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THE BROWNLIST is a comedic satire about race and how the entertainment industry views “diversity”. It’s the story of a girl blessed with two races but seemingly not enough of either to fit in.

Official selection in over ten film festivals, including (but not limited to) Bentonville (Winner, Best Short), Newport Beach, Cinequest, Cleveland International, LA Shorts, Napa Valley, Pittsburgh Shorts, Calabasas, Citizen Jane, Portland, and more.

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FIELD NOTES FROM THE FUNNY OR DIE STAFF

This one feels important. Because what Ursula’s short captures is that, even when steps are taken — well-intentioned steps, mind you — to help rectify equality issues in an industry, sometimes those exact steps get hamstrung by dint of unthinking reliance on those measures. And while some may point to lackluster performance of releases that are billed as “diverse,” or get unhelpfully branded as such, that also points to the far reaching ripples within an industry, such as film criticism (and the need for more diverse film critics, as pointed out by Vox.)

That’s not to say that progress hasn’t been made. In fact, NBC reports that in UCLA’s most recent diversity in Hollywood study, “people of color accounted for 19.8 percent of the leads in top films for 2017, a significant increase from the 13.9 percent figure posted in 2016. Show creators of color also posted significant gains in the digital landscape.”

But here’s the thing — it’s not rocket science. It’s what audiences want

“People of color constituted nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population in 2017, and their share continues to grow by nearly half a percent each year,” the report indicates. “Today’s diverse audiences, the evidence shows, prefer film and television content populated with characters to whom they can relate and whose stories drive the narrative.”

All this to say that we love this short in every way, and can’t wait to see what this team cooks up next.

This striking short comes to you via Ursula Teharian.

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CREDITS

Writer/Producer: Ursula Taherian
Directors: Kelly Walker, Ryan Garcia
Cinematographer: Tom Dowler
Starring: Ursula Taherian

For more information visit: TheBrownlistFilm.com
For full cast and crew credits, please visit: imdb.com/title/tt6872464/

© Ursula Taherian 2019

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Believe us when we say we’re truly sorry to remind you, but the dreaded Tax Day (April 15, SOS) is quickly approaching. Whether you’re dancing around flaunting your generous tax return or crying at all the money Uncle Sam needs you to fork over, there are some things that we’ll all be able to cash in on come next Monday.

We’re talking about Tax Day Freebies, of course, an American staple we can’t believe we didn’t know existed until last year when we grabbed free margaritas, free massages, aaaaand a free hot dog on a stick. As tax-paying citizens, we more or less consider these annual freebies a part of our civil rights.

So, what kinds of freebies are being offered this year? We’re so glad you asked. No matter where in the country you are, these are some spots you’ll want to mark on your to-do list so you can get in on Tax Day giveaways.

Dom ended up sacrificing himself by taking three shots to the back in order to save Sam’s life, and his death left the entire team devastated. LAPD Detective Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) took over as Kensi’s partner towards the end of Season 1.

Shortly after Dom’s departure, Daniela told TVGuide.com, “I didn’t know it was going to happen; I was surprised. But just like on the original NCIS, you never know who’s going to stay and who’s going to go. For the audience, it’s crazy and keeps people hooked on. For [the cast], it can be a little scary here and there.”

About

Wauconda, Illinois is a town about 40 miles north of Chicago that is frequently sarcastically mistaken for the fictional country of Wakanda from the Marvel superhero franchise Black Panther due to their phonetic similarities.

Origin

Wauconda, IL was formalized in 1849 and named after an indigenous chief whose name translated to ‘spirit water.'”

On February 16th, 2018, the film Black Panther premiered in the United States, popularizing the fictional country of Wakanda, the film’s main setting. The following week, The Hollywood Reporter published a story on the effect the film’s popularity had on the town. In the report, the town officials said that since the film’s release, they received prank phone calls that reference the film (shown below).

Spread

On February 23rd, 2018, the connection between Wauconda and Wakanda was discussed on a segement for the morning talkshow Good Morning America. When posted to YouTube, the segment received more than 55,000 views (shown below).

Final Four

On April 6th, 2019, Texas Tech played Michigan State in the semi-finals of the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament. When announcing the players, many online were struck by Wauconda-resident Matt Mooney, who played for Texas Tech.

Twitter user @DonteStallworth posted a video of the announcment. THe post recieved more than 630 retweets and 2,700 likes in two days (shown below).

“Wakanda,” Illinois pic.twitter.com/hS3mZ8PCag

— Donté Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) April 7, 2019

Following the post, others joked about the name of the town on Twitter (examples below).

That day, Twitter published a Moments page on the response.

Search Interest

External References

Where is Oak Island? Can I go there?

Oak Island is a small private isle on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada in Mahone Bay. It is currently privately owned. In 2008, the Lagina Brothers purchased a controlling interest in Oak Island Tours, which owned most of the island. 

When they’re not treasure hunting themselves, their company leads private and public tours. The bad news is the tours are in such high remand, they’re all sold out for the entire year, but cancellations do happen.

About

Dog vs. Werewolf is an object-labeling image of Joe Rogan’s golden retriever Marshall sitting calmly next to a statue of a werewolf.

Origin

On November 9th, 2018, Joe Rogan posted the original photo to Instagram. The photo has gained over 330,000 likes in five months (shown below).

Spread

On November 9th, 2018, Redditor Chaselepard posted an image to /r/joerogan labeling Marshall and the werewolf (shown below, left). The image gained 189 points (97% upvoted) in four months. The same day, Redditor FatDiscoKid uploaded the original image to /r/joerogan with the label on Marshall and on the werewolf (shown below, right). The image received 187 points (97% upvoted ) in four months.

On April 5th, 2019, the image resurfaced in other subreddits. Redditor Saintrph posted an the image comparing the two sides of Gordon Ramsay’s personality to r/dankmemes (shown below, left). The image received 63,100 points (97% upvoted) in three days. That same day, Saintrph also posted another variation to r/historymemes (shown below, right). The post garnered 10,100 points (97% upvoted) in three days.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References

In 2017, Chavis, who was part of Sparks Motors, made an appearance on the Discovery Channel series after spending three months getting his truck ready for the Ultimate Callout Challenge. 

“This truck is everything to me,” he said at the time. “Couldn’t even tell you how much money… more than the house by far. According to Heavy D, Chavis’ truck was made for drag racing, but before he could get to that stage of the competition, he had to get through Day 1, which is the Dyno challenge. 

Unfortunately, things did not go well for Chavis after his transmission blew during a practice run. Despite replacing the bad parts, the truck’s transmission started leaking the day of the competition and he was disqualified. 

The Kingston sisters were able to help her escape — although Ava wanted to stay with her family, she knew she couldn’t give up her sense of self and continue watching the cycle of abuse continue. 

“With a well-thought-out plan,” Hope After Polygamy explains, “she was successful; the judge granted her emancipation when she was 17 years old. After leaving, she continued her education and graduated with her associate’s degree two days after her 18th birthday.”

Although her family isn’t happy with Ava’s decision to leave the order, she has no regrets. “She stands strong in her truth knowing that she made the best decision for herself,” Ava’s success story continues. “We know that her education was a lifeline and want to support her through her bachelor’s degree. She is an example to many and a shining light of hope to girls in polygamy.”

Way to go, Ava! Her story made us emotional and we hope other young women are able to find freedom outside of polygamy with the help of the Kingston sisters.

New episodes of Escaping Polygamy air Mondays at 10 p.m. on Lifetime.