Description: An entertaining yet conscientious examination of the popular sketch show In Living Color, which broke racial, cultural, and comedy boundaries; launched the careers of stars such as Jamie Foxx and Jim Carrey; and helped shape comedy in the 21st century.
Brief description: Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, photographer, and author who is currently the nights & weekends reporter at HipHopDX and the senior news writer at Daily Express. Her work has been featured in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and many more. Giacomazzo was also the executive editor of LatinTRENDS Magazine and the Eye Candy editor of XXL Magazine. In addition to releasing her poetry chapbook, Aquarius Rising, with Nightingale & Sparrow Press, Giacomazzo also released In Living Color: A Cultural History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023) and The Golden Girls: A Cultural History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023). Based in New York City, Giacomazzo has also worked on various film and television projects and is the author of the critically acclaimed dystopian fiction books, The Uprising Series.
Review Quotes:
"Giacomazzo (Swimming with Sharks) writes a thorough analysis of what a monumental TV show In Living Color came to represent and the sociocultural background that played a role in its shaping. At a time when the fragility of the white identity would not leave a lot of room for Black sketches and comedians, Keenan Ivory Wayans internalized the experience of earlier enterprises like The Richard Pryor Show to create a series that would give the main stage to unapologetic Blackness and Black comedy. Giacomazzo discusses many of the skits that rewrote the history of Black sketch shows, acknowledges episodes that were left out from syndication over the years, and invites readers to look through the cultural lens of the times when they were produced. It is undeniable In Living Color (1990-94) represented an invaluable milestone in opening up a conversation about race and social and cultural justice. A must-read book on the history of a show that molded Black comedy sketches and brings together different threads of social awareness, race, entrepreneurship, comedy, resilience, and bravery in the face of a world not used to seeing "in living color."" --Library Journal, Starred Review
"In Living Color, the sketch-comedy hit of the early 1990s, broke particular ground in its initial airing and continues to maintain cultural relevancy today. Created by Keenen Ivory Wayans with a largely Black cast, the show managed to find success in the largely white television landscape. The iconic opening line of its theme song--"You can do what you want to do"--became the ethos of a program that spoke directly to the experiences of being Black in the 1990s. Giacomazzo takes a deep dive into the history of the show, examining how the characters and sketches operated in its initial run as well as providing a rundown of sketches that were deemed too raw for future airings, illustrating when the "do what you want to do" philosophy ran against censorship standards. While the show is known for introducing the Wayans family, Jim Carey, and even "fly girl" dancer Jennifer Lopez, Giacomazzo demonstrates how In Living Color's legacy resonates much further than the careers it launched. An incisive and rigorously researched look at how television is created and consumed, particularly a show by Black creators for Black audiences, this is a worthy addition to any library's media-studies collections." --Booklist, Starred Review