Matthew McConaughey & 'Greenlights'

Pop Fiction Women

How in the world did this happen? We’re breaking the Pop Fiction Women rules by covering non-fiction written by a man, but Matthew McConaughey flips the script in his memoir, Greenlights.

** The actor could have told behind-the-scenes stories from movie sets or dished about his famous exes, but instead he chose to share narratives that are typically reserved for women: he’s been objectified, held his tongue to be nice, been the victim of a sexual assault, and dreamed of being a father since he was a child. We deconstruct these narratives, how he sticks to the script, what he changes, and what doors he opens. (04:52)

** On a turbulent gap year after high school in Australia when McConaughey felt lost we were surprised to read how he turned to controlling his body to cope and made himself small, played nice and kept his mouth shut. That is, until he exploded. You can only hold your tongue for so long….we’ve all been there! (08:03)

** We can’t ignore the dream McConaughey shares about finding “the one” and becoming a father and the very feminine things it taught him about letting go, surrendering, paying attention to his intuition, and following the signs. In fact, tuning in to intuition is what Greenlights is all about. (16:42)

** In the spirit of this podcast, McConaughey falls in love with a beautifully complicated woman. In fact, her contradictions and dimensions are the very thing that attracts him to his now wife Camilla Alves. While initially afraid to marry and lose himself, once he does, McConaughey parents and husbands in an incredibly active way. (20:47)

** We loved hearing McConaughey’s down to earth perspective on the real work of marriage, and in yet another flip the script moment, how while he sometimes has to make himself have sex, afterwards everything in life is just that much better. (29:15)

** Being a dad has been McConaughey’s dream since he was eight years old, but his reasons seem very masculine to Kate while Carinn totally relates. (31:16)

** Being a father, parenting, and even life, are verbs for McConaughey, and hearing him talk about his family as his core has us hoping that both men and women will feel free to express their own truth about their ambitions, their family and what it all means to them. (36:28)

** McConaughey is a complicated guy, a Scorpio, who has spent a lot of time alone, digs deep, manifests his goals, cherishes his faith, embraces his hometown of Austin, and supports social justice. An outlaw philosopher for sure! (43:16)

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