Jun 26, 1996·35 posts by 30 posters·alt.tv.seinfeld
😂 Loved it🔥 Controversial
Fans praise Susan's death as beneficial for the show, preferring episodes with brief relationships; discussion includes episode ideas and tangential debate about racial representation on Seinfeld.
Good thing she died. The show is at its best when George and Jerry are going from girlfriend to girlfriend. I think the writers should keep all the characters simply dating. Perhaps two or three episodes maximum with the same GF or BF. Aside from that I'm really an addict. I get all sad when it ends at 11:30 here in NY. Does anyone tape them? I was thinking of starting. Hey, I'm sure this has come up (This is the first time I've visited this newsgroup), but let's hear some Seinfled episodes you would want to see written: I'll start (Man I'm such a geek!)
A fishing trip in which Kramer, George, Jerry and Newman all compete for the pool fish. When a fish hits Kramer's line he could flop around and disrupt the people around him, in classic slapstick form. George could do a "bad luck" thing where he complains the whole time and gets ripped off by the boat mates (Such as having to pay for lost lures, buying a $5 bag of chips or losing his hat in the water). Newman would, of course, have to be devious and try to win the pool money any way he could.
Kramer gets a computer!!! Discovers chatting!! It would write itself!!!
Timothy remember the episode where George gets really worred because he feels he can't comunicate with back people so he asks that black exterminator guy to go out to eat with him? I think this episode shows that Seinfeld is not racist at all, their just no very well orientated with the African-American culture; although I do believe Kramer has many black friends, they just don't show them on TV, mor do they show his other friends.
The word 'Jews' was mentioned in a Seinfeld episode. In the Limo, George blurts out something like "The Jews hate grass - they invented AstroTurf" while on the car phone to cover up that he had dialed 911. Wheb George was reading aloud, in the speech that Donald O'Brian was to read that night, the Jews were attributed as exploiting blacks to sell drugs in the ghetto or some similar nonsense like that.
I'm not sure if Seinfeld is a "racist" show, but I do know a little about the "slimy lawyer" bit. He's supposed to be a parody of O.J. Simpson's lawyer Johnnie Cochran (the Seinfeld lawyer's first name is "Jackie").
There was also an African-American athlete (I'm not exactly sure if he was from America, actually), who I didn't feel was portrayed in a negative manner. In fact, it seemed as if Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George were shown as being much more awkward and silly than the athlete was!
I guess Seinfeld likes to make just about everyone look exaggerated in their own ways. I really don't think it was intended to come across as being insulting to any particular persons!
Well, either this is some really tasty "flame bait" (tm) or some persons unintelligent review of an excellent sitcom. Using the above logic, shows such as Martin , Fresh Prince, ... (many of which I enjoy and watch) are "anti-white" because they dont' protray many caucazoids, but that would be plain silly. The slimy lawyer you refer to is more a parody of johnny cochrane then a negative stereotype of the African-American race. Just thought I would share
There is also the African-American man who does work for the Big Brother program. Is this a negative portrayal?
Also, Kramer dates an African-American woman and then falls asleep in the tanning bed. :-)
There is also an African-American woman at the party where George wears the engagement ring, and he kicks himself upon discovering that she believes in casual sex, only not with married men.
Well, just to throw my 2 pennies in, Al Roker, the black NYC weatherman, made a cameo appearance at the end of the "TV Guide" episode and even flirted with Elaine, a white woman. The depiction of a real-life, successful African-American who can be a genuine role model is worth more than a million depictions of stereotyped blacks on such crap as "Martin."
The most recent Sienfeld I watched portrayed a black runner who overslept for a race because Kramer blew out the buildings power and subsequently the alarm clock didn't go off. How exactly is that racist?
I think the original questioner in this thread doesn't have a solid grip - assuming he wasn't a troll. In this series, Seinfeld's friends are pretty limited: George (the guy he grew up with in high school), Elaine (his ex-girlfriend), and Kramer (his next-door neighbor). He has three solid friends. Why is it strange that a white person has three close friends who also happen to be white?
I live in the inner city. I am white, and all of my close friends are too. People simply gravitate toward others with similar interests. That's part of the reason Seinfeld is so popular; it isn't PC. It is a slice of life.
If you are black and looking for "representational television," there are many other shows on TV which will accomodate you. But to call Seinfeld racist is just blather. It is more realistic than "Married With Children."
Racist compared to what? MARTIN? Where EVERY time they need a patsy it's ALWAYS a white guy! And of course the CLASSIC Martin line where he is talking to the black wife of a white judge after he tries to use color to get out of a ticket: "You can always come back baby, you can always come back to our side" I could go on... F.P.o.B, etc.
On a white show that would be racist, on a black show that would be what? getting even... yeah and O.J's innocent... Of course the fact that Seinfeld has shown blacks in responsible, management positions doesn't count...
Go pedal your crap on someone else's newsgroup, none of us are interested!
-Dennis
"You can find good and evil in equal parts where ever you look. Which one you decide to bring into your life is up to you." -Dennis
Not only that, Elaine and Jerry let Jean-Paul sleep in their apartments. Jerry even spent money to put him in a hotel. Don't know many racists who would do that!
Jerry loves Jean-Paul. Elaine and Jerry both let Jean-Paul stay at their places. Kramer even let Jean-Paul take a dip it's silly to complain that there are no positive african-americans. By that logic, Seinfeld is anti-italian americans because of their portrayals of Frank and Estelle Constanzas !!
"Why are everyone so sensitive !? If you ask me which way is Israel, you wouldn't see me fly off the handle !!!"
Geez....people are seeing things that aren't there! The lawyer hired by Kramer was a knockoff on Johnnie Cochran, who is black. I really don't think they portray blacks or anyone else in a bad light.
*****************************************************************************
Lori Ann Chauvette | Only love can break a heart....but only a
[email] | sledgehammer can break the window of a
| '57 Chevy. :-)
* In Timothy Hall
* writes:
* >
* >Seinfeld is a racist show. The only Afrikans that are portrayed are
* >negative stereotypes, like the slimy lawyer employed by one white
* >character with the Don King hair.
*
* -----------------------------------------------------------------------
*
* Give me a @#$%((*!! break!!
*
* Racist compared to what? MARTIN? Where EVERY time they need a
* patsy it's ALWAYS a white guy! And of course the CLASSIC Martin line
* where he is talking to the black wife of a white judge after he tries
* to use color to get out of a ticket: "You can always come back baby,
* you can always come back to our side" I could go on... F.P.o.B, etc.
*
* On a white show that would be racist, on a black show that would be
* what? getting even... yeah and O.J's innocent... Of course the fact
* that Seinfeld has shown blacks in responsible, management positions
* doesn't count...
*
* Go pedal your crap on someone else's newsgroup, none of us are
* interested!
*
* -Dennis
*
* "You can find good and evil in equal parts where ever you look. Which
* one you decide to bring into your life is up to you." -Dennis
What about the Schinder's List episode, where Jerry's parents were forcing him to see the movie and Newman caught him making out with his girlfriend instead of watching the movie?
I am almost certain that they mentioned they were jewish in that episode :)
Has anyone else that has responded to this post noticed that he is referring to one episode and doesn't seem to watch the show on a regular basis (if he's referring to Kramer as "the character with the Don King hair")?
*****************************************************************************
Lori Ann Chauvette | Only love can break a heart....but only a
[email] | sledgehammer can break the window of a
| '57 Chevy. :-)
No kidding. I don't know how this guy ended up on this newsgroup, but he is obviously not a long-time watcher of Seinfeld. If he were, he might not be so inclined to rush to judgement on this subject. The fact that he does, however, I think would have made him a perfect character for the episode of Seinfeld which dealt with racist stereotypes in such an intelligent, yet humorous, manner. Tim Hall would have been a perfect counterpart, for example, to the Chinese mailman who flew off the handle when Jerry asked him where the nearest Chinese restaurant was. This character thought Jerry assumed that because he was Chinese he would know where all the Chinese restaurants were; in reality, the mailman was bending over to get mail out of the mailbox. All Jerry saw was a mailman, not a Chinese man, who in his mind would know where the Chinese restaurant was because he would know the neighborhood (Die-hard fans please forgive the above redundant <to you> explanation. This is for the benefit of the original poster, who obviously has not seen this episode).
What a humorous scene it would be to watch the poster flying off the handle and chastising the writers of Seinfeld for the negative stereotype portrayed in Jean-Paul Jean-Paul. He didn't explain this very well, but I'm guessing that the point he is making is that because Jean-Paul overslept for the Olympics, the writers are trying to imply that people of African origin are shiftless and lazy. What an utterly rediculous notion! I'm not of African origin, yet I oversleep with the best of them. Does this make me shiftless and lazy? No! It just means I'm not a morning person.
"Aren't we all getting just a little too sensitive?" Jerry asks on that same episode. To that question I answer with a resounding "Yes!!" Racism is a fact of life, just like the many other facts of life that have been dealt with on this show. Unfortunately, there are some overly sensitive people among us who try to find racism in places where it isn't, yet somehow stumble upon what they're looking for (funny how that happens, itsn't it?). This is not to detract from the insidious nature of racism; the point the writers were trying to make, however, is that reaction to racism when it doesn't exist can be just as insidious and damaging. By treating the subject the writers of Seinfeld have certainly not put the issue of racism to bed, but they have at least enriched our lives with their humor and insight.
On the episode at the airport when George is supposed to pick up Jerry and his car broke down... George told he was someone else to the limo driver and all of a sudden he was the new "neo-nazi" leader and at some point in the show he says "it's all the Jews fault" but of course at this point they're with two "fans" who are loaded with weapons... it wasn't said in a racist way...
What about the black security guard that George helps by buying him a rocking chair it actually does the security guard more harm than good but it was the act that count and I think that proves Seinfeld is not a racist show.
I do not consider Seinfeld to be a "harmfully" racist show. I must disagree with your take on the security guard, however. When the security guard falls asleep on the job (a pervasive stereotype indeed), I had to cringe and remind myself I wasn't watching Amos n' Andy. IMHO, this gag was rather insensitive.
How about the guy who had George take a kid to Paris for Big Brothers? If I remember correctly, he was black. I don't think Jerry would have befriended Baboo if he were racist, either.
However, in the great tradition of American sketch comedy, Seinfeld traffics in instantly recognizable stereotypes that allow a punchline to be delivered quickly. So you have the common African-American characters that have been brought up in this thread already, such as an underprivaleged boy, a sleepy security guard, an athlete. These guys have been with us since Vaudeville. "Who are you, Bud Abbot?"
Other stereotypes aren't racially based, so they don't rub the wrong way. What is Elaine's father, but a stereotype of a old, intimidating, macho writer, of the Hemingway and Mailor school? Because he's so instantly recognizable, we can immediately join in the jokes about George and Jerry's reactions to him.
When it comes to racial issues, I find Seinfeld funniest when he plays characters against these broad types, such as the upper class black family that George visits to watch the video, or the deaf woman who can't read lips very well.
It's all about what gets a laugh, right? But sometimes the old caricatures just aren't funny, because they've accumulated too much historical baggage. The people that find them funny seem a little too defensive and insistent about their laughter to be really getting that big of kick out of it all.
I think it should be noted, Seinfeld one of the only "white" shows I can remember where a central character confronts their own racism ("The Indian" episode).
Let us not forget "Seinfeld" is a fictional character, however the writers and producers took a gamble presenting personal opinions (which they probably figured to be funny) via the 'Seinfeld' time slot,etc.,etc., signed, pleased not to be the only one who actually gets a good kick from show except when they are not funny.
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HEATHER LOCKLEAR �does her own bikini waxing� and will sometimes even �wax a friend�.(Star) Thoughts: 1) Waxing her bikini? Who cares? When she goes to the beach, do you really think Heather looks down, and goes, �Oh! My bathing suit is totally unshiny!�
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YOUNG WOMEN camp out on OJ SIMPSON's lawn until they get invited inside.(Enquirer ) Thoughts: 1) I express no astonishment that young women everywhere want to flock to OJ's house to make out with the superstar. Instead, I wonder about the mechanics: Do they just go up to his house, ring the doorbell, and say, "We're available?"
2) Do you suppose that OJ's house is like a foreign embassy, with a long line of women snaking around the block, all waiting for entry visas?
3) Do you suppose that OJ has a hunchback deaf-mute butler answer the door while OJ views the visitor from the window, giving a thumbs up or thumbs down?
TERI HATCHER says that she will show the world that she is in such good shape after the have seen her strip NUDE in a new movie.(Star) Thoughts: 1) Such good shape... do you think Teri will be in such good shape that they will show her new film to inmates at the Anorexia Institute?
KELSEY "Frasier" GRAMMAR's girlfriend TAMMI ALEXANDER broke up with him for fooling around. Kelsey�s defense, "They're just babes, they know you're the real love of my life."(Star) 1) The article also said that Kelsey invited Tammi to go with him to strip clubs. Do you think Kelsey would say, "Maybe we can pick up something on the way home that we'll both like."
PRINCESS DI regularly goes to a clinic where she gets a foot massage to relieve nervous tension.(Star) Thoughts: 1) Her feet are nervous?
2) Is Di nervous about working hard at her job, or whether she'll have enough millions to support her family? Or does her nerves center around more important questions, such as "What shall I have for lunch?" and "Should I take these two designer dresses, or all of them?"
SEINFELD uses MEDICINE to GROW his HAIR.(Globe) Thoughts: 1) Just one. How does he explain it to his YOUNG girlfriend SHOSHANNA?
Sho: "Jerry, what is that smelly pink goo you've got in your hair?" Seinfeld: "It's a new sort of shampoo. It, uh, gets rids of dandruff."
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GEORGE CLOONEY was HYPNOTIZED to prepare himself to wear a mask in the next Batman movie.(Globe) Thoughts: 1) Is that REALLY why they hypnotized him? I think they hypnotized him to BELIEVE he REALLY IS Batman. FIVE TOP SIGNS THAT GEORGE CLOONEY HAS BEEN HYPNOTIZED TO REALLY BELIEVE THAT HE IS, IN FACT, BATMAN: 1) He refers to the male nurse on ER as"Robin". 2) He propells down clotheslines. 3) He refers to his movie trailer as "The Bat Cave." 4) He hangs upside down on a coat rack. 5) He goes to a pet store to buy food for Cat Woman.
Beverly Hills 90210's Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, who used to go out with Brian Austin Green, was seen SMOOCHING with Jennie Garth.(Star) Thoughts: 1) For those of you who don't watch the show, Brian plays a wimpy sensitive guy who shaves most of his head and wears large hoop earrings. Do you think Brian turned Tiffani off to men?
2) If Tiffani gets hot for women, will Tori Spelling be safe? Or Brandon's mom?
3) Do you think Shannen Dougherty left the show because Jennie Garth was coming on to her?
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