The Psychological & Emotional Impact of Occupation w/ Actress, Director CHERIEN DABIS

The Psychological & Emotional Impact of Occupation w/ Actress, Director CHERIEN DABIS

From Philosophy, Ideas, Critical Thinking, Ethics & Morality: The Creative Process: Philosophers, Writers, Educators, Creative Thinkers, Spiritual Leaders, Environmentalists & Bioethicists by Philosophers, Writers, Educators, Creative Thinkers, Spiritual Leaders, Environmentalists & Bioethicists · Creative Process Original Series

March 19, 2026 · 54 min · Season 16 · Episode 1226

About this episode

Cherien Dabis discusses the psychological and emotional impact of occupation and the importance of maintaining humanity in oppressive circumstances.

“These oppressive structures are built to strip us of our humanity. One of the ways they do that is by filling us with anger and hatred. If we allow ourselves to stay there, we're doing the job of the oppressor for them by slowly killing ourselves. I wanted to make a movie that would remind people that we can't allow them to win by giving up our humanity . We have to hold onto our humanity and try in these impossible circumstances.” My guest today is Cherien Dabis . She’s a filmmaker and actress who has spent much of her career trying to fill the silences in the American narrative. In 2022, she became the first Palestinian to receive an Emmy nomination. She has worked on everything from The L Word to Ozark, Only Murders in the Building to the hit Netflix series Mo , always with an eye toward breaking the one-dimensional mold that has historically defined Arab representation in the West. But her latest project is perhaps her most ambitious yet. It’s a film called All That’s Left of You . It follows one Palestinian family across three generations, beginning in 1948 and ending in 2022. It is a story of exile and memory, and it’s Jordan’s official submission for this year’s Academy…

People in this episode

Guest: Cherien Dabis

Topics covered

  • occupation
  • humanity
  • Palestinian representation
  • trauma
  • identity
  • film

Keywords

  • Cherien Dabis
  • occupation
  • Palestinian
  • trauma
  • film
  • identity
  • humanity

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: All That’s Left of You, The L Word, Ozark, Only Murders in the Building, Mo

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