The Symbolic World

This is a talk I presented at Chesterton Academy of Ottawa earlier this year. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/ETaRAauDxS0Buy Little Red Riding Hood now during the month of June and get the audiobook with for free: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/Join Seraphim Hamilton in studying the Book of Isaiah this June. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/the-fifth-gospel Timestamps:00:00 - Coming up00:51 - Intro music01:05 - Chesterton Academy introduction03:28 - Jonathan begins: art, AI, education, and the Pope’s encyclical05:53 - Why AI is not human intelligence08:18 - AI lacks embodied understanding10:47 - Money, efficiency, power, and the values behind AI13:07 - The Moloch trap and the AI arms race15:32 - AI’s impact on work and education17:01 - The anti-human vision of technocracy18:40 - What education is really for21:05 - Why learn art in the age of AI?23:50 - Little Red Riding Hood promotion24:46 - Remember, celebrate, and create25:57 - Remembering our stories and traditions29:36 - Celebrate what is good33:16 - Create in service of remembrance and celebration37:11 - Sincerity after irony and cynicism39:32 - Fairy tales, icons, and Christian visual language42:58 - Graphic novels, saints, and medieval storytelling44:28 - The challenge and opportunity of our time46:27 - Q: Is pessimism about AI justified?48:32 - Q: How can remembrance, celebration, and creation be transmitted practically in schools and families?53:23 - Q: Should schools return to oral exams and oral presentations because of AI?55:52 - Q: How much can we participate in or use AI without falling into the trap?58:31 - Q: What does cave art reveal about the relationship between man and art? Is art the signature of man?01:03:02 - Q: What is the difference between inventing something new and creating?01:07:20 - Q: Do strict rules in art stifle creativity? Why do people say beauty is subjective?01:10:04 - Q: How can we recover a true remembrance of the Middle Ages rather than seeing them as dark or backward?01:14:55 - Q: What is the difference between reading traditional stories and watching movies for entertainment?01:19:02 - Q: Why was beauty dismissed from art, and why is our built environment so ugly?01:21:07 - Q: What is your favorite piece of art in your home?01:23:28 - Q: Can AI be used as a Socratic interlocutor in education?01:26:36 - Q: What is the value of teaching classical languages like Latin and ancient Greek?01:27:45 - Q: How should young artists balance pursuing art with the need to make money?01:30:50 - Q: What is the importance of boredom, rest, silence, and imagination?01:33:15 - Q: Is re-enchantment, post-irony, and sincerity possible in an intentional way?01:37:08 - Q: How can different traditions unite against AI without losing their distinctiveness?01:41:39 - Q: How do we discern beauty in imperfect work, especially in a performative society focused on excellence?01:44:02 - Q: Where do you think AI is going, especially in education and culture?🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5-Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488 Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

Backrooms (2026) is a recent horror/thriller film based on a creepypasta —an internet urban legend— that emerged around the time of the Covid lockdowns. A man discovers an infinite, labyrinthine expanse of "backrooms" that becomes increasingly disturbing.In this video, I analyze the symbolism of the film and explore the deeper reasons why it is so popular, outshining major blockbusters with much larger budgets and marketing campaigns. Enjoy.YouTube version: https://youtu.be/ZK6NaFsBGaMBuy Little Red Riding Hood now during the month of June and get the audiobook with for free: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/Join Seraphim Hamilton in studying the Book of Isaiah this June. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/the-fifth-gospel🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5-Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

In this conversation, I sit down with Stephen Roach on the Makers and Mystics podcast to explore why our stories feel exhausted — and what that reveals about our cultural moment. We talk about the end of the post–World War II narrative, the collapse of the hero (and even the anti-hero), and how storytelling has drifted. We also discuss fairy tales, monsters, AI, and the future of art.Let me know what you think in the comments and come join us at the Breath and the Clay conference, a creative arts gathering in Winston Salem, NC March 20-22, 2026: http://www.thebreathandtheclay.com/YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/Xbr6XQlspGQ------------------------Another opportunity to come together and meet is the Symbolic World Summit 2026! Speakers include Fr. Josiah Trenham, Mary Harrington, Dn. Seraphim Rohlin, myself, and others.Date: May 14-16Place: Broadview Heights, OHBuy your tickets now and get $50 off with the early bird sale. Don't miss out: https://symbolicworldsummit.com/Hope to see you there.🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5-Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488 🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau Timestamps:00:00 - Coming up01:21 - Intro music01:47 - Introduction03:08 - Narrative exhaustion04:38 - End of the WW2 narrative08:40 - Fairy tales11:09 - Jonathan's retelling13:17 - Art and ideology17:41 - Complexity in religious art21:32 - Trust in the audience24:33 - Participation in art28:27 - Distorted retellings32:30 - Resistance of tyranny35:28 - Identity and form37:16 - Limitation and contemporary art41:34 - AI art44:11 - Human connection45:30 - Making spaceOur website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

In this talk at St. Michael’s Church in Charleston, I walk through the seven days of creation as presented in Genesis, exploring creation as a divine song: a rhythm of heaven and earth, light and darkness, above and below. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/p2kb9ggwrp0=============NEW COURSE: The Art of Imitating Heaven: Structure and Meaning in Ancient Cosmology By Joshua SturgillWhat is heaven? Where is it? For ancient people, the answer was obvious: simply look up at the night sky. For them, to see the stars and planets was to see the face of the divine. Christianity, too, understood the visible sky as the realm of unfallen creation. What does this belief mean, and why was it lost?🗓 Live classes are on Sundays at 5-6:30pm Eastern Time, starting February 1st through March 8th, 2026.💰 Price: $150 USD (Involved patrons qualify for a 10% discount)⏰ Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/the-art-of-imitating-heaven===============Timestamps:00:00 - Coming up00:57 - Intro music01:22 - Introduction05:18 - Day 115:20 - Day 221:53 - Day 333:34 - Day 438:31 - Day 545:51 - Day 6🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive montly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/