Friday Night Videos

With immigration being a hot topic this political season--particularly with certain folks here, there and everywhere looking for convenient scapegoats to blame the economic recession on rather than the Bush administration's disastrous fiscal policies--it strikes me as apropos to feature Cheech & Chong's "Born in East L.A." on today's installment of Friday Night Videos. Interestingly, this is more of a Cheech Marin vehicle than a true Cheech & Chong collaboration, even though it originally appeared on their final album together. Cheech is testing the social commentary waters here, taking his first tentative steps toward breaking out of the drug-joke schtick that'd defined him up to this point. The video eventually spawned a surprisingly entertaining--if uneven--movie that is a full-blown political statement from Cheech. The video itself is interesting in itself, from the Jan Michael Vincent (I think) cameo as the immigration agent, to Cheech's great taste in cars (a 1955 Chevy Bel Air convertible), to a subtle allusion to the Oscar-winning 1983 film El Norte which gives a subtle hint as to what awaits the viewer in the coming big-screen adaptation.

But enough in-depth, overblown analysis. It's a fun video. Enjoy.



Previously on Friday Night Videos... Blue Öyster Cult.

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