This was e-mailed to me - might be of interest to some =======================================
Seinfeld's humor noir: A look at our dark side
Byline: Hirsch, Irwin; Hirsch, Cara
Volume: 28
Number: 3
ISSN: 01956051
Publication Date: 10-01-2000
Page: 116
Type: Periodical
Language: English Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly calls Seinfeld the most
unabashedly Jewish show ever to
reach a wide television audience. Greenberg, too, has referred to
this sitcom as overwhelmingly
Jewish in its ethos and compares it in this regard with the films
of director Woody Allen. Allen's
movies, however, for the most part do not appeal to a wide American
audience and often fail
economically despite acclaim from critics. Jerry Seinfeld et al.
are consumed by vast audiences in
the United States, despite the troop's very thinly veiled
ethnicity. The primary purpose of this
article is to offer some speculation about possible causes for this
success. In other words, we
want to articulate the profoundly personal issues that this show
touches on that may account for
its widespread resonance among a diverse American and even
international audience. The themes addressed in Seinfeld must be sufficiently tuned in to
some cross-cultural issues to
transcend its New York, Jewish bias and appeal to so-called middle
America. We suggest some
key issues that connect emotionally to so many: immaturity and the
changes to gender relations
that have precipitated prolonged adolescence, later marriages, and
normative divorce; narcissism
and unrelatedness; and venality. The show's brilliance and its
resonance with audiences rest in its
ability to address these themes in ways that are normally unspoken
in the public forum. The four
main characters are quite different from one another in their
respective personas but bear great
similarity with regard to their shared immaturity, amorality,
narcissism, unrelatedness, and general
ill will toward others. There is insufficient data for a
psychogenetic analysis of these individuals,
although their manifest characterological qualities are vividly
portrayed. This series has been referred to by its creators and by some
critics as "a show about nothing."
We believe, to the contrary, that the series is about very
important "somethings." This high quality
black humor is a satirical examination of the universality of the
dark characteristics that lie within
all of us and are comically and cynically exemplified by these four
beautifully drawn characters.
As reprehensible as these four are, a vastly diverse population of
viewers has closely identified
with them. For those unfamiliar with the show, we will briefly
describe Jerry Seinfeld, Elaine
Benes, George Costanza, and Cosmo Kramer. Jerry allegedly plays himself, a well-known stand-up comic who uses
his real-life name and
essentially hosts his three friends in his Manhattan apartment that
serves as a clubhouse. Jerry is
successful, the only career-- directed member of the group. He is
vain, neat, and attractive,
always casually dressed, generally in tight jeans. He is virtually
always aloof, cool, confident, and
profoundly sarcastic and cynical in all social situations. Because
he earns a good living and is the
least hysterical of the foursome, he gives the strongest appearance
of normality. However, he has
declared, "I hate everybody, " is phobic about germs, obsessed with
neatness and cleanliness,
and utterly uninterested in intimately loving another person. Any
excuse is acceptable for ending
relationships with many appealing and considerably younger women.
"Love" is an unutterable
word. Jerry is an only child and is in relatively close contact with his
rather normal and sympathetically
portrayed, stereotypically middle- class Jewish parents. One can
speculate that Jerry's narcissism
may stem in part from their adoring over-solicitousness, but the
degree of his venality and
unrelatedness is hard to link with what we see from his interaction
with family. The ever-sarcastic
Jerry never expresses a kind or sympathetic feeling toward anyone
and the only sincere things he
ever says are penetrating and often humiliating criticisms.
Relationships are games, and he has the
requisites to be a winner-- nothing ever hurts him. Elaine is a "shiksa" who attracts Jewish men (among others),
including a thirteen-year-old bar
mitzvah boy and the presiding rabbi ("shiksappeal" ). Elaine and
George both are New York
Jews in all their inflections and mannerisms, although they are
designated as non-Jews to attract a
wider audience that might not warm up to an entirely Jewish
foursome. Elaine is dark, petite,
pretty, and stylish, speaking in a subtle accent associated with
affluent New York suburbs. She is
outspoken, verbally aggressive, confrontational, uninhibited, and
adventuresome. Elaine has an
active sex drive, just as active a sex life, and is as unabashed
about this as any woman on
prime-time television. Like the male prototype and her three male
buddies, she is thoroughly
lustful and enjoys sex for the sheer pleasure of it. Also like her
friends, she has no real interest in
a serious relationship, marriage, or children. Like Jerry, she will
use any excuse to break off a
relationship with a boyfriend. Unlike Jerry, her lovers are almost
always inappropriate losers and
rarely match her wit and intelligence. As articulate and perceptive
as Elaine is, she has no
ambition and uses her wiles to avoid serious work. There is not,
however, any sense of her
wanting to be taken care of in a long-term relationship. Although
sexy and feminine in manner
and appearance, she is more like "one of the guys." There is little
distinction made between her
own attitudes and values and those of her three male friends.
Elaine reflects a play on gender
parity, a contemporary world where upper middle-class men and women
are more alike than at
any time in modern American history. George, in counterpoint to Jerry, is a self-described loser:
"short, fat, and bald" ("I am king of the
idiots!"). Everything that can go wrong for him usually does; he is
as awkward and abrasive as
Jerry is smooth and seductive. He has no sense of any interest or
realistic talent that may evolve
into a career and attempts, in his jobs, to get by with day-to-day
misguided trickeries. He states
that he comes from a long line of quitters and that he was raised
to give up. He is stingy to an
extreme, totally dishonest ("I lie every day"), and thoroughly
selfish, as are his three consorts.
This is best illustrated in an episode where he runs over children
and old people to escape what
he thinks is a fire. He comes close to marriage, but his fiance
dies ironically, directly related to
George's petty frugality. George and his friends are quietly
pleased when the doctor announces
that she has died. Through considerable exposure to his parents, we see George more
closely than the rest. They
are Italian Americans from Queens who have all the prototypical
characteristics of Jews from
previous generations in Brooklyn or the Bronx. They give the
audience a look at the genesis of
George's miseries. Mrs. Costanza is loud, abrasive, critical, and
overbearing. It is known that she
has never laughed. Mr. Costanza, who is even more loud and
hysterical than his wife, is also
suspicious of everyone. They have no sense that their son's life is
troubled and do not worry
about his misery or lack of aim. Bickering among themselves and
with others is their primary
commitment in life. Although based on a real-life friend of the show's writer and
co-creator Larry David, Kramer is
the least realistic of the four. Kramer is a clown in appearance
and behavior. He has electric,
frizzy hair, a constant startled response, and wears peculiar retro
1950s outfits. He is constantly
involved in physical pratfalls, more cartoon figure than a person.
His temperament is less cynical
than his friends' and, unlike them, he is never bitter, depressed,
or sarcastic. He is perennially and
naively optimistic, yet every scheme is a disaster, and he destroys
everything that he touches.
Although he appears relatively benevolent in attitude, one may
infer from the way he destroys
others' life, limb, and property that he shares his friends'
malevolent qualities. Kramer appears to
be in his mid- to late forties, yet he too has no career (actually
no job and no visible means of
support at all) and no apparent interest in even moderate-term
dating, much less marriage and
family. In our way of thinking, he is the least substantial of the
main characters-he comes closer
to a clown figure than to a person we can identify in ourselves or
with others in our lives.Extended Adolescence
All four main characters, although at least in their middle
thirties, live like late adolescents. They
make every effort to rebelliously mock and flout rules of propriety
(mocking themselves as well),
and any view of life that is not "gamey" is viewed as weak and
foolish. As Jerry proclaims in
regard to dating, "Without games, how do you know if you're winning
or losing?" In a classic episode, all four primary characters have a contest to
determine who can abstain the
longest from masturbating. No one is very successful. Their
narcissistic involvement takes clear
priority even in their close friendship with one another. This
onanism (being "masters of their own
domain") becomes crucially important to them in order to maintain
other than full involvement in
any relationship. The adolescent nature of the four friends'
involvement in masturbation is most
clearly accented by George. On one occasion George is "grounded" by
his parents after having
been detected masturbating on their bed. On another occasion, he is
caught masturbating in his
parent's bathroom. Although masturbation is common throughout life,
it is rarely addressed in the
media as an adult phenomenon. On one hand, it is just this sort of
speaking about what is rarely
addressed that makes this series so special. On the other hand, the
preference for masturbation
over sex with partners underscores the relative immaturity of the
four friends. For this group, sex and friendship are defined as mutually
exclusive; relationships are
characterized by one or the other. In a brilliant repartee, Jerry
and Elaine discuss the possibility
of becoming lovers again and conclude that it would destroy their
close friendship. They decide it
must be either "this or that," not sex plus warmth and closeness.
George independently struggles
about whether or not to introduce his girlfriend to his three
friends, as he wishes to keep these
worlds separate. He concludes that there are two Georges-the
"relationship" George and the
"independent" George-and does not wish his "worlds to collide." The four friends live in a clubhouse atmosphere. They spend an
inordinate amount of time in both
Jerry's apartment and a local luncheonette. Career and work remain
secondary both in time
spent and in emotional commitment. Jerry rarely seems to prepare
for his gigs and, on a play of
being a comedian, he essentially mocks his own work-its comedy on
comedy. The only one of
the four who takes anything seriously is George. Despite his
dishonesty, George has desires (e.g.,
women, food, notoriety, money, more hair, and thinness), and it is
this that leaves him frequently
hurt, disappointed, and humiliated. Jerry, Elaine, and Kramer
desire little beyond casual sex and
short-term projects in pleasure. Their ability to constantly mock
themselves as well as others
makes them emotionally invulnerable. The immature antics of these four caricatured late adolescents are
reflective of a number of
contemporary psychocultural developments. The way they live and
their interests are supposed
to reflect contemporary middleto upper middle-class urban life,
with a strong Jewish accent.
Particularly in urban areas and among all social classes, there are
many more unmarried
individuals than in earlier eras. The rate of divorce has increased
markedly, and marriages among
the more educated and professional groups are occurring at
considerably later ages than during
other periods. Consequently, childbearing tends to begin later in
life. Later marriage and
pregnancy have much to do with the dramatic increase in the number
of women who stay in
school to pursue advanced degrees, ambitiously engage in demanding
careers, and compete
relatively equally with men in the professional, economic, and
courtship marketplace. With many middle- and upper middle-class women and men taking
longer to complete
education, young people tend to remain economically dependent on
their families of origin much
later into life than in prior generations. Many such parents are
second-generation Americans and
have achieved reasonable affluence and career success. Whereas
these middleaged parents were
expected to surpass their parents in education and achievement,
their children often find it
daunting to surpass their parents' sometimes highly impressive
careers and financial holdings. This
configuration can conspire to stretch adolescence and dependency,
financial and otherwise, well
beyond what adolescence originally represented. The Seinfeld
characters are a bit old for the first
wave that suggests this phenomenon-they are more reflective of
young adults now in their middle
to late twenties to middle thirties. Their more advanced age may
represent the exaggerated and
caricatured nature of comedy and satire, in this case, the
portrayal of forty-plus-year-old
adolescents. The extension of adolescence so effectively satirized here
resonates most directly with young
adult, urban, Jewish audiences. This is the background, explicitly
or otherwise, of the four leading
performers and the characters they play. Nonetheless, as noted
earlier, the show is enormously
popular among very diverse populations of viewers. The extension of
adolescence seen in
today's young adult population, despite the dependency conflicts
that are implicit, may be the
envy of a wide range of people who are not engaged in this way (as
well as resonating with those
who are). The four characters manage to live in very comfortable
circumstances and engage in
interesting and diverse activities, by and large, without needing
to either work diligently or earn
significant income. Their lives are more leisure than otherwise.
Nothing is to be taken seriously,
including oneself. This ethos not only applies to men (as is more
traditional) but to women as
well. There is no traditional distinction between the genders here.
In this respect the show is very
much on the pulse of developments in changing gender configurations
(Dimen; Goldner; Guarton;
Harris) and the growing equality between genders. The Seinfeld
characters represent an
exaggeration of this contemporary phenomenon. They touch the
fantasized desire of so many
who wish never to grow old, to be free of commitment, to be
eternally able to play with friends
(Fogel, Lane, and Liebert; Hirsch "Men's Preference"), and to have
sex with multiple attractive
partners (Stoller).Narcissism
The celebration of pure narcissism as it exists in the educated,
upper middle-class, Jewish male is
well illustrated in Philip Roth's (1968) classic Portnoy's
Complaint (see Hirsch "The Analyst's")
and in Woody Allen's movie Deconstructing Harry (1997). Both
Portnoy and Harry are
unabashed and almost gleeful in their pursuit of selfish pleasure
(particularly sexual). Not only do
they have absolutely no regard for the ill consequences their
behavior has for others, but it seems
clear that injuring others, particularly women, is an important,
albeit unconscious, aim. Although
both characters differ from Seinfeld and friends by virtue of their
strong career ambitions, all six
care only for their own immediate pleasures. The acclaim of the
book, the movie, and the
television series is, in part, reflective of the resonance that
these normally unspoken narcissistic
desires have with a wide audience. It also suggests that these
qualities are not exclusive to the
well-educated, Jews, or even men. The narcissism that Portnoy and
Harry deny as consciously
intended to hurt others is not simply openly acknowledged by
Seinfeld's crew, it is gloriously
celebrated. It cannot be underestimated that so many of these ugly
"truths" emerge from Elaine.
In contrast to the work of Philip Roth and Woody Allen, women here
have parity of desire and
of selfish interest. In these respects, Elaine is even more
aggressive than her friends and this, we
believe, has much to do with the popularity among women of this
otherwise misogynist show. The four main characters are inordinately involved with their
respective bodies. None wishes to
give his or her body or soul to another in any loving way. Sex with
the same person over time is
invasive, and pregnancy distorts the female body, making it
unattractive to men. The Seinfeld
body of work stands out among its peers for articulating
narcissistic body obsessions that are
common for many but rarely highlighted in film or television. We have already addressed the frequent allusion to adult
masturbation. In addition, this series
makes extensive references to male baldness and the anxieties and
concerns about adequacy that
are related to hair loss. George perpetually laments these body
states and is certain that most
women find him unattractive. Toilet habits also are addressed here
more so than in any other
television program. Issues of amount of time spent in the toilet
while defecating, reading rituals
during defecation, post-toilet hand washing, and frequency of
visits to the toilet are examples. In
one episode, George is forced to purchase an expensive art book
after taking it into a bookstore
bathroom to read while defecating. There is reference, as well, to
nose picking, a subject
commonly avoided in media. Episodes are also devoted to two aspects of the body that we have
never before seen addressed
yet are noticed and thought about by most people under relevant
circumstances. The first is the
observation that scrotums and penises shrink when men are in cold
water for extended periods.
This is raised in the context of worry about male potency and
adequacy as defined by penis size.
The second is the incidence of fleshy chests or "breasts" in some
men and how this, as well, may
lead to anxiety and doubt about masculinity. In one episode, Kramer
and Mr. Costanza, who has
"breasts," scheme to develop a male bra, "the Bro or Mansierre,"
for men who wish to restrict
their chests from jiggling. Another major focus of the characters' narcissism is centered on
romantic relationships and sex.
Jerry and Elaine attract the most partners and are quite vocal
about these matters. Jerry is clear
that he does not want a serious relationship, and his excuses ring
of consciously intended
insincerity and mockery of intimacy: not laughing at his jokes; not
kissing him by third date; being
too altruistic; having had too many other sex partners; not giving
him a massage; "shushing" him
while watching a television program; being too much his soulmate;
not letting him play with her
collection of antique toys; finishing his sentences. He wants to
publish his own "relationship"
Monopoly game, highlighted by a "get out of relationship free"
card, which can be "superseded
only by an eight more months of pain, torture, and guilt card." The
closest Jerry has ever come to
exclaiming love was when he was dating a woman (a standup comic)
who was a facial
look-alike. The reference to self-love was not at all a subtle one. All the characters are prideful about their inability to love and
their emotional barrenness. In
becoming involved with an affectionate woman who tries to engage
him in a "touchyfeely"
relationship, Jerry mockingly exclaims, "I'm open [to feelings],
there's just nothing there." All
agree that they are interested in partners only when the partner is
not reciprocally interested or
when someone else is interested and has the partner's priority.
Elaine is noted for her instant
break- ups as soon as any of her peculiar set of boyfriends shows
any interest beyond the purely
erotic. About one rare reasonably appropriate man, she asserts,
"He's a wonderful guy, but I
hate him." All also agree that "you can't have sex with someone you
admire." This principle
guarantees optimal emotional and physical separation from their
lovers. As noted earlier, none of the four friends has any interest in
raising children. When one of
George's girlfriends is apparently pregnant, he is initially
overjoyed that he is not sterile ("My
boys can swim" ). The theme of aversion to marriage and children is
most strikingly brought
home by Elaine, the lone woman. In describing one's wish for
marriage, Elaine states, "It's a
barren, sterile relationship that ends when you die." In reference
to having children, her pithy and
contemptuous remark, "It's been done to death," reflects both a
sentiment rarely articulated by a
woman in the media and an unusual parity between the sexes in the
Seinfeld series. In Woody
Allen's words and particularly applicable to the characters in this
series, "Marriage is the death of
hope." The narcissistic involvement with the self and the inability to
connect with others are lovingly
portrayed in comically caricatured extremes. Such character traits,
however, are not restricted to
so-called "narcissistic personality disorders"; they exist
somewhere along a continuum in most or
all of us (Hirsch "Ubiquity and Relativity"). Most individuals,
when honest with themselves, see
something of the parodied selfishness and self-involvement
exhibited consistently by Seinfeld and
his friends. It is far more common than usually acknowledged, for
instance, to be preoccupied
with the body and body functions. Concerns about physical
attraction currently pervade our
culture. Never before have so many had elective plastic surgeries
and engaged the range of diets
to achieve bodies that resemble models and movie stars. Men and
women alike seem consumed
by their perceived physical inadequacies related to weight, height,
baldness, hair quality and
color, penis size and erectile potency, breast size and shape,
length and shape of legs, and so on.
In addition, fears and preoccupations about health are more typical
than extraordinary. Seinfeld's
absorption with toilet functions reflects, among other things, the
obsessive worry that often
accompanies any variation in usual bowel functioning. The creators
and writers of this series are
unusually well attuned to common narcissistic body concerns, and so
many viewers seem to see
this as a parody on their own body quirks. In a similar vein, Seinfeld sensitively addresses the difficulty
many men and women have in loving,
staying in love, and remaining sexually faithful to lovers.' All of
the Seinfeld characters are
exposed to numerous attractive sexual partners, even "short, fat,
bald" George. This titillates the
fantasies of viewers who may imagine such benefits if only they
were free of commitment. The
awful things that are said about serious relationships and the
valuation of interpersonal cruelty,
detachment, and utter selfishness resonate with some of the wishes,
if not the behavior, of most
people. The nevermarried status of these characters also reflects,
as already noted, the increased
level of "singleness" in our culture. Of course, many who are
single wish to or do become
attached. Nonetheless, through formal separation and divorce, more
individuals have been
choosing periodic separation over the older ethos of trying to make
accommodations and work
out matters. Seinfeld speaks to those who secretly wish to shed
commitment, to those who
simply fantasize about this, and to those who actually have done
so. The sadistic thoughts and
feelings expressed repeatedly about the nature of sexual fantasies,
the loss of sexual passion
toward intimates, and the wish for emotional distance effectively
tune into the minds and feeling
states of an enormous audience. Almost everyone can relate to at
least some of Seinfeld's cynical
observations about love and sex, and it is liberating to hear
stated what is normally muted.Venality
If the dominance of narcissistic sexual desire void of both
commitment and reciprocity lends
credence to Freud's besieged drive theory, unmitigated
destructiveness and hurtfulness may be
used to nail down this theory' s validity. This article, however,
will not be a vehicle to argue the
relative merits of drive and relational etiologies of sexual
preoccupation, aggression, and primitive
exploitativeness. We know far too little about these characters'
families and life histories (except,
perhaps, for George) to understand their respective psychogenetics.
A drive discharge
understanding is easy here,' for Seinfeld and friends indeed are
brutally unfeeling at best and
hateful at worst. This thoroughgoing exploitative and unprincipled position is most
clearly captured in the series'
final episode (May 1998) and in the last show of 1996, although
there are examples in every one
of the 168 segments. In the long-awaited final episode, the
foursome witnesses the mugging and
robbery of an effete, obese man. Instead of coming to his aid or
calling for help, they laughingly
enjoy the spectacle and verbally mock the man's obesity and victim
status. They are subsequently
arrested based on an obscure bad citizen's law and put on trial.
Many of the people they scorned
and hurt over the series' duration return to testify to their
destructiveness, and all four are
convicted and sent to prison. In the brief prison segment of this
finale, Seinfeld and friends show
no remorse, fear, or worry; their life proceeds in prison as it did
outside as they cynically
denigrate their fellow inmates and the prison system. One of the
unusual and creative twists of
this last episode is its deviation from the traditional happy
ending. One would think, based on film
and television tradition, that these characters might recognize
their unmitigated venality and arrive
at some more humane place or they would be forgiven and then reform
in loving reciprocation.
Seinfeld's uniqueness lies in its relentless cynicism and its
absence of any positive values in its
corrupt characters. The finale of 1996, we believe, reflects Seinfeld's most powerful
example of these qualities. In
this episode, George is absolutely miserable in his cowardly
inability to wiggle out of his
engagement to a lovely woman (Susan). His three friends are brutal
in their efforts to portray the
deadly life toward which their compatriot is headed. The dependent
George agrees fully with his
friends' prognosis; he is less consciously attuned to his
dependency and to his wish for union than
he is toward his narcissistic pseudo-independence. This ambivalent
romance goes on through
many episodes until the shocking finale when Susan becomes
seriously ill, is briefly hospitalized,
and dies. She is apparently poisoned by the cheap glue used on her
wedding invitation
envelopes, chosen by her frugal fiance, who thus inadvertently (?)
kills her with his cheapness and
ambivalence. The most shocking moment of all is reserved for the
final fadeout. The four friends
are in the waiting room where the doctor somberly tells them of
Susan's death. They look at each
other without expression except for the slightest trace of subtle
smiles. They say nothing to the
doctor or one another, shrug, and leave the hospital to resume
their normal routines. The stunning
absence of the normally expected response was dramatic and perhaps
the most profound
statement of the series. Less dramatic examples of destructiveness and absence of core good
will toward others are
legion: People with infirmities are routinely the butt of humor;
George gets into a fight with the
Bubble Boy, a child who lives in a sterile tent because of an
immune disorder, and accidentally
destroys his bubble, almost killing him; Elaine wants to know what
is the proper etiquette when
an older beau has a serious stroke so she can gracefully abandon
him; the group invariably parks
in spaces reserved for the handicapped; Jerry's nastiness to an
elderly great aunt precipitates a
fatal heart attack; immediately after a friend of Jerry's attempts
suicide, Jerry dates the friend's
girlfriend. Tragedy is used as a vehicle for seduction: "There's
nothing like a funeral to advance a
relationship [sex]. She's crying, you put your arms around her to
console her; it's like three dates
in one shot." Seinfeld exposes the human destructiveness and lack of principle
and morality that exist to some
degree in all people. Perhaps only the late Lenny Bruce has done
this better. It is convenient for
most of us who live reasonably sophisticated, nonviolent,
middle-class lives to attribute venality,
harmful intent, and immorality to the obviously criminal or to the
physically violent, those
designated as evil by virtue of their overt criminal acts. Seinfeld
artfully exposes the evil that lies
even within a subgroup that is often associated with political
liberalism, concern for others, high
moral standards, peace, equality, freedom, and brotherhood.
Although upper middle-class Jews
are often associated with these "good" humanitarian values,
Seinfeld' s popularity with a broad
audience suggests a wider net. People of all backgrounds from
diverse parts of the country
identify with the venality that is celebrated in each episode. Seinfeld holds a mirror to our ugly, amoral aspects and makes such
qualities seem all too familiar
and human. In an earlier era, Lenny Bruce was persecuted for doing
something similar. His
martyrdom paved the way. It is a tribute to advances in civil
liberties that Seinfeld can now exist
in the medium of the "common man."Conclusion
The absence of redeeming, positive, humanistic values of the
characters in Seinfeld sets them
apart from other sitcom series. The genius in the writing is the
creators' awareness that viewers
identify with the immaturity, narcissism, and venality of Seinfeld.
The primary characters reflect
the worst civilized (nonviolent) qualities that exist within most
people, and these are flaunted with
cynical humor. The message given by the creators is that this
represents an exaggeration of what
most middle-class, educated, and apparently evolved people are
like. They seem to have
succeeded in getting audiences to acknowledge their similarity with
these characters, to resonate
with and to accept some universally shared inhumane qualities, and
to develop a sense of humor
and acceptance about this darkness. Seinfeld is most decidedly not
a show about "nothing"; it is a
show dedicated to the exposure of some of the worst and most hidden
aspects of the neat,
well-- manicured majority. Illustrations/Photos: On the surface, Jerry Seinfeld comes across
as "normal," but he is phobic
about germs, obsessed with cleanliness, and is unable to form any
lasting romantic relationships.
Elaine Benes is outspoken, uninhibited, and adventuresome. She is
not interested in marriage or
motherhood, and, like Jerry, cannot maintain long-term
relationships.
George Costanza's narcissism is evident in his preoccupation with
baldness and body functions.
Cosmo Kramer is more cartoon figure than a real person.Footnotes:
NOTES
1. It is noteworthy that the strongest attachments and fidelities
displayed are among the four f
riends. This interconnection is generally quite strong, although
these four narcissists can also be
very cruel and selfish toward one another. 2. Were we to search for genetic understanding of these characters,
we would be personally
biased to look more toward their unique interpersonal histories
than in the direction of their
unchecked drive states.References
WORKS CITED
Dimen, M. "Deconstructing Differences: Gender, Splitting, and
Transitional Space."
Psychoanalytic Dialogues 1 (1991): 335-52.Fogel, G., F. Lane, and R. Liebert. The Psychology of Men. New Haven: Yale UP, 1996.
Goldner, V. "Toward a Critical Relational Theory of Gender."
Psychoanalytic Dialogues 1
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Excitement: Diagnosis of Erotic Life. New York: Pantheon, 1979.Author Affiliation
IRWIN HIRSCH is a professor of psychology and a supervisor in the
postdoctoral program in
psychoanalysis at the Derner Institute of Adelphi University. He
has published articles on such
subjects as the psychoanalytic relationship, comparative
psychoanalysis, and male gender issues. CARA HIRSCH is a graduate student in the clinical psychology
doctoral program at the Derner
Institute of Adelphi University. Her future plans include working
as a child psychologist. Hirsch, Irwin; Hirsch, Cara, Seinfeld's humor noir: A look at our
dark side. Vol. 28, Journal
of Popular Film & Television, 10-01-2000, pp 116.