There is the bake your own pizza pizzeria, the refillable necktie dispenser and the rubber bladder for oil tankers. He is constantly coming up with new ideas. But that comfort can often lead us to laziness. We embrace the status quo because of the comfort it provides. We resist change and growth throughout our lives. Unfortunately, this is often an accurate representation of the real world. In Seinfeld, a world where there is no learning, there is also no growth.This makes for good comedy, but not for a healthy life. But as soon as he makes this commitment he becomes wracked with regret. In another situation, George becomes engaged to his girlfriend, Susan. His experience is unfulfilling and denigrated by his friends. In one episode George longs to tell a girlfriend that he loves her, but when he does, she doesn’t reciprocate. The characters in Jerry’s world move through life without ever expressing emotions.And although the Seinfeld crew never learned anything, there is a lot that we can learn from them. There was never a concluding tear or hug of solidarity. There were certainly dilemmas, but no one learned lessons. Where traditional sitcoms include a dilemma for the characters that they must overcome and a lesson that they must learn, Seinfeld, resisted that formula. The writing is articulate, creative, original and very funny.īut Seinfeld, the show that was famously about nothing, had one essential theme: “No hugging, no learning.” The guiding philosophy for creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David was that the characters should never learn anything or change. That is why there are some episodes (and by some episodes I mean, The Chinese Restaurant) that I can quote along with Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer. ![]() That is why there are “seinfeldisms” in my everyday language. The more time I spend with my favorite show, the more I realize that it is all about the writing. But it is not the actors, the characters or the chemistry that are most important. ![]() I hate it when I anticipate an “impending intestinal requirement.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that.įor me Seinfeld is the perfect blend of four unusual characters that had an uncommon chemistry on screen. Replacing the tissue in the bathroom requires a long recitation about the importance of being able to “spare a square.” I always want to get credit for purchasing the “big salad.” And if it were possible, I would only shop at the jerk store. The discourse of our family has changed as well. Even when I don’t participate in a full-blown celebration, I recognize December 23 as a “Festivus for the rest of us.” To avoid an uncomfortable discussion I might offer a yada yada. We now talk about “puffy shirts,” “soup nazis,” and being “Master of your domain.” I now know what a close talker, a low talker and a sidler are. ![]() It is not lost on me that much of the vocabulary of Seinfeld has entered into our national conversation. I’m sure that it takes a special sense of humor to get as much joy from Seinfeld as I do, but these episodes never get old for me. In fact, I think that I will likely believe this for the next 20 years. I know that there is no objective way to determine the quality or inherent “goodness” of one show over another, but I have maintained for the last 20 years or so that this statement is true. In a TEDx Talks, John Davidson from GameStop talks about how instant gratification is harming society.Seinfeld is the best American television program ever. And on a large scale, it changes our brain chemistry. I love the convenience, but the options we have today exacerbates our desire for instant gratification. ![]() How crazy is that, when you really think about it? When I was a kid, one, there wasn’t Zevia, and two, if you wanted to make a purchase like that, you had to physically go to a store and get it off the shelf. I went onto Amazon, ordered it and the Amazon elves brought it to our house by 8am the next morning. The other night around midnight, I realized that we had run out of Zevia cola before I went to bed. We can get virtually anything we want delivered by the Amazon elves overnight. We can get food delivered to our door with the tap of a button. In our society, we have immediate access to everything. And it can be applied in every area of our lives, not just masturbation. The deeper meaning behind this episode is the idea of not just giving into self or instant gratification.
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