In Living Color (1990) Complete Archive Collection
The sketch comedy show helped launch the careers of comedians/actors Jim Carrey (then credited as "James Carrey"), one of only two white members of the original cast; Jamie Foxx, who joined the cast in the third season; and David Alan Grier (an established theater actor who had worked in Keenen Ivory Wayans' 1988 motion picture I'm Gonna Git You Sucka).
The series strove to produce comedy with a strong emphasis on modern black subject matter. It became renowned for parody, especially of race relations in the United States. For instance, Carrey was frequently used to ridicule white musicians such as Snow and Vanilla Ice, who performed in genres more commonly associated with black people. The Wayans themselves often played exaggerated black ghetto stereotypes for humor and effect.
A sketch parodying Soul Train mocked the show as Old Train, suggesting the show (along with its host, Don Cornelius) was out of touch and only appealed to the elderly and the dead. When asked about the show's use of stereotypes of black culture for comedy, Wayans said, "Half of comedy is making fun of stereotypes.
They only get critical when I do it. Woody Allen has been having fun with his culture for years, and no one says anything about it. Martin Scorsese, his films basically deal with the Italian community, and no one ever says anything to him. John Hughes, all of his films parody upscale white suburban life. Nobody says anything to him. When I do it, then all of a sudden it becomes a racial issue. You know what I mean? It's my culture, and I'm entitled to poke fun at the stereotypes that I didn't create in the first place. I don't even concern myself with that type of criticism, because it's racist in itself."
Prominent skits:
"The Homeboy Shopping Network", featuring Damon and Keenan as streetwise criminals operating an unlicensed, Home Shopping Network-style shopping network out of the back of their van to sell stolen goods.
"Fire Marshal Bill", featuring Carrey as an unhinged, dangerously incompetent fire marshal.
"Men on Film", featuring Damon and Grier as effeminate black film critics with exaggerated physical motions, such as "two snaps up".
"Homey D. Clown", featuring Damon as a misanthropic, verbally abusive clown doing demeaning entertainment gigs for low pay as part of his prison release program.
"East Hollywood Squares", featuring many of the cast in a ghetto parody of the game show Hollywood Squares.
"Benita Buttrell", featuring Kim Wayans as an untrustworthy neighborhood gossip.
Parodies of Arsenio Hall (who was popular on his own show at the time) by Keenan Wayans.
"Calhoun Tubbs", a blues singer (played by Grier) who sang extremely short songs (about 10 seconds each) at the slightest provocation.
MEDIA INFOMATION :
Container = Matroska (mkv)
Encoder = HEVC H.265 - 480p
Audio (English)
Subtitle (English)