![]() It's still funny because it's still true. But beyond those essential elements for success, so much of "In Living Color" still works simply because America is nearly as racist, sexist, classist, and problematic in 2018 as it was when its first season aired in 1990. It’s backed with music by several artists who are still doing their thing today, with R&B, hip-hop, and that New Jack Swing look and sound that Bruno Mars adapts for his "Finesse" remix. The cast is talented and the writing is exceptional. But "In Living Color" offers more than that, and when it hits, it really hits. Having a thorough archive of what is not OK, what we once found funny as a people, and the behaviors and instincts that we have to unlearn is a valuable thing - especially in the year of reckoning that is 2018. You’ll find a lot of that look back on humor from "pre-woke" America, and it’s important that we have those visual records. Along with their own brand of transphobia, homophobic stereotypes pepper sketches like "Men on Film." In fact, one of the "Men," David Allen Grier, has admitted that such a sketch now would have to be " totally rethought." An enterprising internet user can find full episodes of the entire show on YouTube, and in doing so, you’re admittedly going to find some sketches in there that are… well, problematic doesn’t even begin to describe Jim Carrey’s Vera DeMillo. While tackling mass incarceration, school inequality, hotels, white hip-hop artists, workplace racism, Hollywood diversity, and more, the show remains laugh-out-loud funny, and its staying power rests in the fact that, in many cases, the societal milieus they’re poking fun at haven’t changed at all. "In Living Color" often tackled race and social issues through humor - something "SNL" occasionally tries, while rarely having enough people of color on staff to succeed. While sometimes referred to as a "Black SNL," this mostly black sketch show was more than just counterprogramming to white comedy shows. ![]() Running for five seasons from 1990 until 1995, "In Living Color" intermittently employed most of the Wayans family and a host of talented comedians, including some standout future stars like the aforementioned Carrey, along with Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, and Jennifer Lopez. The single and video pairs 2018 with 1990, using the stage from Keenan and Damon Wayans’ comedy sketch show, "In Living Color." Mars’ video is a fun throwback to an era before "Dancing With the Stars," when Carrie Ann Inaba was better known as a Fly Girl, T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh had years to go before she'd be Raven-Symoné's mama, and Jim Carrey was still "James." But as much as this video was an easy win given our culture’s obsession with '90s nostalgia (y’all, I watched an entire "Ducktails" reboot marathon on New Year’s Eve), it was also the perfect match - because in 2018, "In Living Color" remains just as relevant as the latest Bruno Mars album. Or, at least, that's what it feels like.ĭespite having lived with this album for over a decade now (and with Mars’s and Mark Ronson’s hit single "Uptown Funk" for approximately half a century before that), "Finesse" and the full album still feel fresh and deeply relevant. " And even if you somehow haven't, you've definitely heard the original "Finesse" off Mars's 2016 offering, "24K Magic" - an album we've been listening to for nigh upon 18 years now. By now, you've probably seen the music video for Bruno Mars's latest single, "Finesse (Remix).
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