there's a tendency in humans to be able to ride something to a certain point, but then there's

a pendulum that brings you back. And it's kind of normal. Imagine with your children, your children are being naughty, so you're a little severe with them, right? You're a little strict with them. You know, if you're a good parent, what will normally happen is that, you know, the next morning or a few hours later, you're going to go hug them, you're going to over-emphasize the affection because you want to find that kind of balance. And this is just how humans are made. I think storytellers recently have not been very attended to that and not realize that if you tell the Star Wars story for long enough, what's going to happen is some people are going to want to know the perspective of

the empire and it's just going to happen. You can't stop that. It's just how the world functions.

You know, people all shock that young teenagers are taking, you know, American Psycho as their,

like, hero. They don't understand that if you push too hard, you distort too much, you create this kind of

propaganda messaging, then it's going to swing. There's no way around it. So rather integrate

that into the storytelling, tell a Western where you can understand the perspective of the people

coming west with their wagons and of the native population that is being pushed in.

And if you tell a beautiful story where you have characters on both sides,

then it's something that is deeper to the human experience

than a simple-minded, one-sided propaganda story.

Music This is Jonathan Peugeot. In our conversation, Jonathan and I discuss the nature of storytelling, fairy tales, art,

and this cultural moment, and a sneak peek into what Jonathan's going to be sharing at the upcoming

the Breath in the Clay Creative Arts event, taking place March 20th through 22nd in Winston-Salem,

North Carolina. Thank you for tuning in and enjoy the conversation.

Jonathan, thank you for joining me today on the Makers and Mystics podcast.

It's great to be here. It's pleasure.

You know, this is actually your second time on the podcast,

but it's been a few years since we last connected.

And I think, if I'm not mistaken,

our last conversation, we talked about superheroes

and the symbolism of the superhero.

...