Just looking at this picture, I can hear the strict chocolate factory lady in perhaps her most enduring television role demanding the most frightening line any would be chocolate factory worker can hear: "Speed it up a little!" I have tested this, this scene is funny regardless of culture or time period.
Here is an imitation from that scene in a sitcom aimed towards children back when I was younger called "Drake and Josh". I thought it was the pinnacle of comedy, and to a degree, it was! This setup and delivery can work in any time period with any given type of edible produce, given two proficient actors and a decent set. There are so many parts of I Love Lucy that have become a staple of American television, I don't even know where to begin.
Would you believe me if I told you the show was partially run by a Cuban immigrant less than ten years before the Cold War?
This man, named "Desiderio Alberto Arnaz yi de Acha III" which is usually shortened to "Desi Arnaz". The program was partially written by Desi Arnaz and his then wife, Lucille Ball, and the marketing and casting for the show was done almost entirely by the two of them. Desi Arnaz also composed all the music for the show and frequently sang numbers in episodes, since the plot had him as a stage performer. Even when America and Cuba were at their worst, Americans would tune into their televisions to watch reruns of a show about a Cuban immigrant and an American woman living happily married together.
This isn't a huge deal in diplomacy, by any means, but I like it. It shows that people and countries are different, and even at our worst, we can still get along. I think even the countries that may dislike Americans still have people that America needs, and if we decide to be the more mature nation, if nothing else, we will get some fantastic television shows.
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