Saturday, April 25, 2009

The Fine Brothers Make Political Satire a Political Statement with Anti Prop 8 Web Series

Prop 8: The Web Series is created by Benny and Rafi Fine and challenges Prop 8 the ruling that banned some 18,000 same-sex marriages in California. The series shows what would happen if other rights were taken away from you just like rights were taken away from same sex couples in California recently. The series has had a successful run thus far. It was written up in Variety and Tubefilter when it launched and the first two episodes have been viewed nearly 75,000 times the brothers’ YouTube channel, as well as on CollegeHumor, FunnyOrDie, DailyMotion, MySpace and other sites.

Even still, many sites are shying away from the content due to polarized atmosphere caused by the issue. “As you can imagine, despite personal opinions some of the companies did not want the controversial and possible backlash the series can create, and in a weakened economy, it’s hard to find folks willing to spend money at all in web video currently, let alone for a political message,” said the Fine Brothers. "We created the show out of our own pocket and are using our web celebrity and fanbase to raise awareness for equal rights in our style of comedy. We plan to continue to be involved in the movement until marriage rights are legal for all couples, same sex or otherwise, in California, and the rest of the country."



The third episode of their show "Prop 8: The Web Series" has just been released, this time showcasing in their usual absurdist style what would happen if a proposition was passed to bring back Slavery.

"Prop 8: The Web Series" - Episode 3 - Slavery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-OCbNfCTnI

The Fine Brothers say they'll produce more videos through the time a decision is made on the case by California Supreme Court. “We hope the ruling ends the issue specifically of Prop. 8, at which time we will refocus our efforts to providing content related to federally legalizing same-sex marriage,” they said. “We also hope to get in touch with the leaders of the cause locally, and help them produce official content if they saw us fit to do so.”

Related: