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Film Conversations

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by Dennis Claxton, Samantha Youssef, Dwayne Monroe

5.0(2 reviews)
23 episodes
Updated Bi-weekly
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Podcast Overview

The standard measure of the quality and importance of a movie, or, to be grand, 'film', is enjoyment. This is certainly one measure, but not the only one. There are layers to be considered: movies as a capitalist enterprise, as a propaganda form, as art, as a fleeting means of escape from the psychological and material pressures imposed by a collapsing world, as a peek into how the past - or, people in the past with access to money, technical capability and script writing skill thought of their world - and many other things I'm surely neglecting. We'll talk about these things, avoiding the tendency of men to waste time with formless chatter. There's no time for that; the world is burning. There'll be structure, agendas, talking points and laughing no doubt. So not grim, but, well, how should I put this: also not a clown car of opinion.

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Publishing Since

12/12/2022

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Recent Episodes

Episode thumbnail for Film Conversations Disney and Beyond: Part Two

July 20, 2026

Film Conversations Disney and Beyond: Part Two

<p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: #131313;">In today's show,</span> <span style="color: #131313;">co-host</span> <span style="color: #131313;">Samantha</span> <span style= "color: #131313;">Youssef</span><span style="color: #131313;">, who has nearly twenty years of experience working as an animator and creative director for Disney Animation,</span> <span style= "color: #131313;">continues her</span> <span style= "color: #131313;">analysis of the motivations behind the current round of job cuts placing it within a broader historical and structural context.</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: #131313;">She also provides us with a marvelous deep dive into how the studio functions, the work of animators</span> <span style= "color: #131313;">and the role of precarity in the life of animators.</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: #131313;">This is the</span> <span style="color: #131313;">second</span> <span style= "color: #131313;">of two conversations on this topic.</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: #131313;">As before, w</span><span style="color: #131313;">e had a lot of territory to cover and didn't get to everything so,</span> <span style="color: #131313;">please see the references for more information.</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"> </p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;">References</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;"> </span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;">Samantha's website:</span> <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTJHbUd5azA1aXNLT3pwelN3QUctUTBRbHFCd3xBQ3Jtc0tuQ2ZyaGRzLXNPWjVQSXdfWGlocUNhUDIwTW9pVi1pd0hOdnFDUG0wOVI3bFJIT0dkZm5ma3lyVW4xckh4cVBCT3RMdy12OEVlRzlOTjZCX1VfRWl0LUdhcUk1ZmZPYTNxM1dkbjhTSTdKWERiT3Rfbw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.samantha-youssef.com%2F&v=TvFwDEtDWxk" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style= "color: #065fd4;">https://www.samantha-youssef.com/</span></a></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: #131313;">The Walt Disney Co. begins laying off 1,000 employees:</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;"><a href="https://apnews.com/article/disney-layoffs-8434044668b03755c8a8c7a4b51f57bd"> https://apnews.com/article/disney-layoffs-8434044668b03755c8a8c7a4b51f57bd</a></span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><br /> <br /></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: #131313;">Disney Layoffs Hit Marvel Studios Hard</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2026/04/14/disney-layoffs-hit-marvel-studios-hard/"> https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2026/04/14/disney-layoffs-hit-marvel-studios-hard/</a></span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><br /> <br /></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;">Samantha's Compiled List of Industry Layoffs</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;"><a href="https://acmpstor.blob.core.windows.net/acmpblob1/some_layoffs.zip"> https://acmpstor.blob.core.windows.net/acmpblob1/some_layoffs.zip</a></span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><br /> <br /></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><br /> <br /></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: #131313;">How to Read Donald Duck</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;"><a href="https://orbooks.com/catalog/how-to-read-donald-duck/"> https://orbooks.com/catalog/how-to-read-donald-duck/</a></span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><br /> <br /></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;">Disney's Nine Old Men</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney's_Nine_Old_Men"> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney's_Nine_Old_Men</a></span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><br /> <br /></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: #131313;">Mary Blair</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Blair"> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Blair</a></span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><br /> <br /></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: #131313;">Glen Keene</span></p> <p style="line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: #131313;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Keane"> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Keane</a></span></p>

Episode thumbnail for Film Conversations: Disney and Beyond

June 2, 2026

Film Conversations: Disney and Beyond

<p id="docs-internal-guid-beee6e06-7fff-471d-3e59-7a3d799b80fa" dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Hello everyone and welcome to Film Conversations. We took a bit of a hiatus but are back, refreshed and with an updated roster: co-host RC Charles Roberts has moved on to other pastures but we are very pleased to announce the addition of animator and film maker Samantha Youssef to the Film Conversations team.</span></p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">  </p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> In today's show, Samantha, who has nearly twenty years of experience working as an animator and creative director for Disney</span></p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Animation, offers an analysis of the motivations behind the current round of job cuts placing it within a broader historical and structural context. She also provides us with a marvelous deep dive into how the studio functions and the work of animators.</span></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This is the first of two conversations on this topic. We had a lot of territory to cover and didn't get to everything so, Samantha will continue in a part two episode and also, join us for analysis of films beyond the not so wonderful world of Disney.</span></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <strong><span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Links and References</span></strong></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Samantha's website:</span></p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><a style= "text-decoration: none;" href= "https://www.samantha-youssef.com/"><span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> https://www.samantha-youssef.com/</span></a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The Walt Disney Co. begins laying off 1,000 employees</span></p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><a style= "text-decoration: none;" href= "https://apnews.com/article/disney-layoffs-8434044668b03755c8a8c7a4b51f57bd"> <span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> https://apnews.com/article/disney-layoffs-8434044668b03755c8a8c7a4b51f57bd</span></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Disney: Our Friend the Atom (1957)</p> <p><a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBbmqUaT0W0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBbmqUaT0W0</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Disney Layoffs Hit Marvel Studios Hard</span></p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><a style= "text-decoration: none;" href= "https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2026/04/14/disney-layoffs-hit-marvel-studios-hard/"> <span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2026/04/14/disney-layoffs-hit-marvel-studios-hard/</span></a></p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">  </p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> How to Read Donald Duck</span></p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><a style= "text-decoration: none;" href= "https://orbooks.com/catalog/how-to-read-donald-duck/"><span style= "font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #1155cc; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> https://orbooks.com/catalog/how-to-read-donald-duck/</span></a></p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">  </p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Mtume Gant on 'How to Read Donald Duck'</p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">  </p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YitUIbKa3Ds">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YitUIbKa3Ds</a></p> <p dir="ltr" style= "line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">  </p>

Episode thumbnail for Out of the Past

March 3, 2026

Out of the Past

<p>Hello everyone, this is the Film Conversations episode for March, 2026.</p> <p>In this show, we discuss the 1947 Film Noir classic, Out of the Past.</p> <p>Here's a synopsis from Wikipedia:</p> <p>Out of the Past (billed in the United Kingdom as Build My Gallows High) is a 1947 American film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas. The film was adapted by Geoffrey Homes (Daniel Mainwaring) from his 1946 novel Build My Gallows High (also written as Homes), with uncredited revisions by Frank Fenton and James M. Cain.</p> <p>Its complex, fatalistic storyline, dark cinematography and classic femme fatale garnered the film critical acclaim and cult status. In 1991, the National Film Preservation Board at the Library of Congress added Out of the Past to the United States National Film Registry of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" films.</p> <p>Here's the plot synopsis:</p> <p>Joe Stefanos arrives in the rural mountain town of Bridgeport, California seeking Jeff Bailey, who owns a local gas station. Joe asks Jeff's deaf-mute employee The Kid about Jeff's location, and the boy finds Jeff fishing with girlfriend Ann Miller. Jeff returns to the gas station, where Stefanos informs him that he must travel to Lake Tahoe to meet Whit Sterling. Jeff invites Ann to ride with him to Whit's place. He tells her about his past in a flashback that took place three years ago.</p> <p>Jeff Bailey's real name is Jeff Markham. He and Jack Fisher were partners and private investigators in New York City. Whit, a gambling kingpin, hires Markham alone to find Whit's girlfriend Kathie Moffat, who had shot Whit and stolen $40,000 from him. Whit promises Jeff that she will not be harmed if he locates and returns her. Jeff finds Kathie in Acapulco and is immediately taken by her beauty.</p> <p>Kathie admits to shooting Whit, whom she hates, but denies taking his money. Jeff falls in love with her and proposes that they run away together. Whit and Stefanos suddenly appear at Jeff's place in Acapulco. They ask Jeff whether he has found Kathie, but Jeff lies, saying that she is aboard a southbound steamer. Whit instructs Jeff to continue his search.</p> <p>Jeff and Kathie secretly escape to San Francisco. They gradually become more comfortable appearing in public, but Fisher, now working for Whit, spots Jeff at the racetrack. With their location revealed, Jeff and Kathie separate and later meet at a mountain cabin to evade Fisher, but Fisher follows Kathie and catches them at the cabin. Fisher tries to blackmail them and the men brawl. Kathie shoots Fisher and flees, leaving behind a bankbook showing a balance of $40,000, proving that she had indeed taken Whit's money.</p> <p>Back in the present, Jeff arrives at Whit's estate, where Whit informs him that he has a job for him. Jeff is surprised to find Kathie, who has returned to Whit. Kathie later speak privately with Jeff, telling him that she had no choice but to return. She told Whit about her relationship with Jeff but not about her murder of Fisher. Jeff scornfully rejects her.</p> <p>Crooked San Francisco lawyer Leonard Eels, who helped Whit dodge $1 million in taxes, is now blackmailing him. Whit wants Jeff to recover the incriminating records and tells him to meet with Eels' secretary, Meta Carson, who explains the plan to Jeff, but Jeff suspects that he is being framed. At Eels' apartment, Jeff alerts him about Whit's pursuit. Jeff trails Meta and then returns to find Eels dead. He hides the body in the closet of a neighboring apartment.</p> <p>[...]</p> <p>Full synopsis at the Wikipedia entry (link below).</p> <p><br /> References:</p> <p> </p> <p>Psychoanalysing Horror Cinema by Mary Wild</p> <p> https://www.routledge.com/Psychoanalysing-Horror-Cinema/Wild/p/book/9781032545097</p> <p><br /> 'Out of the Past' at 78: The Quintessential Film Noir that Launched Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas' Careers</p> <p><br /> https://cinephiliabeyond.org/past-quintessential-film-noir-launched-robert-mitchum-kirk-douglas-careers/</p> <p><br /> Out of the Past (wikipedia)</p> <p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Past</p> <p><br /> Chester Himes</p> <p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Himes</p> <p><br /> https://english.arizona.edu/person/charles-w-scruggs</p> <p>Film noir</p> <p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir</p> <p>The Simple Art of Murder by Raymond Chandler</p> <p> https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1944/12/the-simple-art-of-murder/656179/</p> <p>Review of Eddie Muller's book, 'Dark City Dames'</p> <p>https://www.iseeadarktheater.com/dark-city-dames-review</p> <p>Out of the Black Past: The Image of the Fugitive Slave in Jacques Tourneur's "Out of the Past"</p> <p>https://www.jstor.org/stable/41328708</p> <p><br /> John Gray</p> <p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gray_(philosopher)</p>

23 total episodes available

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Frequently asked questions

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What is Film Conversations?

The standard measure of the quality and importance of a movie, or, to be grand, 'film', is enjoyment.

This is certainly one measure, but not the only one. There are layers to be considered: movies as a capitalist enterprise, as a propaganda form, as art, as a fleeting means of escape from the psychological and material pressures imposed by a collapsing world, as a peek into how the past - or, people in the past with access to money, technical capability and script writing skill thought of their world - and many other things I'm surely neglecting.

We'll talk about these things, avoiding the tendency of men to waste time with formless chatter. There's no time for that; the world is burning. There'll be structure, agendas, talking points and laughing no doubt.

So not grim, but, well, how should I put this: also not a clown car of opinion.

How often does this podcast release new episodes?

This podcast updates bi-weekly.

Where can I listen to this podcast?

This podcast is available on 8 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.

Does this podcast accept guests?

Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

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