Episode 13: Eyes Wide Shut (1999) with Peter Sagal
What does jealousy do to a person? How are relationships interwoven with identity? What are the many forms of sex and sexual desire? Paul and Eli welcome in special guest Peter Sagal (host of NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!) to chat about Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick’s eternally fascinating swan song.
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Hosted, produced, and edited by Paul Eastwick and Eli Finkel
Intro
1:00: (Eli) Who are the characters and couples?
2:40: (Paul) 1-minute plot recap
3:50: What is our relationship to this movie?
What the movie gets right
10:30: (Peter) Learning about your partner’s fantasies can be both upsetting and erotic
Jealousy and communication in relationships study by Dr. Guerrero
Fantasizing about an alternative boosts desire for your partner study by Dr. Peters
Men have fantasies about their female partners with other men review by Dr. Lehmiller
16:30 (Eli) The movie revolves around the shattering of Bill’s identity in his marriage
Romantic partners are always dispelling doubts review by Dr. Murray
19:20: (Peter) Marriage is a container for sex, and people’s erotic imagination will escape that container
Sex can build relationships back up review by Dr. Johnson
25:45: (Peter) Women have a libido that is as far-ranging as men’s
Holding essentialized beliefs about gender bodes poorly study by Dr. Eidelson
Gender differences in sexual fluidity review by Dr. Diamond
Sex drive meta-analytic review by Dr. Frankenbach
Men underperceive their partner’s desire study by Dr. Muise
Misconceptions in the movie
31:55: (Paul) Sexual sharing is probably not the human ancestral condition
Cultures shape sexual practices book by Dr. Zuk
“Are we ok with this?”
37:30: (Peter) The movie primarily highlights the perspective of heterosexual men and their fantasies
43:45: (Eli) The movie suggests that extrapair attraction “counts” as infidelity
People use self-control to resist alternative partners study by Dr. Brady
What do we wish we knew?
45:50: (Eli) What happens when couples have different preferences for brutal honesty?
Openness vs. closedness is a key tension in relationships review by Dr. Baxter
Stars (1–5): All three hosts rate the quality of the movie
Rusbults (1–5): All three hosts rate the accuracy of the movie’s ideas about relationships
Music by Andrew Fraker and Sons
Artwork by Katie Keil