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Jun 11 2013

Capgras Syndrome: You Are Not Who You Think You Are

24 min 14 movies discussed
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There is an extremely rare condition where the sufferer is convinced that everyone around him is an impostor posing as their friends and family. Learn about the neurology behind this strange and sad mental disorder in this episode.

AI Summary

In this fascinating episode, Josh and Chuck explore Capgras syndrome, a rare delusional disorder where sufferers become convinced that people closest to them - like spouses, family members, or friends - have been replaced by identical imposters. They dive into the bizarre psychology behind this condition, examining how the brain can recognize someone's face while completely lacking the emotional connection that should accompany it, leading patients to rationalize that their loved ones must be fakes. The hosts discuss various theories about what causes this unsettling phenomenon and explore related conditions where people might think everyone around them is the same person in disguise or believe they themselves don't exist.


Movies Discussed

Deliverance
Deliverance
1972 1h 49m
★ 7.3
"You're thinking of deliverance. — Josh corrected Chuck who mistakenly thought Burt Reynolds was in Victor Victoria instead of Julie Andrews." — Josh
Hairspray
Hairspray
1988 1h 32m
★ 6.8
"But Divine, of course, made her biggest role in Hairspray as Edna Turnblad — Josh discussed Divine's most famous role in the original John Waters film Hairspray." — Josh
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1956 1h 20m
★ 7.5
"This is basically our invasion of the body snatchers. Yeah. Episode. — Josh compares their podcast episode about Capgras syndrome to the classic sci-fi film about people being replaced by imposters." — Josh
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
1969
★ 8.3
"which is sort of like in the Monty Python tradition. — Josh compared early drag performances where men looked obviously masculine in women's clothing to Monty Python's comedy style." — Josh
Pink Flamingos
Pink Flamingos
1972 1h 33m
★ 6.2
"Divine was John Waters, one of his favorite people to put in his films, and did some kind of gross things in earlier movies like Pink Flamingos. — Josh referenced this John Waters film when discussing Divine's early career." — Josh
Scary Movie 2
Scary Movie 2
2001 1h 22m
★ 5.8
"Or I think a scary movie, too, when one of the Wayne's brothers is like, there's a shot of like the waist up. — Josh referenced a scene from Scary Movie 2 when discussing the concept of tucking in drag performance." — Josh
Seinfeld
Seinfeld
1989
★ 8.3
"Well, you remember that Seinfeld manhands? — Chuck referenced the Seinfeld episode about manhands when discussing how important feminine hands are for drag performance." — Chuck
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
1994 1h 43m
★ 7.3
"The rest of the movie was The Silic Queen of the Desert, of course, is the movie. — Josh discussed how this movie put Australia on the map for drag culture and featured actors like Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving." — Josh
The Imposter
The Imposter
2012 1h 39m
★ 7.3
"Have you seen the imposter? Uh, yeah. I think I talked about it before too. It's good. Documentary. — Josh recommends this documentary as related viewing to their discussion of Capgras syndrome and identity deception." — Josh
The Matrix
The Matrix
1999 2h 16m
★ 8.2
"Well, yeah. It was definitely Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving from The Matrix. — Josh mentioned Hugo Weaving's role in The Matrix when identifying actors from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." — Josh
The NeverEnding Story
The NeverEnding Story
1984 1h 37m
★ 7.2
"The never-ending cycle, starring at Trey U. — Josh makes a playful reference to the film while talking about their never-ending queue of podcast topics to cover." — Josh
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
1995 1h 48m
★ 7.4
"I can't, I've seen parts of like two Wong Foo. Thanks for everything. — Josh mentioned seeing parts of this drag queen movie starring Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes." — Josh
Vegas in Space
Vegas in Space
1991 1h 27m
★ 5.0
"Another Australian who moved to San Francisco and wrote and starred in the film Vegas in Space. — Josh mentioned this cult film when discussing famous drag queen Doris Fish." — Josh
Victor/Victoria
Victor/Victoria
1982 2h 14m
★ 7.3
"Victor Victoria. He just blew my mind. That was Victor Victoria. That was the movie with Julie Andrews. — Chuck mentioned a full circle cross-dress concept and Josh referenced this movie about a woman impersonating a man impersonating a woman." — Josh

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