50: What happens when culture drives the story? Ariel and Stef welcome Filipino American therapist Jez Cornel to talk about why DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island hits so close to home. From karaoke to Lola’s advice to pressure to be the “good kid,” they unpack the details that actually make representation feel like it's repping and why it felt missing in Raya and the Last Dragon.  Spoilers for Forgotten Island and Raya and the Last Dragon. Chapters 00:00 When culture is the plot 00:32 A Disney podcast celebrating DreamWorks 00:55 Meet Jez Cornel 01:51 Revisiting Raya through Forgotten Island 03:38 What changes when you watch a movie again? 04:58 Filipino community and the film’s rollout 07:43 What intentional representation looks like 09:16 Lola, elders, and connections across generations 12:22 What is kapwa? 13:30 Salbahe kids, good students, and family expectations 16:55 Loving your family and feeling the pressure 19:24 Community in a world of magical creatures 20:29 Growing up with Filipino folklore 23:44 Manananggal, mystery, and Jez’s theories 26:38 Retelling stories shaped by colonization 27:22 What makes a monster? 29:54 Culture as character, scenery, and background 30:38 Raya and the limits of a broad cultural lens 33:04 Making Jo and Raissa’s friendship matter 35:10 Diaspora, identity, and chosen family 37:59 Keeping traditions and changing the harmful ones 40:07 Memory, friendship, and growing together 41:05 “Tayo na,” “Tara na,” and queer readings 44:05 The language only your people understand 45:54 Team Mermahn or Team Raww? 48:49 Where to find Jez 50:08 Episode 50 and a more critical season three Media/Characters Mentioned Forgotten Island Raya and the Last Dragon Jo Raissa Lola Manang / Manananggal Batiba Prince Mermahn Raww Aswang Duwende Moana Te Fiti Te Kā Mulan Coco Black Panther Avatar: The Last Airbender WandaVision Zootopia Monstropolis / Monsters, Inc. The Hangover Demon Slayer Shrek Puss in Boots Squidward Salbahe Ako Filipino dramas and TFC Hallmark Christmas movies Topics/Themes Mentioned Filipino and Filipino American representation Culture as part of the story Sikolohiyang Pilipino / Filipino Psychology Kapwa and shared identity Cultural specificity in animation Filipino folklore and oral storytelling Colonial mentality, assimilation, and acculturation The model minority myth Family expectations and intergenerational messages Elders, ancestors, and cultural memory Diaspora, belonging, and chosen family Breaking generational patterns Keeping traditions while making room for change Friendship, grief, and shared memories Queer readings and audience interpretation Language, intimacy, and inside jokes Community conversations and repeat viewings Critiquing the media we love Links & Resources Guest Links: Jez Cornel, AMFT, at SolPath: https://www.solpathwellness.com/solpathteam SolPath Counseling & Holistic Wellness: https://www.solpathwellness.com Kasamahan: https://www.kasamahan.org Show Links: Website: https://happy.geektherapy.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/HappiestPodGT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappiestPodGT X: https://x.com/HappiestPodGT Stef on X: @stefa_kneee Ariel on Instagram: @airyell3000 Geek Therapy: Website: https://www.geektherapy.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/GeekTherapy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeekTherapy Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GeekTherapyCommunity Discord: https://geektherapy.com/discord Forum: https://forum.geektherapy.com Geek Therapy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advocates for the effective and meaningful use of popular media in therapeutic, educational, and community practice.

S3E10: Time skips! Love them or hate them, we all experience a time skip or two in our lives. With every ending comes a new beginning, and with new beginnings come new opportunities for growth and reflection. As Josué and Rae prepare for their own time skip as season 3 comes to a close (hopefully NOT another 5 year time skip!), they examine the concept of time skips, discuss their favorite and least favorite time skips, and explore all the different ways time skips can be used through the Geek Therapy lens- excitement, growth, reflection, goal-setting, curiosity, as well as using time skips to process grief, disappointment, and practicing radical acceptance.  Themes/Topics Discussed: Change Resilience Grief Acceptance Transitions  Relatable Experiences: Acceptance Clarity/Understanding Coming of age/Getting older Loss (other than death) Guilt Moving New Life Event (New Rules) Separation Disappointment  Difficult transitions Anime/Characters Mentioned:  One Piece  Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Dragonball/Z/Super/GT Naruto/Naruto Shippuden  Attack on Titan Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Non-Anime Media Mentioned:  Star Trek: Discovery Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon  Spider-Man: Brand New Day Star Wars (prequels, original trilogy, sequels) Star Wars Legends (extended universe, now non-canon content) Contact Us: Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org/ and connect with the Geek Therapy Network through the links at https://geektherapy.org/. Check out our other shows on the GT Network: https://network.geektherapy.org/   Join us in the Geek Therapy Discord Follow Geek Therapy on Bluesky: @GeekTherapy.bsky.social  Conversation Starters: What time skips have you observed in your own life? How have they affected you? What did you learn from those transitions? [These show notes were proudly written with NO AI by a real human.] Josué and Rae will return.

S3E9: STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS! Because it's bullshit that only the boys get to do cool things. Rae talks about how representation of strong female characters is important and powerful for women and girls; for her specifically, seeing female fighters, tomboys, and women with masculine skills/interests has been crucial for her identity as a queer woman. Josué & Rae explore several examples of positive, mixed, and negative representation throughout different anime series and categories, as well as a few standout non-anime series, and examine several common writing/character tropes frequently used with female characters. Josué declares further reflection on My Hero Academia is forbidden. (Producer Rae's note: turns out there are a handful of Shonen's with female main characters- the ones I could find are Soul Eater, Kill la Kill, Undead Unluck, Dandadan, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure part 6: Stone Ocean, A Certain Scientific Railgun, Slayers, and Claymore. Frieren: Beyond Journey's end is technically classified as a Shonen due to being published in a Shonen magazine, but there seems to be a lot of debate around this. Know of others? Let us know!) Themes/Topics Discussed: Cultural representation Death Difficult emotions Family Finding Oneself/Identity Development Leadership LGBT Issues Love Power struggle Problem Solving Resilience Standing up for others Strong female role models Standing up for oneself Misogyny Wish fulfillment  Female character/writing tropes Relatable Experiences: Diverse female representation in media Gender roles and expectations for women Queer gender expressions such as tomboys and masc women  Parentified daughters  Strength from physical abilities/acuity  Strength from mental or emotional abilities/acuity Acceptance Clarity/Understanding Disability Fighting Anime/Characters Mentioned:  Shonen (anime/manga category) Shojo (anime/manga category) Seinen (anime/manga category) Winry Rockbell (Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood) Nami (One Piece) Robin (One Piece)  One Piece: Fan Letter Witch Hat Atelier Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Attack on Titan  Berserk Vinland Saga Monster Ghost in the Shell  Dragon Ball/Z/Super  Goku (Dragon Ball/Z/Super) Bulma (Dragon Ball/Z/Super) Chi-Chi (Dragon Ball/Z/Super) Master Roshi (Dragon Ball/Z/Super) Android 18 (Dragon Ball/Z/Super) Videl (Dragon Ball/Z/Super) Naruto/Shippuden/Boruto Sakura (Naruto/Shippuden/Boruto) Team Seven (Naruto/Shippuden/Boruto) Tsunade (Naruto/Shippuden/Boruto) Sarada (Boruto) Tenya Iida (My Hero Academia) Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985) Kamille Bidan (Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam) Caulifla (Dragon Ball Super) Kale (Dragon Ball Super) Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia) Ochaco Uraraka (My Hero Academia) Sailor Moon (series) Sailor Moon/Usagi (character) The Sailor Scouts (Sailor Moon) The Outer Sailor Scouts (Sailors Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) (Sailor Moon) Non-Anime Media Mentioned:  If She Can See It, She Can Be It (non-profit organization founded by Gina Davis) Star Trek: Voyager & Captain Janeway Battlestar Galactica & Starbuck Doctor Who & the 13th Doctor Untitled live action Naruto project  Avatar: The Last Airbender Katara (A:TLA) Aang & Katara's relationship (A:TLA) "Sydney Sweeny-led Mobile Suit Gundam movie" (Upcoming Mobile Suit Gundam live action film) Toph Beifong (A:TLA) Korra (The Legend of Korra) Asami Sato (The Legend of Korra) Conan: The Barbarian Hercules (character/archetype) Contact Us: Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org/ and connect with the Geek Therapy Network through the links at https://geektherapy.org/. Check out our other shows on the GT Network: https://network.geektherapy.org/   Join us in the Geek Therapy Discord Follow Geek Therapy on Bluesky: @GeekTherapy.bsky.social  Conversation Starters:  Who are your favorite strong female characters? Which female characters have had the biggest impact on you? Who is your go-to example to use in clinical work?  [These show notes were proudly written with NO AI by a real human.]

S3E8: This week, Josué & Rae talk about inspiration and perseverance gained from anime! Josué has been noticing a trend on his socials' where people are talking about how anime characters inspired them to keep going, to keep fighting, to never give up during hard times. This is by far, most often seen in Shonen series, and Josué & Rae examine classic Shonen tropes such as "leveling up", the "I wanna be" motivations, and the training arcs. Rae embarrassingly struggles to pronounce "Hokage". The hosts compare and contrast Eastern vs Western mythology and storytelling tropes, such as "leveling up" vs "the chosen one" in eastern and western cultures, respectively, with the eastern collectivist "grind culture for the benefit for everyone" culture vs the western "individualistic power and privilege above all" expectation. Josué & Rae explore how these series and characters portray courage, bravery, fear, "doing it scared", and how supporting characters especially grow by recognizing and accepting their limitations and focus on helping their friends through their strengths (which usually doesn't involve literal physical strength). Themes/Topics Discussed: Change Cultural representation Fear Finding Oneself/Identity Development Leadership Moral dilemma  Power struggle Problem Solving Resilience Standing up for others Standing up for oneself Relatable Experiences: Acceptance Clarity/Understanding Fear/Anxiety Fighting Loss (other than death) New Life Event (New Rules) Separation Growth  Anime/Characters Mentioned:  Deku (My Hero Academia) Goku (Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z) Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z (series) Naruto (Naruto/Naruto Shippuden) One Piece (series) Roronoa Zoro (One Piece) Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece) Jinbei (One Piece) Sanji (One Piece) Nami (One Piece) Nico Robin (One Piece) Silvers Rayleigh (One Piece, mentioned) Sailor Moon Shonen (genre) Pokemon (anime) Record of Ragnarok (Netflix) Celestial Dragons (One Piece) Usopp/Sniper King (One Piece) Tony Tony Chopper (One Piece) Franky (One Piece) Krillin (Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z) Rock Lee (Naruto) Sasuke (Naruto) Witch Hat Atelier (referenced) Attack on Titan (referenced) Non-Anime Media Mentioned:  Batman (DC Comics) Superman (DC Comics) The Flash (DC Comics) Rocky (film) Star Trek: The Next Generation (Best of Both Worlds part I & II) Jean-Luc Picard/Locutus of Borg (Star Trek TNG, Star Trek: Picard) Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Worf (Star Trek: TNG and DS9) Jadzia Dax (Star Trek: DS9) Doctor Who (series) The Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) Mortal Combat (game) Super Smash Bros. (game, referenced) One Piece Live Action (Netflix) SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver, and More Resilient by Jane McGonigal  Contact Us: Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org/ and connect with the Geek Therapy Network through the links at https://geektherapy.org/. Check out our other shows on the GT Network: https://network.geektherapy.org/   Join us in the Geek Therapy Discord Follow Geek Therapy on Bluesky: @GeekTherapy.bsky.social  Conversation Starters:  Which anime characters have inspired you? How have your favorite characters made you more resilient or determined?  [These show notes were proudly written with NO AI by a real human.]

S3E7: This week, Josué and Rae are talking about Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, a beautiful high fantasy story that begins at the adventure's ending. They explore how Frieren (series and character) models a different way to grieve, one that centers on curiosity, reflection, gratitude, and celebration. They both share personal anecdotes about grief- Josué celebrating and recontextualizing his perception of his grandfather, and Rae rediscovering and revisiting her ancestors through family genealogy research. They then discuss the role of gratitude in grief-based practices as well as its role in living with intention fully in the moment and having no regrets in life.   [Producer's note: this was recorded during the first heat wave of July 2026 so our brains were a little more cooked than usual.] Themes/Topics Discussed: Death Feeling alone Finding Oneself/Identity Development Guilt Love Working with others Grief Loss Bereavement  Mourning Disenfranchised grief  Closure  Grief-based practices  Gratitude Relatable Experiences: Acceptance Clarity/Understanding Coming of age/Getting older Death Loss (other than death) Guilt Moving Seeking closure with loss Living with intention/mindfully/fully in the moment to live without regrets Recontextualizing past experiences Anime/Characters Mentioned:  Frieren: Beyond Journey's End One Piece Non-Anime Media Mentioned:  Lord of the Rings (books and movies) The Hobbit (book & movies) Dungeons & Dragons Contact Us: Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org/ and connect with the Geek Therapy Network through the links at https://geektherapy.org/. Check out our other shows on the GT Network: https://network.geektherapy.org/   Join us in the Geek Therapy Discord Follow Geek Therapy on Bluesky: @GeekTherapy.bsky.social  Conversation Starters:  What stories about grief have been the most impactful in your life? Which stories have helped you through your own grief?   [These show notes were proudly written with NO AI by a real human.]