedule a FREE consultation to see how we can support you!
Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative
Follow us on Instagram @allthingsnarrative
Read my Film Diary (including reviews and rankings) on Letterboxd @derrickhATN

Why We Love Horror

Why are we so drawn to things that scare us? What are the ethical ramifications of creating and consuming horrific stories? In this Halloween special, we continue our genre series by diving into the evils and hells of Horror. We discuss stories about the monsters we face in life, and the dangers of the monsters we might become. Along the way, we wrestle with whether we should even give these stories the time of day, and what the implications of these stories are for Narrative Therapy.
Introduction (0:00)
Defining the Horror Genre [Classic Monster films, The Twilight Zone] (2:36)
Jason's Pick: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (15:14)
Nick's Pick: Texas Chain Saw Massacre (34:17)
Joseph's Pick: The Fly (1:00:10)
Derrick's Pick: Sweeney Todd (1:19:40)
Final Thoughts (1:36:47)
Check out Derrick's list of Horror films
Check out Joseph's stop-motion films @djtmaw
All Things Narrative cultivates personal development through storytelling. Become more purpose-driven by learning how to better understand and communicate your life story. Offerings include: The ‘Live A Meaningful Story’ Coaching Program, workshops for organizations, storytelling classes, the All Things Narrative Podcast, 1-on-1 Narrative Coaching, speaking engagements, and facilitating storytelling events. Led by award-winning Narrative Practitioner Derrick Hatch, we will be your guide towards telling and living a meaningful story. Learn more at allthingsnarrative.com and schedule a FREE consultation to see how we can support you!
Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative
Follow us on Instagram @allthingsnarrative
Read my Film Diary (including reviews and rankings) on Letterboxd @derrickhATN

Why You Should Read More Non-Fiction

How do works of philosophy, personal development, psychology, history, theology, and biographies improve our life stories? In this sequel to our Why We Love Fiction episode, we discuss the ways non-fiction both affirms and challenges our beliefs, with examples from works in the Great Books Cannon of Western Civilization. Derrick also shares recommended books about storytelling and Narrative Therapy. 
All Things Narrative cultivates personal development through storytelling. Become more purpose-driven by learning how to better understand and communicate your life story. Offerings include: The ‘Live A Meaningful Story’ Coaching Program, workshops for organizations, storytelling classes, the All Things Narrative Podcast, 1-on-1 Narrative Coaching, speaking engagements, and facilitating storytelling events. Led by award-winning Narrative Practitioner Derrick Hatch, we will be your guide towards telling and living a meaningful story. Learn more at allthingsnarrative.com and schedule a FREE consultation to see how we can support you!
Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative
Follow us on Instagram @allthingsnarrative
Read my Film Diary (including reviews and rankings) on Letterboxd @derrickhATN

Why We Love Westerns

How do we find our values in a lawless society? What is the narrative of what we call 'The West'? In this installment of our genre series, we explore the rugged terrains of the Western genre. For our discussion, each of us picks a Western film that helps us understand why this genre resonates with so many people, and what it has to say about how we grapple with what it means to be human. 
Introduction (0:00)
Defining the Westerm Genre [The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly] (3:26)
Derrick's Pick: Once Upon a Time in the West (16:21)
Nick's Pick: Dead Man (36:00)
Jason's Pick: Tombstone (46:35)
Joseph's Pick: Django Unchained (1:06:56)
Final Thoughts (1:23:27)
Check out Derrick's list of Western films
Check out Joseph's stop-motion films
Support us on patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/allthingsnarrativepodcast/membership 
All Things Narrative cultivates personal development through storytelling. Become more purpose-driven by learning how to better understand and communicate your life story. Offerings include: The ‘Live A Meaningful Story’ Coaching Program, workshops for organizations, storytelling classes, the All Things Narrative Podcast, 1-on-1 Narrative Coaching, speaking engagements, and facilitating storytelling events. Led by award-winning Narrative Practitioner Derrick Hatch, we will be your guide towards telling and living a meaningful story. Learn more at allthingsnarrative.com and schedule a FREE consultation to see how we can support you!
Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative
Follow us on Instagram @allthingsnarrative
Read my Film Diary (including reviews and rankings) on Letterboxd @derrickhATN

How Narratives Affect Our Minds and Bodies [feat. Caroline Rena]

Have you ever told yourself a story, or held a belief, that limited what you could do? In this episode, transformational coach Caroline Rena helps us explore the relationships between narratives and our own beings. Our conversation takes us on a journey through Jungian archetypes, generational differences, and the super power of being an empath.
Introductions (0:00)
Defining 'Empath' and 'Highly-Sensitive' (4:20)
Narrative Therapy and Our Minds and Bodies (8:43)
How Different Generations Deal with Feelings (18:35)
The Hero's Journey, Archetypes, and Our Psyches (29:29)
Personal Development and Our Relationships (37:15)
Transformational Coaching (46:09)
Caroline Rena is a Transformational Coach who helps people heal from trauma and uncover the truth of who they are. She is also a Writer, Poet, Singer/Songwriter and loves traveling. Her experiences in healing from Trauma/Complex PTSD, Military Sexual Trauma and Harassment, among other things, through the nervous system, has helped her to expand her ability to be a Master at Holding a Safe Space for others to heal. She uses what she has come to understand about how the body must be part of the healing process, not just the mind. Caroline also has the ability to meet people where they are, so they can make a positive impact on their lives by learning how to work with anxiety, depression, grief, or whatever may be coming up for them and keeping them stuck.Connect with Caroline at:
carolinerena.com
YouTube @carolinerena
TikTok @carolinerena
Linktree
All Things Narrative cultivates personal development through storytelling. Become more purpose-driven by learning how to better understand and communicate your life story. Offerings include: The ‘Live A Meaningful Story’ Coaching Program, workshops for organizations, storytelling classes, the All Things Narrative Podcast, 1-on-1 Narrative Coaching, speaking engagements, and facilitating storytelling events. Led by award-winning Narrative Practitioner Derrick Hatch, we will be your guide towards telling and living a meaningful story. Learn more at allthingsnarrative.com and schedule a FREE consultation to see how we can support you!
Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative
Follow us on Instagram @allthingsnarrative
Read my Film Diary (including reviews and rankings) on Letterboxd @derrickhATN

Analyzing No Country For Old Men

Do you think it's getting harder to do good deeds in our modern society? Is the world getting worse, or has it always been this bad? In this second part to our previous episode, we continue our discussion on the Crime genre with an analysis of the Coen Brothers' thought-provoking film No Country For Old Men. We wrestle with this challenging commentary about the nature of arbitrary violence in our chaotic world. 
Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.
Check out Joseph's stop-motion films
Want Derrick to analyze a film of your choice? Check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/allthingsnarrativepodcast/membership 
All Things Narrative cultivates personal development through storytelling. Become more purpose-driven by learning how to better understand and communicate your life story. Offerings include: The ‘Live A Meaningful Story’ Coaching Program, workshops for organizations, storytelling classes, the All Things Narrative Podcast, 1-on-1 Narrative Coaching, speaking engagements, and facilitating storytelling events. Led by award-winning Narrative Practitioner Derrick Hatch, we will be your guide towards telling and living a meaningful story. Learn more at allthingsnarrative.com and schedule a FREE consultation to see how we can support you!
Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative
Follow us on Instagram @allthingsnarrative
Read my Film Diary (including reviews and rankings) on Letterboxd

Analyzing The Godfather

How far would you go to protect your family? What happens when life gives a man an offer he can't refuse? Would he sell his on soul to attain it? Derrick is joined by Nick, Joseph, Jason, and professional screenwriter Kyle Arrington, to analyze one of cinema's finest achievements: The Godfather. We explore this family drama set within the Crime genre, and what it has to say about the nature of the American Way, and humanity itself. 
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
Check out Joseph's stop-motion films
Want Derrick to analyze a film of your choice? Check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/allthingsnarrativepodcast/membership 
All Things Narrative cultivates personal development through storytelling. Become more purpose-driven by learning how to better understand and communicate your life story. Offerings include: The ‘Live A Meaningful Story’ Coaching Program, workshops for organizations, storytelling classes, the All Things Narrative Podcast, 1-on-1 Narrative Coaching, speaking engagements, and facilitating storytelling events. Led by award-winning Narrative Practitioner Derrick Hatch, we will be your guide towards telling and living a meaningful story. Learn more at allthingsnarrative.com and schedule a FREE consultation to see how we can support you!
Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative
Follow us on Instagram @allthingsnarrative
Read my Film Diary (including reviews and rankings) on Letterboxd

Why You Should Read More Fiction

Why should you bother giving your precious time to reading long-form novels about things that never really happened? In this episode, we discuss how fiction contains Truth that can help you become a more empathetic person, better understand your cultural context, and ultimately wrestle with what it means to be human. 
Introduction (0:00)
The Art of Reading (5:06)
The Case for Fiction (with The Brothers Karamasov) (12:23)
Reading List Recommendations (26:26)
C.S. Lewis on Becoming More Literate (32:37)
All Things Narrative cultivates personal development through storytelling. Become more purpose-driven by learning how to better understand and communicate your life story. Offerings include: The ‘Live A Meaningful Story’ Coaching Program, workshops for organizations, storytelling classes, the All Things Narrative Podcast, 1-on-1 Narrative Coaching, speaking engagements, and facilitating storytelling events. Led by award-winning Narrative Practitioner Derrick Hatch, we will be your guide towards telling and living a meaningful story. Learn more at allthingsnarrative.com and schedule a FREE consultation to see how we can support you!
Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative
Follow us on Instagram @allthingsnarrative
Read my Film Diary (including reviews and rankings) on Letterboxd @derrickhATN