By Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 8/31/24 – There is a fine line between sarcasm and satire. Sarcasm is a disjunction between the words you say, and the intended meaning. In English, it is typically conveyed by tone of voice. Satire is a form of media that refers to something else, the nature of which is to comment on the original.
That commentary often has social or political content. It should be noted that unlike sarcasm, satire is not a form of everyday speech, but both can sometimes be difficult to discern.
There is no question that filmmaker Tish Arana knows her way around sarcasm and satire. Arana’s latest short film, “The Burden,” puts her mastery on full display as the film’s writer, director, executive producer and one of its actors as she examines themes of racism, cultural appropriation, remorse, retribution and rehabilitation.
Set in the year 2044, another in a long line of racist presidents has been elected on Earth. In response, a group of wealthy Black people have stepped forward to facilitate all willing Black people of Earth to travel to a new colony in the Andromeda Galaxy that has been built.
In order for People of Color to gain citizenship, they must go through a series of steps, concluding with a formal hearing in front of a tribunal. “The Burden” follows the process of one applicant and the tribunal’s in-depth probe of their racist past.
Arana, a Texas native who now calls L.A. home, sat down with The Hollywood Times for an exclusive chat about her film, its themes, and the inspiration for “The Burden.” She said she was inspired to write this fascinating story by both her Southern roots and a specific event that brought home these themes with punch.
Click below for our exclusive interview:
“Coming from the South, I had lots of experience with overt racism,” she said, explaining that she has been called the N-word “In a really scary way, multiple times as a kid, the KKK was in my backyard. And then I moved to Los Angeles.”
Arana said she expected L.A. to be 180-degrees from her experience in Texas, but what she found was just a different kind of racism.
“I moved to L.A., it is supposed to be very liberal, where we don’t deal with the scary stuff from the South. Hearing young kids who are not Black using the N-word,” she said, recalling a trip to Target that exposed her to some of L.A.’s brand of racism. “Just minding my business and hearing it.”
Arana is married to a Filipino man. An experience with her new in laws during a video chat crystallized her raw feelings into a focused and pointed examination of one possible timeline that could be lived.
“It just came to me, in a moment of just pure inspiration. I could take back some of the power,” she said, adding that she had the outline for “The Burden” written in no time that night.
“The Burden” will have its screening premiere in L.A. as it is one of the featured entries in The Anthology Film Festival, a six-day event dedicated to sparking, engaging, and spotlighting the art of storytelling. The event runs Sept. 24-29 at the AMC Grove 14 theater, located at 189 The Grove Dr, Los Angeles.
The film stars Rajiv Shah, Vachensky Vieux, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Samuel Ademola, DaJuan Johnson, Lavelle Roby, Fay Kato, Christopher Benitez, Ashley C. Ford, Louise Houghton, Aisha Lomax, and Puppett.
For more information, visit The Anthology Institute.
