During the early to mid 90's was a time where shows began to tread the fine line that could be taken as offensive, rather than how political correctness would censor shows. You had your late night sketch comedy shows like Saturday Night Live, then you had In Living Color and Culture Clash who had some skits that could have been pulled off the air at any given moment. In Living Color was a success, it helped pave the way for several of the cast members to continue their careers at a much higher level than a simple television show with shared success.
Culture Clash on the other hand was a bit more obscure, and to be honest was a show that wasn't afraid to mock actual 'culture' and even the slang of being bilingual. That's not to say that the show wasn't good, by no means was this full of thoughtless skits but rather it acknowledged a very true situation where the actual comedy was focused on living with American culture along with immigration. When it comes to this form of comedy it can, and likely did, offend several people and not just for personal gain of one culture.
Watching the show now made it clear that racial slurs were allowed to slip through any censorship, and while I don't agree with that language being said, most of their skits had merit behind it all and were a reality for several people. I don't recall it lasting more than a year but I suppose it must have had syndication in another time slot or channel when this series aired. Most of the highlights were the guests on the show, the ones I remember the most were Edward James Olmos and Oscar De La Hoya.
Other than some offensive comments made, which were expected, I did like part of the show that had it's Spanish word of the day that made the show a bit more educational. It almost makes me feel that Dora The Explorer stole their idea, but I remember that being one of the main things I remembered about the show. I have to keep reminding myself of the era this show was in syndication, the LA riots were still fresh in our memory yet this was all intended to make people laugh.
It's why I believe this show never got much recognition, I myself was afraid to even ask other people if they watched the show at times because of some jokes they did. It also feels like the television networks tried to sweep this all under the rug because most of the information is hard to find, even on this site there's not much to say about it other than people have a blurry memory of it all. I still can't find my favorite skits from the show, and I've tried to find all the videos online.
I suppose it's not a show that everyone would fully understand, most of the jokes were about immigration and the language barrier. The rest was generally jokes about American culture, and how the early 90's were. It was a different time, it makes me feel that this show was intended to shed some light on a dark reality of stereotypes but finding ways to laugh it off and move on rather than dwell on tough times.
This show may have been forgotten by most, but it did have an impact on several comedians who never would have had a chance. Their jokes were taken bad at times but if you watch them now, there are several jokes that hold up very well. It's worth checking out, the gems shine far more than the filler material in this show and it's why I remember it.
Culture Clash on the other hand was a bit more obscure, and to be honest was a show that wasn't afraid to mock actual 'culture' and even the slang of being bilingual. That's not to say that the show wasn't good, by no means was this full of thoughtless skits but rather it acknowledged a very true situation where the actual comedy was focused on living with American culture along with immigration. When it comes to this form of comedy it can, and likely did, offend several people and not just for personal gain of one culture.
Watching the show now made it clear that racial slurs were allowed to slip through any censorship, and while I don't agree with that language being said, most of their skits had merit behind it all and were a reality for several people. I don't recall it lasting more than a year but I suppose it must have had syndication in another time slot or channel when this series aired. Most of the highlights were the guests on the show, the ones I remember the most were Edward James Olmos and Oscar De La Hoya.
Other than some offensive comments made, which were expected, I did like part of the show that had it's Spanish word of the day that made the show a bit more educational. It almost makes me feel that Dora The Explorer stole their idea, but I remember that being one of the main things I remembered about the show. I have to keep reminding myself of the era this show was in syndication, the LA riots were still fresh in our memory yet this was all intended to make people laugh.
It's why I believe this show never got much recognition, I myself was afraid to even ask other people if they watched the show at times because of some jokes they did. It also feels like the television networks tried to sweep this all under the rug because most of the information is hard to find, even on this site there's not much to say about it other than people have a blurry memory of it all. I still can't find my favorite skits from the show, and I've tried to find all the videos online.
I suppose it's not a show that everyone would fully understand, most of the jokes were about immigration and the language barrier. The rest was generally jokes about American culture, and how the early 90's were. It was a different time, it makes me feel that this show was intended to shed some light on a dark reality of stereotypes but finding ways to laugh it off and move on rather than dwell on tough times.
This show may have been forgotten by most, but it did have an impact on several comedians who never would have had a chance. Their jokes were taken bad at times but if you watch them now, there are several jokes that hold up very well. It's worth checking out, the gems shine far more than the filler material in this show and it's why I remember it.
