In Living Color: Breaking Down Racial Barriers with Humor
American television has used the popularity and lighthearted nature of comedy to address a variety of serious, societal topics for decades. Comedy sitcoms such as I Love Lucy (1951-1957) presented the first multiethnic marriage on TV and All in the Family (1971-1979) consistently dealt with racial issues. However, though these comedy programs tackled complicated subjects, white men have produced many, if not all, of these shows and the cast of these shows lacked diversity. When In Living Color debuted in the 1990’s it broke the mold by being a show created, produced, and performed by an African American, Keenan Ivory Wayans (Cooks and Orbe, 217). By allowing minorities to create and helm a highly successful sketch comedy show, audiences of In Living Color were introduced to a show that expertly balanced racial diversity with humor and provided a comedic representation of minorities from a minority perspective.
The creation of In Living Color started when Keenan Ivory Wayans was approached by Fox Broadcasting Company to make a contemporary comedy variety show for their network. The broadcasting company wanted a comedy program to rival Saturday Night Live but with a more urban, raw tone. Fox was also aware of Wayans’ desire to produce a comedy television show of his own. After writing, directing, and staring in two successful satirical comedy films, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka and Hollywood Shuffle, Wayans was seen as the best possible candidate to create and deliver a show meeting the netowork’s needs. Fox gave Wayans creative freedom, which allowed him to bring on many of his siblings to help co-write and star in the show.
After a few of the episodes were shot, there was initial hesitation from Fox on some of the content before the series premiered. Though they appreciated the innovative parodies on a majority of the skits, there was an issue on few things, such as the “Men on Film” sketch. Wayans stated that the chairman of Fox sat down with him to persuade him to remove the “Men on Film” sketch from the premiere episode (Cooks and Orbe, 218). The network felt that broadcasting a skit on two black male homosexuals, even with a comedic take, was too controversial. However, since Wayans had significant contractual creative freedom with In Living Color, he decided to keep the sketch in.
On April 15, 1990 In Living Color first aired on Fox after the primetime show Married…. with Children (Cooks and Orbe, 217). The show was a Nielsen ratings hit, especially among young viewers, with 22.7 million people tuning in. Many critics gave the show favorable reviews as well. The show was groundbreaking in several aspects, such as the ethnicity and gender make up of the cast. The cast was primarily African American, which in its self was a first for a sketch comedy, but it also showcased several Caucasian Americans, an Asian American, and a Hispanic American. Throughout the show’s five seasons, there were several female comedians that graced the show, such as Kelly Coffield, Kim Coles, Anne-Marie Johnson, T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh, Carol Rosenthal, Kim Wayans, and Alexandra Wentworth. In Living Color also was the starting point for several actors that went on to have big Hollywood careers, such as Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Damon Wayans, Marion Wayans, and Shawn Wayans. The Fly Girls, which were an in house dance troupe that brought hip-hop dancing to the show’s mainstream audience, was choreographed by actress/dancer Rosie Perez and featured, a then unknown dancer, Jennifer Lopez in seasons 3-4. The show was nominated for several awards and won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series in 1990. In Living Color successfully ran for 5 seasons however, the Wayans family, with several other cast members, bowed out before the last season due to conflicts with the network. Keenan Ivory Wayans stayed on only as executive producer on the last season.
In Living Color used “laughter to exercise the demons of racism” (Schulman). By taking stereotypes and offensive jokes typically used to ridicule minorities and enforcing bigotry, the show reclaimed these themes and reworked them as tool to combat racism. The bitterness of hatred is stripped away and the ridiculousness of racism is exposed when these themes are written from the perspective of a minority and performed by a minority. In Living Color “tend(ed) to tip the scales in favor of African Americans” (Schulman) by displaying characters in positions of power and intelligence under a comedic guise. The show was, and continues to be, a legendary force in comedy television.
Works Cited
Cooks, Leda M. and Mark P. Orbe. “Beyond the Satire: Selective Exposure and Selective Perception in “In Living Color.” The Howard Journal of Communications 4.3 (Spring 1993): 217-233. Web. 17 March 2016.
Luther, Catherine A., et al. Diversity in U.S. Mass Media. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Print.
Schulman, Norma Miriam. “Laughing Across the Color Barrier: In Living Color.” Journal of Popular Film & Television 20.1 (Spring 1992): n. pg. Web. 17 March 2016.
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