Fear

Filmmaker Mike Figgis on fear: from a violent childhood to the age of AI, why the media sells it, and how love and connection keep it at bay. Figgis Unfiltered S2 E6.Season 2 of Figgis Unfiltered examines the human emotions, one at a time. In Episode 6, director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) takes on fear — starting with a drunken speech to a room full of artists, a 9/11 theory that made him a pariah, and today’s dread of AI and drones. He traces fear through his own life: a colonial childhood among terrified adults in Kenya, the first real, physical fear of a violent Newcastle school, and why a great horror film can disturb us more than reality itself.He gets into fear of dying, flying and failure, the choice he made after Leaving Las Vegas to chase fun over a safe studio career, and a quiet moment on the London Underground that captures everything. Then he takes your questions: on whether we get wiser with age, whether the media is weaponising fear, and whether “perfect love casts out fear” — closing on connection, and the courage it takes to ask for help.⏱️ Chapters 00:00 A story to start — fear on stage 00:20 A drunken speech, and the fear of being judged 02:23 The 9/11 theory that made him a pariah 04:34 AI, drones and the fear of losing all control 05:53 Colonial Kenya, the Mau Mau and inherited fear 08:14 First real fear — a violent Newcastle school 10:02 Why horror films frighten him more than reality 11:12 The power of cinema to scare — The Spiral Staircase 12:36 What fear does to us, and how it shifts with age 14:17 Hollywood, with yourself at the centre of the universe 15:43 Fear of dying, flying & failure — the choice after Leaving Las Vegas 17:05 Choosing fun over the safe studio career 18:46 Courage, and the fear of being powerless 19:37 “Can I hold your hand” — a moment on the Tube 20:46 Listener questions — DPK (Toronto): do we get wiser with age? 26:02 James (Mississauga): is the media weaponising fear? 28:46 Don (Trenton): does perfect love cast out fear? 31:11 Closing — connection, and the courage to ask for help🎬 Mentioned in this episode Films — Repulsion (Polanski) · Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (Lynch) · The Spiral Staircase · On the Waterfront · Timecode · Hotel · The Loss of Sexual Innocence · and Mike’s own Leaving Las Vegas People — Roman Polanski · David Lynch · Elia Kazan (his autobiography “A Life”) · Francis Ford Coppola · historian A.J.P. Taylor Idea — the line “perfect love casts out fear”🎙️ Got a question for Mike? Send it as a voice note and it could feature in a future episode — DM us on Instagram: @figgisunfiltered 🔔 Subscribe and hit the bell for new Season 2 episodes across all podcast platforms and here on YouTube.Follow: Instagram → https://instagram.com/figgisunfilteredNote: this episode discusses fear, violence and mental health, including references to war.#MikeFiggis #FiggisUnfiltered #Fear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.