Maziar Ghaderi: to Truly Know Jordan Peterson (Part II)

“…what I’ve noticed with Jordan is that his interactions with this polarization of the Left and the Right—it’s actually kind of hardened him. It’s made him a little bit more radical. It’s made him a little bit more hard-skinned.”

The Rise of Jordan Peterson premiered in September of this year and tells the story of Dr. Jordan B. Peterson’s ascent from a well-respected but locally known professor in Toronto to the international figure he has now become. Praised for its impartiality in storytelling, The Rise of Jordan Peterson does not take a side in the controversy that has surrounded Dr. Peterson’s work and, instead, presents the views of both his admirers and detractors. In this interview, Maziar Ghaderi, the producer of the film, joins Merion West and Kambiz Tavana to discuss the process behind the film—and, more fundamentally, what it has been like to actually know and work with Jordan Peterson. This is part two of the interview; part one was published on December 6th.

Kambiz Tavana: Don’t get me wrong. I liked [the GQ interview], as well. But I think that it’s a waste of time for Jordan Peterson, who could do much better on other platforms where they actually let him bring his ideas to light—and use deep thinking to investigate complicated issues that we’re dealing with everyday. I mean, though [the interview] was informative and very insightful, at the same time, it’s a waste of his time, and he has to go after lots of people because of the misunderstanding that publication made.

Maziar Ghaderi: I would say Jordan wouldn’t say it was a waste of time. In the very first part of that interview, there’s a snippet of him saying something like: “There’s been a lot of attempts to take me out. It just hasn’t worked.” It’s pretty dramatic! For Jordan, this underlines his success while standing up for his principles. Again, it’s badass.