In the history of television, few shows have had the pop culture impact thatSeinfelddid. At its peak in the late 1990s, it was the biggest thing on TV. Every week it seemed like the series created new catchphrases that then became part of the lexicon, from “Yada yada yada” to “No soup for you!” and “Not there’s anything wrong with that.” When Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Kramer (Michael Richards), and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) left NBC airwaves in 1998, the series and its importance didn’t really fade due to syndication and DVD releases, and now with its streaming run on Netflix.
It’s crazy to think that it’s been a quarter of a century since that much maligned season finale aired. WhileSeinfeldis still part of our zeitgeist, it’s watched now in a world much different from the one it was then. Though it’s still as great and funny as it was then, it can also be hard to watch due to just how different the culture of then and now is.Friends, another late 90s NBC mainstay, has also struggled with how it looks now, but because ofSeinfeldand its broader impact, how we see it now, especially with younger viewers watching it for the first time, holds a mirror up to who we used to be.
RELATED:Why ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Is So Hard to Watch Now
‘Seinfeld’ Shows a Safer World That No Longer Exists
Our world has been altered in so many ways from 1990s. Part of that is out of the control of Jerry Seinfeld,Larry David, or anyone else that wrote for the series. Their view of New York, where the Seinfeld Four lived their self-centered lives, was a carefree place where the biggest concerns shown were dating, movies, baseball, and soup. Even though most ofSeinfeldwas filmed in Los Angeles and not New York, it looked and felt like New York. You can’t help but watch the show now and see a pre 9/11 world, where everything still somewhat made sense, and there wasn’t fear around every corner.
Seinfelddoesn’t have any scenes that take place in the World Trade Center, but one episode unintentionally hits too close to home in a now uncomfortable moment. In Season 8’s “The Nap,” George Costanza is working for the New York Yankees. Wanting to find a way to take a nap during the day without being noticed, he has an area built under his desk where he can disappear for some afternoon slumber.When his boss, Yankees ownerGeorge Steinbrenner, comes looking for George in his office, only to find it presumably empty, he decides to wait for George to return. Unbeknownst to him, Costanza is under his desk and is now unable to come out without being noticed.
To escape and get Steinbrenner out of the office, George calls Jerry and whispers that he needs him to call in a bomb threat. That’ll get everyone, including Steinbrenner, away. Steinbrenner gets the call from Jerry, who is pretending to be a terrorist bomber. When Steinbrenner hears a clock ticking under George’s desk, he runs out of the office yelling about a bomb. He then caves to Jerry’s terrorist demands, which end up being that he wants the Yankees to have a Fitted Hat Day. It’s peakSeinfeldabsurdity, and while still funny, to watch it now makes one squirm a little bit.
Diversity Was Not a Strong Point for ‘Seinfeld’
The biggest criticism aboutFriendsnow is how almost every single person, from the main cast to the smallest role, is white.Seinfeldhas similar issues when looking at it in 2023, but it doesn’t quite get the grief thatFriendsdoes. That’s because it’s creators, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, are both Jewish. On top of that, their religion is not hidden but discussed in several episodes. Though Jerry’s character is the only Jewish one of the main four, all the main actors (Seinfeld, Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards) are Jewish. Several other characters throughout its run are Jewish as well.
Still, this is whereSeinfeldgets itself some criticism today due to how often the series poked fun at Judaism, such as in the Season 9 episode “The Serenity Now,” where non-Jewish Elaine discovers her “shiksa appeal,” with several Jewish men attracted to her. A young Jewish boy even renounces his faith because he’s so enamored with Elaine. Most memorably is Season 8’s “The Yada Yada Yada,” whenJerry’s dentist, Dr. Whatley (Bryan Cranston), converts to Judaism. Whatley begins to make several off color jokes about Judaism, ones he can seemingly now get away with since he too is now Jewish, but Jerry is concerned that he only converted for the jokes. “You’re an anti-dentite,” Kramer tells Jerry. “Next thing you know, you’ll be saying they should have their own schools.” It’s a funny way to look at some of the absurdities of religion, but in today’s climate, where Jewish people are under greater attack, whether with words from the likes ofKanye West, or through violent action in the increased number of hate crimes, the light look at the topic feels insensitive.
It’s not just religion that theSeinfeldgang gets themselves in trouble with. Very little is off limits. Kramer uses homeless men to pull a rickshaw during “The Bookstore” in Season 9.George attacks a sick kid in a bubble in Season 4’s “The Bubble Boy.“In Season 3’s “The Alternate Side,” Elaine dates a much older man who has a stroke. The studio audience laughs at Elaine’s disgust as she is now stuck spoon-feeding this wheelchair bound man who can barely move. Speaking of wheelchairs, in one episode, Season 4’s “The Handicap Spot,” a lazy George parks in a handicap spot. A woman in a wheelchair who couldn’t park there is later injured. When her wheelchair is broken, George and Kramer get her a cheap new one, but it falters, and she’s screaming as it careens down a hill.
Now Sensitive Topics Were Frequently Used for Comedic Purposes in ‘Seinfeld’
Seinfeldhad no problem ruffling feathers about race either. In “The Wizard” for Season 9, Elaine dates a man who she thinks is Black, but she’s too afraid to ask him. It’s awkward for them, and now it’s awkward for us, because who cares what his race is? In Season 5’s “The Cigar Store Indian,” Jerry gets himself in trouble with a Native American woman by leaning into offensive stereotypes. She gets upset, but we’re told that it’s her fault for being so easily offended when Jerry didn’t mean to do anything wrong. Jerry talks to a woman on the phone in Season 6’s “The Chinese Woman.” He’s interested because her name is Donna Chang, but when he meets her he’s disappointed that she’s not Asian. In Season 6’s “The Diplomat Club,” George gets in trouble by making an insensitive remark to a Black man, so then he tries to befriend someone else who is Black to show that he’s not racist. Season 8’s “The English Patient” has Kramer ordering Cuban cigars, but there’s a misunderstanding, and it’s Cuban men who show up instead. One character named Babu Bhatt (Brian George), who appears in a few episodes, is given every Afghani trope in the book. Then there’s the final season episode “The Puerto Rican Day,” where Puerto Ricans are stereotyped and Kramer accidentally burns the Puerto Rican flag. Even in the 90s, that was deemed offensive.
Sexuality is the subject of a few uncomfortable moments as well. It’s now hard to watch “The Beard” from Season 6, when Elaine tries to turn a gay man straight. In the episode, it actually works for a bit, with the man being with Elaine before identifying as gay again. It tells us that someone who is gay can choose their sexuality, even if for a short period of time. The most memorable instance ofSeinfeldand its look at homosexuality, however, comes from perhaps the show’s most popular episode. In Season 4’s “The Outing,” a female reporter Jerry is attracted to thinks that Jerry and George are a gay couple. They freak out. They can barely handle it.George’s mother ends up in the hospital at hearing the news. To show that they’re not homophobes though, whenever George or Jerry has a panic attack about being thought of us as gay, they’ll quickly follow it up with, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Today, in 2023, so many shows have an out gay character. It’s something we don’t worry about it, and it’s definitely not something to freak out about if you’re assumed to be gay when you’re not.
It might be hard to watch those examples today, butSeinfeldgets away with it. Part of that is simply by making some of those people who are attacked not so great themselves. The bubble boy is a jerk who had it coming. The woman in the wheelchair dumps Kramer for not being good-looking enough for her. The boyfriend Elaine thought was Black breaks up with Elaine because he thought she was Hispanic. But it goes deeper than that. WhileFriendsmight not have known what they were doing, or are guilty of being comedy from a different era,Seinfeldwas the “smart” comedy, the one that knew exactly what it was doing by mocking and making fun of others. Its main characters were supposed to be awful. They’re supposed to be self-centered and insensitive. In the end, in the finale so many disliked, the gang gets their comeuppance, going to trial for all the horrible things they’ve done and said, before being shipped off to jail.
In our current era we have a series likeIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Almost everyone is white and mean and self-involved.They’re constantly doing something offensive, but they too get away with it because they’re poking fun of such behavior. Those characters get their comeuppance every episode. InSeinfeld, that wasn’t always the case. Sometimes it’s written that the gang is actually right. They’re the put upon ones who have to deal with so many overly sensitive, easily offended people. For a past generation, and even for some growing up today, it’s still one of the greatest shows ever made. For others, it’s an impossible watch.Seinfeldmay have claimed to be a show about nothing, but it was really about a lot, and not all of it has aged well.
