When we are blinded by anger, what helps us recognize the damage our rage wreaks on both ourselves and those around us? Ex-marine Richard “Mac” McKinney developed an anger fueled by lived experiences fighting in Afghanistan post-9/11, followed by fighting PTSD with little support from the military once discharged. A screening of the short documentary Stranger at the Gate reveals how Mac’s anger nearly drove him to commit atrocities against a local Muslim population, and how the simple kindness of that very community—embodied by community leader Bibi Bahrami—transformed his anger into reverence. Emotions researcher Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary explores how anger obscures the clarity of how we are all connected and need connection in order to move forward in life. They are joined by filmmaker Joshua Seftel on the power that storytelling has to heal.
This talk is part of the Rubin Museum’s 2022 Brainwave: Emotions program series. Based on the teachings of the Vairochana Mandala, which inspired the Rubin Museum’s Mandala Lab, the Brainwave: Emotions talk series focuses on challenging emotions and how we might transform them.
Lead support for Brainwave is provided, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
Additional support is provided by Cheryl Henson.
Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary, PhD, is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at The City University of New York. As director of the Emotion Regulation Lab, she conducts NIH-funded research on anxiety, suicide, and digital therapeutics for stress and anxiety. She is the cofounder of Arcade Therapeutics, which translates cutting-edge science into digital tools for behavioral health, and co-executive director of the Center for Health Technology at Hunter College. She is the author of Future Tense: Making Anxiety Our Superpower.
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