Pop Xulture Newsletter # 14

Focusing on Ted Lasso. 6/13/23

Hey Friends! Apologies on not putting out a Newsletter in April or May. Predictably, it was because I was busy. Some of that was in my personal life but some was regarding what you actually care about…

Xurrent News

I welcomed my 30^th subscriber solely from Substack in May (with 46 total, twelve ported in from elsewhere)! The publishing industry focuses on subscriber count, so this number is important because I’m interested in getting books and other media published. I’m trying to balance not selling out (no plans of charging) with playing by the established industry’s rules.

All of this to say, first, thank you very much if you’ve subscribed! And second, please tell everyone you know about ChrisFogle.com and if they like it to consider subscribing. Speaking of publishing, I spent a lot of May writing my book on humility.

I also published the second article in my 30^th anniversary celebration of 1993 films, titled “1993 Film Favorites, Part 2: Commitment in So I Married an Axe Murderer.” The piece focuses on how the film bombed in theaters, became a cult classic, and provides a surprising commentary on relational commitment. I’m working on the third article in this series about Schindler’s List, which is tough. It’s such a good film but the subject matter is still so horrifying, it’s hard to watch.

Mid-April I posted “The Last of Us: Episode 4’s Pivotal Pistol & Joke Joinery.” The exclusive focuses on a teenager’s bid for adulthood and a mentors awareness. This provides an interesting lesson for those instructing others. And I’ll be posting another exclusive article just for you on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves very soon.

Xomposition Exclusive

As always, the below section is content I wrote that didn’t make it into a published article. I’ve been watching Ted Lasso, Season 3 recently and thought of this article about Season 1. The article is deeply personal and was from a really hard portion of my life. I recommend you read the published article, “For My Mental Health I Repeatedly Watched One Episode of Ted Lasso,” first so you get more out of the exclusive below. Either way, enjoy!

Original Intro, Standalone Portions, and Section of Conclusion

Original Intro:

Watching Ted Lasso have a panic attack gave me a panic attack. I know what you’re not thinking, Wow, Jason Sudekis and the production team did such a great job portraying a panic attack, Chris should have re-watched it in awe. But that’s basically what I did.

To be clear, I never expected fictional Ted to be my therapist. In a sense I hoped I could use pop culture as a catalyst for a spiritual discipline to [synonym for “look inward at”] my mental health. And I believe the multiple viewings that [phrase for “gave revelation from first part”] and subconsciously reminded me to focus on empathy and compassion, really helped. [Also mention anxiety immersion].

Written as Standalone – Unsure Where It Would Fit

For those laying guilt trips on the anxious, saying, “Fear is from Satan, so just stop submitting to fearful anxiety,” or for those feeling guilt about having anxiety, please stop. For the sufferers, sit down with a therapist or mature friend and work through whether your anxiety is based on self-induced causes (like my battle 10+ years ago) or reasons outside your control. Personally, working through this distinction with others helped inform my path to healing.

Another Standalone Portion

Just as “Make Rebecca Great Again” is the season’s midpoint, my life is at a midpoint…and I don’t mean buy-a-ridiculous-car-mid-life-crisis. We’re all mid-life. It doesn’t matter if we’re closer to the beginning, middle or end of expected life expectancy, life on earth is the midpoint prior to heaven. It’s totally normal to not have conquered my panic attacks (spoiler: Ted’s not done with them either). But that’s the dark beauty of the spiritual life. Christ’s power is perfected in my weakness.

Section of Conclusion

As an audience we love satisfying endings. But the vast majority of life doesn’t perform that way. I have made progress with my newest bout of anxiety but sorry to say, dear reader, I can’t wrap this up for you with a fully resolved and completely satisfying conclusion. Except I’m not really sorry. As Shakira said, “life is a soccer field,” so I realize there is scoring and missing, ups and downs, not everything goes according to the plays you envisioned.

[END EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE CONTENT]

Xoncluding Thoughts

I’m happy to report I’ve been doing better and better with my anxiety and panic attacks. It’s all about having grace with yourself. If you’d like to suggest any coping mechanisms for anxiety, or have critiques or suggestions for my writing, I’d love to hear them!

Well, that’s it for now. I appreciate your checking out the Newsletter.

Thanks, in Him,

-Chris (the Bearded Wonder) Fogle