The Nineties in America - Salem Press (2009)

Alan Grier, and Tommy Davidson.
The show’s hip-hop dance troupe,
the Fly Girls, included Jennifer Lo-
pez, who became a popular singer
and actress in the late 1990’s.
In Living Color set itself apart
from other variety shows of previous
decades by putting African Ameri-
can concerns at the forefront and by
using African American communi-
cation styles to express those con-
cerns, without sacrificing comedy.
One of the strengths of the show,
aside from its phenomenal cast, was
its writing. The show took on white
American icons and placed them in
an African American context,
thereby creating social satire. Of-
ten, the show would poke fun at
America’s conformist culture of the
1950’s and 1960’s by taking a situa-
tion comedy or drama from the era
and placing it in a 1990’s urban context. In one skit,
Lassieis set in an inner-city housing project, and the
title canine is a pit bull. With titles such as “The
Wrath of Farrakhan,” “The Making of a Tracy Chap-
man Song,” “Ray Charles in Charge,” “Jesse Jackson
Children’s Books,” and “Barbara Bush Visits the Illit-
erates,” the sketches were edgy, witty, and sometimes
controversial.
The Wayans and others created memorable re-
curring characters and sketches, including Homey
D. Clown (Damon Wayans), a frustrated ex-convict
working as a children’s clown; Fire Marshal Bill (Jim
Carrey), a deranged officer who teaches fire safety
by demonstrating on himself; and the “Homeboy
Shopping Network” (Damon and Keenen Ivory
Wayans), a parody of the Home Shopping Network
that features two black men who sell stolen goods
usually from the back of their truck.
By the end of the fourth season, many of the
show’s most memorable actors had left to pursue
other interests, usually film roles. Keenen Ivory
Wayans had left because of disputes with Fox over its
censorship and syndication of the series.

Impact Offering cutting-edge comedy skits and
musical performances,In Living Colorwas a model
for future comedy variety shows such asChappelle’s
Show, starring Dave Chappelle.

Further Reading

Samuels, Allison. “The Color of Funny.”Newsweek,Au-

gust, 2000, 54-56.

Tucker, Ken. “In Living Color.”Entertainment Weekly,

April 27, 1990.

Dodie Marie Miller

See also African Americans; Carrey, Jim; Censor-

ship; Comedians; Hip-hop and rap music; Latinos;

Race relations; Rock, Chris; Shakur, Tupac; Televi-

sion.

 Income and wages in Canada

Definition Earning and payment of money

deriving from capital or labor in Canada

In the 1990’s, disparity in income and wages sharply di-

vided Canadian society into economically based classes.

In the 1990’s, the income of Canadians often varied

significantly depending upon the region of the coun-

try in which they lived and worked. The link between

income and region was not a phenomenon particular

to the decade but rather one dating back to the begin-

ning of the twentieth century. Ontario and British Co-

lumbia had the highest per capita incomes, which

446
Income and wages in Canada The Nineties in America

From left: Kim Wayans, David Alan Grier, and Jim Carrey at a script rehearsal forIn

Living Colorin 1991. Keenen Ivory Wayans is on the far right.(©Neal Preston/

Corbis)