"I love Lucy": breaking Language & Cultural Barriers

(This post is part of the Loving Lucy Blogathon hosted by True Classics)

One of the things from I love Lucy that stand out for me, is the fact they included speaking another language, español in this case, as a recurrent situation. The fact that Ricky Ricardo is Cuban means that there's a cultural barrier between him and Lucy. But I like the way they approached to these barriers throughout the series: it was a problem for both of them, not just for one of them; it meant that Lucy wasn't able to speak a second language and that she didn't know much about her husband's country, and it meant that Ricky had to struggle to improve his English.

Many hilarious scenes were born from this subject. Remember when Lucy recreates "Cuba" for Ricky to feel at home? It's obvious that she mixed a lot of the general ideas about what Latin America is: ponchos, donkeys, Brazilian songs, lots of kids...

This is a common problem in a lot of American movies: the portray of different cultures is based on prejudice, stereotype and lack of research. Why I don't mind this in the case of I love Lucy? Because the screenwriters decided to make it evident by exaggerating the elements and turning it into something positive by showing that Lucy is making an effort to help her foreign husband.

Another of my favorite scenes is when Lucy meets her mother-in-law and then when she tries to explain her what they're having for supper. Here, both women are in the same situation, trying to help each other, because both have a lack of knowledge:

Another recurrent situation is Lucy making fun of Ricky's accent and difficulty to express correctly what he's trying to say (from 00.00 to 01.26):

But at the same time, there are many times where Lucy simply cannot follow her husband or his friends and she's equally lost and depends only on him to understand what the heck is going on:

In one episode they discuss their language problem. Lucy says she wants her child to speak perfect English; Ricky says his English is good, so Lucy tests him. Even when things start bad for poor Ricky, in the end, there's no winning figure: English's rules are weird sometimes.

In another episode, the Ricardos visit Cuba and the roles are reversed. Lucy meets her husband's family for the first time, but because she doesn't speak Spanish she feels uncomfortable and nervous. Little Ricky, on the other hand, enjoys the advantages of speaking more than a language:

So, at the end of the day what matters the most in this show, are those elements that bring people together, no matter where are they from. Another example of this is when Ricky tells the child The Little Red Riding Hood (La Caperucita Roja) and we all understand what he's saying, even when it's in Spanglish.

There are universal things that go beyond any language/cultural barrier. I love Lucy understands that and work on that with respect and fairness (and a great sense of humour), and I think that's one of  things that made it so successful around the globe.