Hank Azaria’s Journey to Radical Accountability

Hank Azaria’s Journey to Radical Accountability | The Man Enough Podcast

Рет қаралды 5,277

10 ай бұрын

Renowned voice actor Hank Azaria joins Liz and Jamey for a candid talk on accountability during controversy. Formerly known for voicing Apu on The Simpsons, Hank found himself in the hot seat when his role as a white man voicing an Indian character was brought into question, forcing him to embark on a journey of deep introspection, personal growth, and human connection. In this episode, Hank opens up about his journey to accountability from his initial defensiveness amidst the controversy to his current life’s mission to help others shed their own unconscious biases that may be holding them back from true human connection. Later, Hank’s Human Solidarity Project co-founder, Dustin Washington joins the conversation to dive deeper into their commitment to fostering unity, introspection, and combating racial and gendered societal norms. Tune in for an illuminating conversation that encourages thought and great accountability.
Timecodes:
05:32 - Hank wonders if he’s ‘enough’ as a father for his teenage son
10:45 - How Hank’s understanding of gender equity has grown
15:00 - Societal messages of misogyny
17:40 - Letting go of Apu
28:22 - Hank’s journey to accountability
39:35 - How do we get children of the next generation excited about social change?
45:34 - A healthy amount of shame can be a good thing
47:00 - Do we use our “blindspots” as an excuse?
53:58 - Hank is working to create human solidarity
59:45 - Dustin Washington and the Soul Focused Group
01:02:45 - How has racism impacted male friendships?
Quotes:
“There are good decent people out there that will not look under the hood, because of defensiveness because of ego.” - Jamey Heath
“It’s one thing if there's a hole in the ground and you trip because you don’t see it, okay I can forgive that. But if you tell me you see the hole now but you’re just not making any effort to walk around it, okay now you’ve lost me.” - Jamey Heath
“Part of what motivated me to approach the Apu [situation] thoughtfully is what am I going to say to [my son], some day he will be old enough to discuss this? What will I look him in the eye and say?” - Hank Azaria
“I think a lot of young boys are growing up feeling like they're the problem. And feeling like they are responsible for something that they didn’t really do because they didn’t create the world we live in…you're not responsible for building the world we live in but you are responsible to change it.” - Liz Plank
“We don’t have to have all the answers, we’re searching for the answers.” - Jamey Heath
“Racism has created an artificial barrier that now lives in our subconscious, that keeps us from having the level of human connection that we should have, which allows us to come together and solve problems.” - Dustin Washington
HOSTS: Liz Plank, and Jamey Heath
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Site: www.jameyheath.com/
PRODUCED BY:
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P&G Studios
Executive Producers: Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Tarah Malhotra-Feinberg, Marc Pritchard, Anna Saalfeld, Chris Corcoran
Producer: Kayla Nicholson

Пікірлер: 50

@cat21o6 9 ай бұрын

This episode was refreshing! Dustin's appearance was a great surprise - I met him in 2016 through the work of Felicia Savage Friedman of Yoga Roots on Location - an embodied anti-racist organizing school. (Felicia, by the way, would be an amazing guest on this show...) I'm glad to see Dustin and the work of Soul Focused Group represented on Man Enough. They are an example of those who are and have been doing this work, genuinely, on the ground, for years... in communities, groups, one on one, with family, within self. And they are forthcoming in their honesty by sharing shortcomings and imperfections. I would love to hear more from guests like Dustin who don't necessarily have mega public followings, yet have the years of lived experience and humility that genuinely touch people. It's fortunate that Hank connected to this work and its framework, so that he could dive into the journey and share his influence and resources to bring more people in.

@WeAreManEnough 6 ай бұрын

Thank you for your feedback and suggestions. Glad you're here with us.

@mayamichelle6741 10 ай бұрын

Hank was great guest. I really enjoyed his insights. I got the sense that we could benefit from a full interview with Dustin as well. 🙏

@jamiegeorge4643 9 ай бұрын

Never thought Hank would make me cry cry🥹🥲

@krestal0 10 ай бұрын

This episode is awesome in every sense of the word. Thank you guys. I have never heard a man as accountable and it’s great that Hank did the work necessary to make change.

@WeAreManEnough 10 ай бұрын

Thank you so. much for listening!

@krestal0 10 ай бұрын

Accountability is so difficult for so many people and they can benefit from hearing this. He literally gave a step by step guide without the shame and stigma attached. You all are doing amazing work. @@WeAreManEnough

@wisdom9091 7 ай бұрын

@@WeAreManEnough name 1 feminist movie that taught accountability to women and girls. And what about actual laws actually exist that benefit women like alimony child support title9 taxes payer funded programs and presumption of guilt. Stuff by women and feminist voters decades ago . Should daughter's take accountability for those

@kachunk7454 10 ай бұрын

Thank you all for showing us what accountability culture looks like :)

@wisdom9091 7 ай бұрын

When it's on women it's misogyny looking at facts is mysonygy reality culture is mysonygy culture. Holding the left to own standards.womeb never any accountability

@WeAreManEnough 6 ай бұрын

Thank you. Glad you're here with us.

@spunlines4557 8 ай бұрын

this is not judgement. but i find it fascinating in a conversation around biases and growth, that Jamie’s first reaction to new information on the term ‘blindspot’ was defensiveness. really demonstrates the point at hand and how challenging it can be to adjust out thinking.

@vanhoudtshoorn 10 ай бұрын

Oh man, great meaningful conversation❤. Thank you. As a coloured South African ( as stated on my birth certificate) this conversation resonated alot. We need more of these meaningful conversations. Love you guys❤

@WeAreManEnough 10 ай бұрын

So happy to hear, thanks for listening!

@wisdom9091 7 ай бұрын

@@WeAreManEnough if one side has shup up and listen it's not a conversation

@mayamichelle6741 10 ай бұрын

Great show on accountability - and the fundamental connection between being man enough and how to be truly accountable.

@wisdom9091 7 ай бұрын

Yeah hold accountability to women is mysonygy. Even more actually lows favor benefits women. And boys didn't create world actually oppressed by

@RainbowOwl24 3 ай бұрын

Girl, you got me. I clicked immediately. I normally avoid clicking videos with titles like this, cuz I hate being clickbaited, but the fact that you were immediately remorseful made it ok for me and kinda made me giggle a bit too. (Btw, those pins are so cuuuute!!) I've been a viewer for so many years that despite missing the days when more was shared because it painted a more well rounded picture of who you are, I totally respect and understand your choice to create boundaries and privacy in your life. That said, I still reflexively clicked so fast when i saw that title. You got me! 😂🤣

@lestatsluv317 21 күн бұрын

I agree so much about the willful ignorance of a generation that grew up online with cultures and perspectives from all over the world at the tips of their fingers yet still they are ignorant. I am an older millennial and I was poor so a television with local channels, a regular house phone, and a stereo with my records/cassettes/CD's was the extent of the technological tools I had. Thankfully, I was a bookworm who has always loved learning about different cultures but I know so many people my age who grew up extremely ignorant and cut off from the world. But even they have the ability now to access all of this information so they are only continuing to live in that ignorance because they see everyone telling them that these things they believe are wrong. Factually, morally, it's wrong. And they get defensive in a way that prevents them from being open to change. But in many cases, people are not telling them that because they believe them to be bad people but because they believe that person is strong enough to change. It's never too late.

@annescholten9313 10 ай бұрын

AMAZING conversation!❤

@WeAreManEnough 10 ай бұрын

Thank you for listening

@kylerollins6483 10 ай бұрын

I'm about to plug other content I found that was reminded of when they talk about what was happening with the tennis coach. There is a channel called Cinema Therapy where they discussed Fight Club with San Francisco Giants manager, Gabe Kapler. There was a part in the second episode where they discuss taking accountability for your actions. In Fight Club's climactic ending sequence, the Narrator owns the actions as his and recognizing that everything leading up to that moment was his responsibility and be able to stop himself from highly destructive acts towards society at large. Yet, the narrator is still able to take what he learned from Tyler and be assertive, not be scared of who he is or his sexuality. And in the end, Narrator is rewarded for his accountability, not by Marla, but also in the world the film takes place in. Narrator is able to take what's useful from Tyler Durden and reject what is otherwise malicious to himself and to society. It's quite an interesting analysis of film.

@wisdom9091 7 ай бұрын

Cinima therapy is a major cases in point why therapist and Story is bad for mental health. And name 1 feminist movie that taught accountability to women and girls. Bad mom's . The Barbie movie actually rewrote history claiming the the career woman and the leader ship position witch according to that speech women just can't handle was created by patriarchy not . He himself seems feel guilty for divorcing a Narcissist he hurt this Narricist X wife and he needs to take accountability for hurting the Narcissist. He actually says if value relationships with you'll invalidating all your feelings and shut and listen to their winning. Thinking 🤔 about that making feel validated means making everyone else invalid. So why should we value relationships with because . They divorce you put on the street and then cry about their unfairly blamed

@johnrudd6311 10 ай бұрын

The blind spot is a spot inside the eye where you don’t have receptors (where the optic nerve meets the eye). It’s not about those who are visual able vs “being blind”. Even those with perfect vision have this ocular feature. I am sensitive to those who are blind who might not like the term, but I also think the “blind” in blind spot isn’t a form of ableism, because it’s not about person vs person visual impairments.

@johnrudd6311 10 ай бұрын

When I say I am sensitive to it “but…”, I’m not saying I will keep saying the term. To make an analogy, there is a synonym for “miserly” that sounds a LOT like the n word… even though I know the words aren’t related, I also know they sound similar enough that it is not worth the harm, even if it’s mistaken for a word I didn’t actually say. I’m just saying: like that synonym for miserly, “blind spot” doesn’t mean what was suggested here. But if the blind community says “it really makes us feel marginalized for how it comes across, even though it’s not a reference to us at all”, I do give credence to that and picking a different way to relate the concept.

@matthewlee4834 10 ай бұрын

Very, very good point

@WeAreManEnough 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for the thoughtful response. Glad you're here with us.

@FatLadyKiller 10 ай бұрын

Doing an impression or accent is not racist. Apu was a smartly written character that was usually the voice of reason. They did episodes that paid homage to middle eastern people and their beliefs. The mentality that you can no longer act or talk like another race or do accents of people that actually exist is so ridiculous and unnecessarily negative. People just want to complain to hear themselves complain. The fact that y’all keep calling every single thing racist actually makes you racist. Check your privileges

@WeAreManEnough 10 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your perspective!

@lestatsluv317 21 күн бұрын

Apu is an Indian character. India is not in the Middle East, it's in South Asia. As such, he clearly isn't paying homage to the Middle East. You have the voice of (and partial creator of) this character saying "I was blind to a lot of the problems in this character, the character that unintentionally fed into many negative stereotypes, and I want to do something about that." The guy who helped create this character is telling you the character was a racist stereotype a lot of the times which feeds into racist ideas about Indian people (not people from the Middle East) and you are like "Nuh uh! It was great, so great this Indian character paid homage to Middle Eastern culture....!" I think the fact that you don't even know what the culture was that Apu "pays homage" to says it all. If someone as invested in this character as Hank Azaria says it was sometimes a racist stereotype, why are YOU so defensive over it that you are defending this character? I love the Simpsons. It started either the year before or after I was born (1987) and I have literally watched it all of my life. Maggie and I are almost exactly the same age which is wild to think about for me. It's a great show that has often been progressive... but it began in the late '80's. Of course there is at least one character that is somewhat problematic. The things that were permissible back then were wild. The Simpsons were progressive enough that most of even the oldest episodes stand up pretty well and that is a huge testament to what they were doing. I love the show, it's a great show, I love Hank Azaria...AND...Apu is a racist stereotype, despite the fact that it was not intentional. Multiple things can be true at once. 🤷🏻‍♀️

@mayamichelle6741 10 ай бұрын

Yep, it's hard to look under the hood in a society that values pride so much. Vicious cycles of pride, perfection and shame at work there. Sucks.

@WeAreManEnough 10 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your perspective

@soniabuenodelatorre 10 ай бұрын

Thank you for all you do... Question... Is Justin going to come back to the podcast? It's just not the same without him ;)

@WeAreManEnough 10 ай бұрын

Check out the newest episode. HES BACK ❤️

@soniabuenodelatorre 9 ай бұрын

wohoooo @@WeAreManEnough

@wisdom9091 7 ай бұрын

The actually bands book like catcher and the Rye. The right Bands false narrative books feom schools supposed to be objective

@GUITARTIME2024 10 ай бұрын

Apu was a hilarious character.

@WeAreManEnough 10 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing

@wisdom9091 7 ай бұрын

What when fact show sociaty and actual laws actually benefit women. Abd was past by women. Is women's job remove policies benefit them

@tmalloy9 10 ай бұрын

Blank spots might work.

@wisdom9091 7 ай бұрын

There not guilty for being from the winners

@brycenew 10 ай бұрын

🔥

@wisdom9091 7 ай бұрын

Do feminist ever take accountability or acknowledge reality or call observable reality conspiracy theory mysonygy . Name 1 feminist movie that taught accountability to women and girls at wasn't anti accountability The Barbie movie speech actually said the career woman and female leadership witch hard on women was a product of patriarchy

@OrtegaOY 10 ай бұрын

WoW! 😮 I'd long ago written Hank Azaria off as a racist asshole. I'm so grateful to learn that he's on the road to redemption, and learning to become a Solutionary 😌 I also appreciated what I perceived as an improvement upon the balance ⚖️ and structure of the host and guest contributions 🤓 Many Jewels Dropped in this episode 💎 There was a moment however, the conversation began to be derailed and deflected around the impact of the term "blindspot" 🙄 As a Man (Male) of Afro-Indigenous Ancestry, I have noticed a peculiar trend in a European Descended (White) Person's comprehension and interpretation of what it means to be "Conscious" or (a term coined by Peoples of the Pan-African Diaspora) "Woke". It's often thee aesthetic and superficial facade of oppression that they're trying to fix or change, and not the Systemic Infrastructure that perpetuates Injustice. So let's change the name of meanings of things, all the while stepping over thee ever growing population of homeless and impoverished people on our way to yoga 🧘🏻‍♂️ and matcha lattes 🍵. Intention vs Impact. If we don't see you, we don't know you, and can't trust you. I'm being intentionally hyper-critical, as I really love and believe in the Power of this podcast/show as a vehicle of Healing in the World 🌍. "But with Great Power, comes Great Responsibility" - Stan Lee

@chrisscott8604 10 ай бұрын

Dude, these guys are doing great things. Funny how a podcast dedicated to showing people that they are "enough" is getting hate for not doing "enough". Take the good, my guy.

@OrtegaOY 10 ай бұрын

@@chrisscott8604 "Being Enough" and "Doing Enough" are 2 very different discussions. I don't recall disparaging the hosts of the show, their self-worth, or their contributions and work that they do in the world. But somebody's got to keep everyone honest here, and I've accepted that call. I take all the Good that is offered herein, and ever look forward to seeing it even more refined in it's focus. Sure, we're inherently enough in an existential sense, but being isn't doing. And I haven't spoken to anything not within their capacity to do. But are they listening, and are they willing? Or, willing to consider at least. The Litmus Test

@chrisscott8604 10 ай бұрын

Nah bro, you're simply looking for an outlet to scavange for inadequacies in others rather than doing the real work on yourself. Look inside, my guy. That is where you need to start. @@OrtegaOY

@WeAreManEnough 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for your perspective.