Freedom Advocacy Network

On September 3, 2025, we had an amazing meeting with Samantha Youssef – see links below.

We had such a riveting conversation, none of us on the call wanted the meeting to end. I wish today’s call was recorded. The good news is that Samantha has already kindly agreed to speak again in 2-3 months and we’ll make sure to record and publish that session. Samantha opened our eyes to imperialism and neo-colonialism deeply embedded in Hollywood movies. Even movies like Black Panther, which was celebrated for it’s diversity, were full of so many problematic elements. Samantha, as an Artistic Director who worked on Marvel and Disney movies behind the scenes shared details about how we are all being deeply manipulated – and she speaks from first hand knowledge from her 20 year career in Hollywood. 

Thank you Samantha.

Links: 

https://www.studio-technique.com/about

https://www.instagram.com/samanthasketches/

https://linktr.ee/samanthasketches

https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/11/02/2025/theory-decolonial-imaginations

Notes:

• Has been working with companies like Marvel and Disney
• Has worked with directors directly to make sure their artistic visions comes through
• Before that, she was at Disney as an artist
• Went back to school to do Anti Colonial and Anti Imperialist studies – had “brain fog” from working in a imperialist environment in Canada
• Mixed Palestinian and Ukrainian
• Usually the only woman in most of the places she worked at
• Worked at Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, etc.
• Ted: 20 years military service experience, 20 years military sales experience – would like to connect with Samantha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-mcintire-244ba22b/
• https://cfcc.edu/storyforce/the-united-states-of-corruption/
• Glenn: Am I participating in Military Entertainment Complex by buying hollywood movies like Iron Man, Superman, etc.
• Samantha: during movie making, side characters and their places of residence don’t get any attention – all the focus is on the protagonist – it’s assumed that “Americans know better… only they can be well meaning”
• Films like Top Gun, where there is a Pentagon and CIA relationship with Hollywood
• Screenplay writers are typically not the most important people
• Hollywood is the “hasbara” branch of the US Military
• US military gets involved in movies like Black Hawk Down and Top Gun
• Movies try to show that the “system is not the problem”
• CIA doesn’t even care if they make the military look bad – like Bourne Identity and related sequels
  • They are focused on the value system
  • They are trying to show that it’s okay to work around the law
  • Marvel movies often show CIA agents help super heroes subvert international law
• CIA even gets involved in baking shows, rom coms, etc.
• A lot of shows do “food appropriation”
• New colonialism is baked into the show’s writing
• Pretty much every Marvel movie has bad guys wearing keffiyeh
• E.g. In black panther, shows “local gangs”, black west african looking people, women wearing hijab, all the gang members are wearing keffiyeh’s and shouting in arabic
• Marvel consults with Mossad/Pentagon
• In Iron Man, primitive terrorists are wearing Keffiyehs
• Glen: What did you think of Ms Marvel which shows a muslim woman as a leading character? It looks like they are watering down Islam
• I think these are “co-opting strategies” for them. Similar to what’s done with Obama. Using diversity to pacify. These shows and movies are “culture shapers”. In case of Ms Marvel, it was a “socially acceptable south asian muslim as opposed to… [arab] west asian Muslim”
• Wakanda was basically like “Euro-centric Imperial state fascism with Black excellence aesthetics” – similar eugenics, similar hierarchy/monarchy, similar salutes, etc.
• Wakanda is kinda like Israel – the “only civil” people in the region
• “Surrender and we’ll protect you”
• Wakanda joins the CIA at the end of the movie to help with global surveillance
• Nizar: I remember in the 60s, famous Italian writer, she just didn’t know Arab culture… they don’t understand the world… there is an American inferiority complex because when they go outside… we are not like Europe as we don’t have colonial history… er go we are the good guys… is ignorance just the cause for this? MAGA phenomenon has shown that someone bypassing the system can be an “equalizer”… is the problem culture/ignorance?
• Samantha: What you are describing is two things: there is cultural ignorance and also coercion at the systemic level – it’s both. When they get the notes from the CIA, they don’t question where the notes are coming from – because their privilege doesn’t raise flags about pro-imperial messaging.
• I have witnessed scripts go away, or notes come from anonymous places that changes need to be made – it doesn’t occur to white men that there is something weird
• “Birth of a Nation” was a turning point – 
• Why is Hind Rajab movie being made? They are making the “most famous” story. They are not platforming any Palestinians. Where is the money coming from? It’s not a magical subjective thing.
• “We are using music and sound to emotionally lobotomize you”
• They should not be considered pieces of art – they are propaganda pieces
• Gardy: You will get push back on Wakanda “you are just a conspiracy theorist” – some people will say “it was just fine”. How do you push back?
• I have already gotten intense backlash – I previously didn’t have the words to describe. People in the industry saw it as “celebration of Black excellence” (regarding Wakanda)
• They got a black director, writer, designer, costume director, etc. – BUT THEY DON’T SAY: who picked these people? Who asked the Black director to direct? They are not Black people.
• A white Christian Zionist man created the Black character in the Princess and the Frog – he decided what she looks like, what she said, what she wore, etc.
• The people making money off Black Panther are mostly not Black people – they purposely commodified Black History month 
• Nizar: I highly recommend watching The Believer to see how they shrewdly weave in the “Palestinian” counter argument which is the weakest of scores of other arguments. Thereby it comes across as balanced “showing both sides”, but in fact, like the illusion of choice, it is giving you the sanitized counter argument https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247199/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_the%2520believer
• Even as an artist, when I tell people why certain artistic decisions were made, they often don’t believe me – for example, the only reason they used toys in Toy Story in 3d movie, it’s because 3D rendering was simply not good enough at that time to show 3d rendered human beings at that time
• Saif: First generation of immigrants was just trying to survive, like our parents – but now we can build alternative systems. May be you can consider writing a book on the subject!
• When we are in the industry, it’s a very myopic culture – we don’t engage in public discourse – we are focused on impressing the directors and executives
• Saif: what does story telling look like in a free world? What does art in a free world world look like? “You are making the world a better place”
• Gardy: this was a great day for me – very revealing. Counter narrative: There might be nothing wrong with all these tools you are building if there was more transparency, more diversity, more access, and people have the ability to dig deeper.
• I have gone through existential crisis as an artist. I put my whole life on hold to work in this industry. I loved the art. But I do question specific medium like film. Film, putting someone in a room for 2 hours, is a powerful experience. I do question the ethics behind the whole idea of watching a film. In ancient Greece, politics and theatre were intertwined. In ancient Greece, in theatre, audience were allowed to talk to the actors. I worked 80 hour weeks for 20 years. So I don’t take lightly saying all these things. Google “Third Cinema.” There are problematic aspects about 2 hour space where you don’t understand what’s being done to you for those two hours. We code music, use psychological aspect of priming and other techniques to “psychologically manipulate the audience”
• Saif: What prompted you to do your de-colonial studies?
• I am Palestinian-Ukrainian – grew up reading Edward Said books – my dad had all his books – I kept hoping things would get better over time – it was always on my mind – but eventually I started questioning things – like why are video games started by software companies that are in defence sector? It was building overtime – “it was something I was always meant to do”