Isn't that the whole fucking point of the show though? The main characters are terrible selfish assholes?
It’s not offensive, it’s just not that funny.
97% of Seinfeld's entertainment value is the bass line.
BA DOUH BUH shikka shikka BAH-DA (et al)
But if you make an observation and draw it out for a long time, that automatically makes it funny, right?
Not saying it's not funny, but there is definitely stuff in the show that wouldn't fly today. For example there is an episode where George didn't know black people ate salad.
For example there is an episode where George didn't know black people ate salad.
We're still getting asked questions like this and honestly, should be highlighted:
Pure facepalm Questions I've overheard or was involved in:
I don't like Seinfeld, but isn't George supposed to be an utter dunce?
Like, as a Zoomer, people not being able to tell the difference between portraying bigotry and endorsing it IS an actual problem I see.
I am reminded of Sokka's character in the new version of the Avatar (show) compared to the original animated one. In the original animated one, he portrays sexism and very much feels the consequences of it, and grows as a character when overcoming it (through warranted humiliation). The new show never included any of this and so his character lacks all of this. It's like the writers think they're endorsing his sexism if they ever included such a thing.
I don't think they are afraid of it, I think they just wanted to portray a more serious character overall. Live action lens itself to that serious tone, where It would be hard to replicate some of the slapstick gags in the anime and trying would fall flat.
He is and you're right.
He is also based on Larry David himself, and many of the most outrageous stunts he does in Seinfeld, David has done in real life. For example, George quitting his job just to regret it immediately and going back the next day as if nothing had happened, is based on Larry David doing exactly that as a writer on SNL. He made a big scene and quit, and just went back after the weekend and pretended like he'd been joking. Larry David is an interesting man to say the least.
He made a big scene and quit, and just went back after the weekend and pretended like he’d been joking.
Sounds like the whole situation could've been avoided by him curbing his enthusiasm
and a lot of questionable consent sex situations if I remember correctly
This was just the 80s-2000s in general.
There's a lot of really uncomfortable stuff portrayed for laughs during that era.
I heard on a podcast today that Larry David based the George character on himself. (The podcast is called Good Bad Billionaire, where a couple of people judge various billionaires on their ethics etc. TIL Jerry Seinfeld is a billionaire.)
Not a Seinfeld fan but I did see enough episodes of both it and Curb Your Enthusiasm to be annoyed that I didn't make this connection.
This whole "young people find everything offensive" narrative is ridiculous, and always has been. It's very beneficial to those who want to shift the Overton window, though.
I did a re-watch in the last couple years. Most of it was fine, even if it would not be a big hit these days. Jerry dates the Asian women? Yea that would get called out most likely. Elaine dates a guy she thinks is black? Pretty sure that still flies. Elaine is scarred she's dating a murderer? Probs a special two part episode these days. Shocks me how ahead of the curve they were with the Elaine gets gaped episode.
Oh yeah, that’s a gape
I guess I'm going to have to rewatch now.
That right there is some clickbait. I'm millennial and I was watching the show when it was on and loved it.
Yeah, not sure how old they think millennials are or when they thought Seinfeld aired
#HEY IT'S THE ASSMAN!
Meh, Jerry Seinfeld has been pushing the "I'm too offensive for young people" and "I've been cancelled" nonsense for a while now. He's just old and not funny anymore. Turns out telling the same jokes for 30 years doesn't get a lot of laughs. What is the deal with millennials anyway!
he unequivocally walked that back recently. said he was wrong to think that and it isn't a thing. he probably had a talk with his kid or something.
He probably had a long talk with his PR counselor and was advised that he stood to loose more then he would gain if he stuck to that.
I don't care honestly. the message is more important than the motive.
If they(we) think Seinfeld is offensive, what do they think of IASIP?
Well, IASIP is also actually funny, which helps.
I do wonder if whatever is "After GenZ/Gen Alpha" in the 2050s will look at IASIP and see it as disgusting unfunny and terribly offensive, as now their humor is beyond the surreal absurdness of skibidi toilet.
I'm an Xer and I didn't like Seinfeld, but that's mostly because I don't like embarrassment comedy. It's the same reason I don't like Will Ferrel and Ben Stiller, but to each their own. I don't begrudge anyone else finding it funny, it's just not my vibe.
I'm not saying you have to like Seinfeld or anything, but I wouldn't consider it embarrassment comedy. It's more about the gang being a bunch of sociopaths, like an early version of IASIP.
Maybe an episode about an minor pursuing Elaine written by someone who's ok with dating a minor when he was 35 should be raising questions. Or when they had an episode pushing Tort reform when they made fun of the woman who was burnt by scolding hot McDonalds coffee.
Seinfield, both the character and person, is just a selfish, unsympathetic person and we're suppose to view the world though. I'm glad he's being called out for his shallow snark. This has been a long time coming.
The whole show was people being shallow characters. That was the point.
In fairness on the coffee thing, few people have heard the whole story, even now. I think most people today still believe the story was "woman sues because coffee was hot and she got a little burned, and the jury went nuts" and don't know or care about the actual details.
Growing up with Seinfied and it's fans, it's asshole power fantasy written by rich assholes. All the biggest fans that I know from back then are big Trump supporters now. If that was the writer's intention, the watchers didn't get it. Jerry Seinfied going anti-woke is so incredibly on brand, I wonder why it surprised anyone.
Millennial here, Seinfeld is the bomb.
Millennial here. I tried to watch Seinfeld back in the day, and I thought it was kind of meh. But there was one character I really hated on the show. He had a whiny pathetic voice, was always complaining about something or another, and was just an awful actor, unlike the rest of the cast. I thought, if they just removed that one guy, the show would be great and I'd enjoy it so much more.
I found out later, that guy was Seinfeld. So... I never really got into the show.
Seinfeld is definitely the weakest character and the show is the most memorable from everyone else
I didn't realize people didn't like Seinfeld. It's a great show.
The show is OK. Parts of it didn't age that well (i.e. I got older and recognized there's a handful of racist narratives and depictions baked into it). But Jerry Seinfeld himself, holy cow is he a piece of shit in real life.
Racist narratives? Seinfeld has some episodes based on racism. The generally fall into two forms: making fun of racists and having one or more of the cast get accused of racism and hilariously try to prove they’re not.
If anything they’re making fun of the way the label of racist is impossible to get rid of once you’ve been tagged with it. It’s like being committed to a mental hospital and then trying to prove that you’re fine so they should just let you out.
...
Yeah, that and the racist depictions of Babu, the Chinese postman and restaurant staff, the inexplicably Middle Eastern "Soup Nazi"...the fact that the only time black people ever appear on the show is to tokenize them and make an issue out of their identity...same with the association of Hispanic people with criminality (i.e. the two Puerto Rican guys with the armoir)...that is just off the top of my head...
Are we talking about "Seinfeld", the slightly overrated comedy TV series, or "Seinfeld", the horrible human being?
Someone should tell them to definitely stay away from Curb Your Enthusiasm (created and starring the co-creator of Seinfeld). It's like a rated-R version of Seinfeld that has absolutely no boundaries. LOL
A place to share screenshots of Microblog posts, whether from Mastodon, tumblr, ~~Twitter~~ X, KBin, Threads or elsewhere.
Created as an evolution of White People Twitter and other tweet-capture subreddits.
Rules:
Related communities:
