Episode 17: The Big Lez Show — Choomah Island 2

The Big Lez Show is an animated TV series, that premiered on YouTube in 2012. The show was created by Jarrad Wright, Tom Hollis, and Izak Whear; with Jarrad being the driving creative force of the show. Choomah Island 2 (2015) — written and animated by Jarrad Wright — is the finale of Season 3 of The Big Lez Show. In this feature length episode of The Big Lez Show, Leslie and his mates fly to Choomah Island to blow up the Choomah’s hive and get rid of their species for good. They also find time to eat some psychedelic mushrooms they find growing in a field, and Big Lez smokes a joint of some mysterious psychedelic, given to him Sassy the Sasquatch. In this episode we cover the basic plot of Choomah Island 2, but narrow down especially on those two psychedelic trips, expertly depicted in the film. In response to the experience of the characters during a magic mushroom trip, we take an extended sojourn into a discussion of trees… treating trees as individuals capable of communicating with us, and we discuss the power of considering a tree (and by extension the rest of the natural world) as “thou” rather than “it”, and even find a way to bring in James Cameron’s first Avatar film. Finally a warning: if you’re at all squeamish about swearing then this probably isn't the episode for you… We hope you enjoy our discussion of Jarred Wright’s The Big Lez Show — Choomah Island 2. References Jarrad Wright appearances on the “Your Mate Tom” Podcast The Big Lez Show The Big Lez Show — Choomah Island 2 The Big Lez Show — The Mike Nolan Show — Episode One The Big Lez Show — Trippa Snippa The Big Lez Show — Sassy the Sasquatch The Wachowskis — The Matrix Aldous Huxley — The Doors of Perception Alejandro Tuama — A Glimpse of Eternity James Hillman — The Soul’s Code Ursula K. Le Guin — Late in the Day Altered Mates: Episode 7: Jung, The Shadow, and A Wizard of Earthsea Alejandro couldn't remember the name of… The Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne. Paris Williams — Rethinking Madness: Towards a Paradigm Shift in our Understanding and Treatment of Psychosis Alejandro couldn’t remember where “standing reserve” came from— it’s here… Martin Heidegger — The Question Concerning Technology. Martin Buber — I and Thou Altered Mates: Episode 6 — F-ing the Ineffable: William James, Mysticism, and the Psychedelic Experience James Cameron — Avatar — Destruction of the Home Tree Links Altered Mates Website Altered Mates Instagram Music for the show by Si Mulumby A Glimpse of Eternity by Alejandro Tuama Purchase the novel here. Listen to the serialised audiobook here.