Gent’s Talk: Ep. 54- A sit-down w/ Director X

Welcome to Episode 54 of the Gent’s Talk podcast, where we sat down with Julien Christian Lutz, professionally known as Director X. Director X is a film director who has also worked on some of our generation’s most iconic music videos with superstars Sean Paul, Drake, Rihanna, and Jay-Z, among many others. The well-spoken Lutz talked about Operation Prefrontal Cortex. Our conversation was a deep dive into meditation, along with the exciting news about his upcoming project Robyn Hood!

Operation PFC

Julien prides himself on his ability to use his platform (and his art) as a catalyst for social change. Operation Prefrontal Cortex, which he founded in 2019, does just that. The grassroots initiative was designed to reduce Toronto’s gun violence through mindfulness meditation. He believes that, “if we bring meditation into our schools and it becomes a part of a kids life, it changes everything.” If you’re struggling to find the “perfect” meditation, X suggests not to overthink it and to, “just find what you like, and start doing it.”

Meditation

Director X believes the best way to visualize our goals is to get into a calm state. Meditation helps with this. He went on to speak on how we have an internal battle between decision making (located in the prefrontal cortex) and emotional control (see: amygdala). What meditation does is make the amygdala smaller, and the prefrontal cortex larger. This allows for better decision making, and more control over emotions. Because the amygdala gets information a fraction faster than the prefrontal cortex, Julien stated that a focus on meditation will help children process emotions better, and not be so quick to react violently. The goal is to get meditation implemented in more schools.

“It’s criminal that it’s not in schools. It’s negligence.”
Director X on Meditation

Robyn Hood

X has won a Juno award, a BET award, and has been nominated for a Grammy. Surely he’ll add to his list of accomplishments with his newest project Robyn Hood. Available on StackTV and GlobalTV, X happily assumes the role of creator/showrunner/executive producer/ and director. He noted that although it’s a show with an all-Black cast, it’s not about being Black. The show is based off the English folklore of the same name, but the legendary heroic outlaw is cast as a Black woman.

Please tune into Episode 54 and listen to the entire conversation with Julien Christian Lutz as he effortlessly educates on the teachings he learned from studying Malcolm X, and the importance of calming the brain down.

About Gent’s Talk

Bulova Canada presents Episode 54 of Gent’s Talk, available for streaming on YouTube, Spotify, Goodpods, iHeartRadio, Apple and Google Podcasts! It is filmed at StartWell Studios in Toronto. You can now catch Season 1 and 2 on all Air Canada flights! Your continued support throughout this journey is appreciated. Thank you!