Angela Chen

The Yaaas Column | Stutz, The Light We Carry & Relearning

Angela Chen -

#1 Stutz by Jonah Hill

Recently, I watched the movie Stutz by Jonah Hill, which I’d describe as an homage to his therapist and a touching display of human vulnerability. In the film, Jonah interviews his therapist, Phil Stutz, and prods him to share some of the tools he teaches his clients. I had two favorite parts of the movie:

  1. After the initial introduction of Phil, Jonah comes clean that the shots that came afterward were set up to seem as though it was all filmed on the same day. In reality, Jonah had created a set to emulate Phil’s office, and he was wearing a wig modeled to look like his hair from 6 months ago. He got so caught up in creating a perfect movie that he was dragging his feet. I found this moment to be so relatable.
  2. During the interview, Jonah asks Phil about his personal life, which hit too close to home. And without missing a beat, Phil throws in a joke to avoid the question. Jonah immediately identifies the behavior and calls it out. Despite being a successful therapist, Phil wasn’t infallible to the traps of avoiding difficult conversations.

#2 The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

This is a book I’ll be revisiting in the future. In it, Michelle shares relatable stories of belonging, ambition, and coping methods during times of uncertainty. While some of these methods were not the first time I heard them, delivering them paired with a relatable context helped bring them to life as plausible tools I could use. As someone who has always chased the opportunity that set me up for the best chance at certainty and stability, somehow Michelle makes it feel okay not to know what’s next.

Check out the audiobook narrated by Michelle herself here.

#3 Learn, Unlearn & Relearn

In a recent leadership training about unconscious bias, I watched a video of a man of color sharing his experience of being mistaken as a concierge when he was the main speaker at the event. The woman had unconsciously profiled him, assumed he would check in her coat, handed it to him, and walked away! Ultimately, they were able to clarify the misunderstanding and became friends. At the end of the video, his parting words were, “Those who are left behind are those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”