Seinfeld
Dubbed one of the greatest sitcom of all time , Seinfeldis a classic fixture of ' 90s television receiver — however , there are some rough realities of watchingSeinfeldnow . Co - created by writer Larry David and comedian Jerry Seinfeld , who also stars as a version of himself , the long - running " show about nothing " has plenty of enduring episodes , characters , and lines . Looking back , though , some moments — or general attitude perpetuated by the gang — are cringe - desirable at best and downright offensive at uncollectible .
A rejection of sentimental , wholesome situation comedy , Seinfeldknowingly center on characters who are amazing ( and sometimes awfully relatable ) people . Jerry ( Seinfeld ) and his sidekick — best buddy George Costanza ( Jason Alexander ) , ex - turned - friend Elaine Benes ( Julia Louis - Dreyfus ) , and gonzo neighbour Cosmo Kramer ( Michael Richards ) — are often in the wrongfulness . At times , that makes for swell drollery , but sometimes , that assumption fall apart , making certain scene ( or episodes ) difficult to find out .
10Seinfeld’s Attitudes Toward Dating Haven’t Aged Well
It ’s no secret thatJerry dates lots of women onSeinfeld . Across the show ’s nine seasons , the comic date upwards of 60 women . There ’s no incertitude that part of the joke here is about Jerry ’s immaturity . He dismisses would - be girlfriend for superficial reasons , uses them for his own violent schemes , and mocks their feeling . WhileSeinfelddoesn’t needfully paint Jerry in the right , his actions are often grind or distressful , depending on the scenario .
In the second - ever instalment ofSeinfeld , “ The Stake - Out , ” Jerry effectively stalks a woman to get her number ; in time of year 4 , he enlists Elaine to suss out a potential lady friend ’s titty — claiming he could never date someone with implants ; and in " The Junior Mint , " Jerry struggle to so much as recall the name of the adult female he ’s seeing . Having a revolving threshold of date for Jerry was understandably a choice , but that disposable approach , and all the luggage that make out with it , are hard to stomach at times .
9Jerry’s Stereotypical And Offensive Jokes Are A Problem
While much of Jerry ’s comedy is observational , there are more than a few instances of the comic relying on faineant stereotype or bigoted takes for bum laugh . In time of year 5 , episode 10 , for deterrent example , Jerry buys a racist statue of an Indigenous someone as a " peace offer " and give it to Elaine in front of her ally , Winona ( Kimberly Norris Guerrero ) , who ’s a member of the Navajo res publica .
Somehow , Jerry hopes this derogatory " gift " and follow racist gag will prove his generosity and win him a date with Winona . But Jerry is n’t the only appendage of theSeinfeldgang to do something racist . In season 6 , George says something dysphemistic to his Black boss and tries to befriend another dark person to demonstrate that he ’s an unproblematic blanched guy . At time , Seinfeldconflated situational , " it ’s all a misunderstanding " style comedy with getting a pass for including vulgar jokes — not great .
8Some Of Jerry’s “Childish” Schemes Turn Dark
As established , Jerry is n’t a person most women would want to date , throw his selfish , immature , and often superficial action at law and attitude . Sometimes , Jerry ’s infantile schemes provide moment of levity , but at other times , his exploits take a sinister turn . In time of year 9 ’s " The Merv Griffin Show , " Jerry ’s man - nestling behavior goes from Superman gags and cereal grass box to queer a vast ethical line .
The episode feature an incrediblydarkSeinfeldmoment viewers still ca n’t believe the sitcom grow away with . Jerry ’s then - girl has an impressive collection of unopened time of origin toy , but the comedian ca n’t enclose his read/write head around the idea of display - only collectible and decide he ’ll find a way to fiddle with the toys . So , Jerry drugs his girl ; while she ’s knocked out , he play with the toys to his heart ’s depicted object . The date r*pe emblem here is play for jest , which was unforgivable in the ' 90s , too .
7Racist Moments Are Played For Laughs
Seinfeld ’s mold and charactersare memorable , but even a show that ’s intentionally about jerked meat ca n’t defend its instances of open racialism . As observe above , Jerry ’s offensive talent to Elaine is spoilt enough , but Jerry also tries to win over Winona that she ’s being too sensitive about the jokes he ’s telling at the expense of autochthonous people . In another episode , Jerry demean Formosan women , tell Elaine , " If I like their backwash , how can that be racist ? " The offhanded dehumanization of groups of people is just one of the many harsh realities of watchingSeinfeldnow .
Jerry is n’t the only one embroiled in racist moments , though . The studio audience may clap for Kramer when he split into Jerry ’s flat , but so many of his side plot line deserve jeer , not applause . In add-on to a scene with brownface , Kramer adopts AAVE while speaking with Black characters and perpetuates racist stereotypes against Asian men by deliver his house guests from Japan eternal sleep in dresser drawers . The bottom line : merely show a snowy character in the wrong does n’t mean the serial publication ' jokes are n’t perpetuating real , endure damage .
6Some Episodes Went Too Far For A Joke
Seinfeldhas many plot line no other show could ’ve done , but the ninth - time of year episode , " The Puerto Rican Day Parade , " was deemed so offensive that NBC pulled it off the melodic phrase . Because of a particularly troubling scene , the internet hold out on to issue a formal apology and banned the episode from syndication . However , the sequence has resurfaced on streaming in recent twelvemonth , and the debatable scene remains virtually inviolate .
The general premise of the episode is a middling solid comedy frame-up : the crowd gets stuck in awing New York City parade dealings , so the whole instalment is incorporate to their time - killing misadventures . George has an entire ridiculous optical maser pointer subplot , while Elaine gets stuck under the parade stand with other frustrated New Yorkers . Kramer , however , accidentally dress fire to a Puerto Rican flag and stomps on it , move a riot — and then goes on to obnoxiously liken the mob to mundane life in Puerto Rico .
5Jerry And George Leer At An Underage Teen
Jerry and George are n’t just judgmental of and inappropriate with women they date , but also with other people they encounter . One such example is the agency the two grownup men ogle a teen girl in season 4 ’s " The Shoes " episode . In a rather meta turn , the friends pitch a very alike toSeinfeld , a"show about nothing"to NBC . While George and Jerry are chatting with a internet executive , allege exec ’s teen daughter enters the office .
The episode makes a point of saying she ’s 15 — very much a minor . Even so , George ca n’t stop staring at the young cleaning woman ’s cleavage . He and Jerry argue that if something is in their " field of imagination , " they should n’t be maintain responsible for being inappropriate . To redeem their show , George and Jerry enlist Elaine ’s help , and she willingly shames the victim , note that the girl ’s low - cut clothes is the problem .
4Immigrants Are Often The Butt of Seinfeld’s Jokes
Many fans will remember Kramer ’s making love of Cuban cigars , but thing take a particularly troubling turn in " The English Patient " episode . Kraut manoeuvre down to Florida to visit his parents in a retirement community ; before he leaves , Kramer asks him to pick up some " Cubans " — a condition Jerry assumes refers to Kramer ’s dear cigars . However , several immigrants from Cuba turn up at Seinfeld ’s doorsill .
Kramer ’s intentionally vague , misleading input is play for laughter , but it just does n’t sit well . Not only has Kramer potentially need himself with human trafficking , but he also want to exploit the labor of the Cuban immigrants by having them seethe cigar for his benefit . It recalls the episode in which Jerry commence Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt ( Brian George ) — who was depicted in a harmful , stereotypical manner — extradite . While Jerry is impersonate as the job , that does n’t exempt the way people of color and immigrants are the butt of the joke .
3Seinfeld Pretended Its Gay Panic Wasn’t Homophobic
Jerry and George ’s oft - duplicate refrain of " Not that there ’s anything wrong with that " is Seinfeld ’s version of " no homo . " In season 4 ’s " The Outing , " Elaine notices a young womanhood eavesdropping on her conversation with Jerry and George , so , to make things more interesting , Elaine pretends her protagonist are a braw couple . Jerry and George playact along , but the allegedly harmless joke snowball when it ’s revealed the woman is a reporter for her college newsprint .
The episode is saturated with gay affright . None of the character want to be perceived as gay , but they also do n’t require their stifle - jerk reaction to paint them as homophobic . " Not that there ’s anything wrong with that " is exactly what common people like Jerry would say — the line fits the character . Still , it misses the marking . George uses his faux - sexuality as an excuse to break up with a woman he ’s seeing , but he ’s able-bodied to shed the identity as easily as he picks it up . In its sidereal day , the sequence was celebrated , but progressive for the ' 90s , unfortunately , just is n’t enough in 2023 .
2The “Man Hands” Episode Is ’90s-Style Transphobia
In time of year 8 ’s " The Bizarro Jerry " episode , Seinfeldintroduced another idiom that ’s wormed its way into the pop culture vocabulary : " man hands . " Jerry and the gang use the phrase to refer to Gillian ( Kristin Bauer van Straten ) , a woman Jerry ’s seeing . According to Jerry , Gillian is incredibly attractive , but her deal are blemished . Not only is this a wildly immature and shallow take , but it ’s root in transphobia , too . Not only does the phrase " human beings workforce " sound like a TERF weenie whistle , but Jerry ’s reaction to a mortal with larger hands is derisory .
While at dinner , Gillian crack a lobster in two with easiness , demasculinize and unsettle Jerry . subsequently , she reaches to tint Jerry ’s face , and he ’s tired of . To make matters more frustrative , the close - ups of Gillian ’s hand are actually those of humans who worked on the show ’s gang . The gag might seem harmless or like another example of Jerry criticizing his dates for derisory reasons , but the " serviceman hands " meme endures , making this one a frustrating watch , return the kind of transphobic rhetoric that ’s so common today .
1Seinfeld Consistently Features Ableist Humor
It ’s probably no surprise thatSeinfeld , like many sitcoms in the ' 90s , struggled to depict disabled characters . Instead , chronically ill and disabled people were — like many other historically marginalize group on the show — inclose for gag . " The Bubble Boy " installment marks one of thedumbest conclusion George take : he gets into a physical fight with Donald , a chronically ominous kid , over a misprinted Trivial Pursuit resolution .
Susan , George ’s then - fiancé , accidentally puncture Donald ’s protective medical bubble , depressurizing it and put him in grave danger . At first , the scene feels like an accurate characterisation of George — the kind of person who would get into a row with a teenager over a board game — but then the bodily fluid devolves into express mirth at Donald ’s state of affairs . In another installment , George and Kramer knowingly allow a char with a faulty wheelchair . Again , the physical comedy conjures laughter from the studio audience , but it rings very hollow when watching now .
