Shelter Representation: Micro Pleasures

[DISCLAIMER]

*Shelter (2026) and The Rip (2026) spoilers contained herein.

Photo credit, property of Black Bear Pictures, fair use

“What do you do?” I’m sometimes asked by clients when referring to daily practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). One arena in which I train is the occasionally challenging realm of cinematic features. For instance, I enjoy films featuring Jason Statham.

Understanding what Statham movies often entail, I have no unhelpful expectations for much other than senseless violence, cheesy plotlines, and forgettable one-liners. Therefore, I like the relatively predictable content in which Statham usually stars.

Nevertheless, as compelled representation polluted by diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives has increasingly been thrust upon audiences, I find use of REBT to be particularly helpful when watching films and practicing this psychotherapeutic modality.

Herein, I won’t overlook the matter of common knowledge which one source describes as “the idea that something is not merely known by all the players in the game, but is also known to be known, known to be known to be known, and so on ad infinitum.” Allow me to explain.

I know about DEIA representation initiatives in film. I assume you know about these initiatives. As I believe you know what I know, I don’t elaborate on what I mean by DEIA representation. Meanwhile, you may not know what I know. Thus, you have no clue as to what I’m discussing.

In simplest terms, you don’t actually know what I know, and vice versa. Therefore, it may be useful to define representation as I’m using this term herein. According to one source:

Representation refers to the way in which people, ideas, and cultures are portrayed in various forms of media, including film. This concept is crucial for understanding how identity and social dynamics are depicted, influencing perceptions and reinforcing or challenging societal norms.

It encompasses the nuances of power dynamics, cultural narratives, and the visibility of marginalized groups, making it a vital element in the analysis of film and its impact on audiences.

Imagine you’re watching a Statham film. Irrationally (not in accordance with both logic and reason), you fixate on the lack of cinematic depictions regarding race/ethnicity group X, sex/gender group Y, or religion/spirituality group Z. That’s what representation seeks to address.

Representation initiatives are designed to placate irrational beliefs so that “marginalized groups” can see themselves in characters depicted on the screen. In my opinion, that’s narcissism, as well as irrational. Of this, discussing The Rip (2026), I stated in Off the Rip: Are We the Good Guys?:

As has been the manner by which films within our nation have been made for the past couple decades, predictable representation plagued by bigoted tropes which advantage [DEIA] while disadvantaging supposed intolerance comprise the film.

For instance, masculine straight white males in modern film are allowable as long as they have a major character flaw or sympathetic characteristic. As an example, character Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) has a young son who died of cancer. […]

One can suspend perception of reality enough to appreciate the emotion-tugging scene. In order for this to occur, one empirically must also accept that drug cartels are relatively friendly, women of color are mostly infallible, and the element of cancer in a storyline establishes morality.

In The Rip, a masculine straight white male (Dumars) was apparently allowed to be depicted, as he had a major character flaw. Yet, women of color in positions of authority (e.g., police) were devoid of similarly fallible attributes. That’s representation, and I argue that it’s irrational.

Cinematic representation ostensibly aims to correct actual and perceived injustices of the past. For instance, if one concedes that black women were historically oppressed in the United States (U.S.), as white men benefitted from privileged positions of authority, representation is applied.

Conclusively, black women will thereafter be represented in film as dominate characters while white men are depicted as overtly flawed, submissive, or weak. This is an irrational aim, because representation functions on unjustified generalizations.

Factually, not all – arguably not even most – white men in the U.S. were oppressive toward black women. Thus, initiatives aimed at displaying black females as a dominate sex, superior to non-whites, and so forth are not only illogical and unreasonable, they’re infantilizingly absurd.

With this in mind, I intended to watch Statham’s new film Shelter (2026), costarring Bodhi Rae Breathnach, without practicing REBT. After all, prior to watching the film, I experienced tolerable disappointment from my beliefs about a client whose services were terminated.

After disputing beliefs which caused unpleasant distress—in alignment with a major tool of REBT known as the ABC model, I then employed healthy practice of unconditional acceptance (UA)—another of the main tools used in REBT. Thereafter, I wanted to relax with a film.

I maintain that there’s nothing inherently wrong with desiring to mentally check out after completing one’s work when matters relating to employment are particularly challenging. Yet, unhelpfully demanding that one absolutely must be able to unwind can present many problems.

Favorably, I opted for the former while foregoing the latter. Apparently, Shelter representation presented further opportunities for me to hone my REBT skills. This was an unexpected challenge! For context, one source succinctly summarizes the film thusly:

A recluse on a remote Scottish island rescues a girl from the sea, unleashing a perilous sequence of events that culminate in an attack on his home, compelling him to face his turbulent history.

The masculine straight white male (Statham’s character Mason) is essentially a hermit, as he sets out to provide safety for (Breathnach’s character Jessie). Mason’s major character flaw is that he’s apparently unable to live among civil society. Meanwhile, representation elements abound!

For instance, the United Kingdom prime minister is a woman. A woman also presides over an inquiry of a white male intelligence operative’s agency. His replacement is a black woman. A technologically savvy intelligence operative who traces Mason is… you guessed it, a woman!

While a white male assists Mason and Jessie, he’s afflicted with… that’s right, cancer! This is representation at play. It’s infantilizingly absurd, as it placates irrational perspectives of supposed historical wrongdoing. Regarding nonsense of this sort, one source states of the film:

Nothing in “Shelter” develops beyond the suggestion of an idea. A sleepy vehicle for action star Jason Statham, “Shelter” piles on cliches and expects viewers to supply enough goodwill to compensate for its shortcomings.

You might want to suspend your disbelief, especially if you’ve acquired a taste for generic star vehicles with all of the threadbare integrity of a Michael Winner/Charles Bronson collaboration. But “Shelter” doesn’t really do anything so well that you can’t also get from a number of other programmers like it.

The filmmakers stumble through the motions of yet another cookie-cutter fugitive-spy story with an innocent-kid twist. Statham does what he can, as fans might expect, but he plays a stick figure who would likely seem unbelievable if Daniel Day-Lewis took the part. […]

“Shelter”’s one of those bad movies that you can’t really dissuade its built-in audience from seeing. Somebody’s going to see or hear qualified praise for this meager potboiler and get their hopes up. That’s an easy trap to fall into, especially if you, like my fellow Statham fans, are willing to settle for less.

But what makes this all so depressing isn’t the film’s singular faults, but its startlingly consistent lack of craftsmanship and inspiration. The movie’s low-effort charms don’t merit your goodwill, even if Statham’s diehards might still be able to squint hard enough to see sparks fly.

I didn’t do much squinting when watching Shelter. Rather, I lost a client (not to death), practiced the ABC model and UA, and wanted to take it easy. “Think again, Deric,” my mind told me, “Shelter representation is in full effect! Let’s get to practicing REBT, sucka!”

While I appreciated Statham’s appearance in the film for what it was (i.e., the usual Statham-esque character) while enjoying Breathnach’s performance, I endured the challenge of practicing REBT. Of course, I could’ve simply stopped watching the film. That would’ve been easy.

However, life isn’t necessarily easy. If I’m going to keep my REBT tools sharp enough to deal with the inconvenience, impermanence and uncertainty, and suffering baked into the proverbial cake of life, then I preferably should practice REBT—particularly when not intending to do so.

I ultimately concluded that I’m not entitled to the experience of pleasure which the American Psychological Association defines as “the emotion or sensation induced by the enjoyment or anticipation of what is felt or viewed as good or desirable.” Satisfaction isn’t guaranteed in life!

Therefore, I reasoned, that if I were to walk away from having watched a film in which my unhelpful beliefs about representation were likely going to sour the film for me, then I could at least use helpful beliefs which would result in micro-pleasures. In essence, find something good!

Aside from enjoying the performances of Statham and Breathnach, I used productive beliefs when watching an electronic dance music (EDM)-themed scene in Shelter. Specifically, I heard the song “Micro Pleasures” (2026) by Farveblind and featuring Sebastian Monti.

Personally, it was reminiscent of Underworld’s music. I say that as a compliment, as I’ve seen Darren Emerson perform live. While Mason and Jessie maneuvered through a dangerous scenario when “Micro Pleasures” played, I enjoyed micro-pleasures. REBT worked for me!

Now, I invite you to consider what you can control and influence. If you’re likely unable to influence people who make films so that they stop creating representation flicks for which you typically don’t care, then I encourage you to control your reaction to the films. What a pleasure!

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As the world’s foremost EDM-influenced REBT psychotherapist—promoting content related to EDM, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters. 

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

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