Understanding "Seinfeld" in other cultures

I've often wondered about how much of "Seinfeld" is understood in foreign countries, particularly overseas. So much of the show is immersed in American culture, it seems as though much of it would need to be explained to those unfamiliar with it. I've spoken to many people from around the world who love the show, but I've also heard people say that they visited America at some point and suddenly the show made much more sense. Any folks out there who are from other countries and might offer some insight?

Michael Alexander

I am from India and I have been here for a year now. I live in a small town called starkville in mississippi state and I practically have no exposure of any kind to American culture. I enjoy seinfeld the best. I understand and enjoy each and every joke. I think seinfeld show doesn't have any cultural barriers or constraints. The jokes are based on basic human nature and tendencies. Culture, I think doesn't have big effect. sudheer.

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SUDHEER KALAPURAM                          DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
1120 E.LEE BLVD #167                       MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
STARKVILLE                                 MISSISSIPPI MS39762
MS39759-9292                               www.cs.msstate.edu/~sudheer
PHONE:(601)323-6116.
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well i am from india , but i never watched the show there.i first watched seinfeld when i was in hongkong , and i found the stand up part really funny..... but i dont remember being so much of a hard core fan , which iam now...i dont even miss a rerun.... its probably one of the funniest shows i have even watched...even though i cant relate to some of the plots , i can understand all of them.... i think seinfeld's plots are mostly abt basic human tendencies and are for the most part universal.

But to your question of whether it makes more sense when u are in america...its probably a little true....even though the plots are quite universal and understandable and sometimes even relatable..there are sometimes reference to characters / personalties american that its hard to get the humor if u are not here....to illustrate my point ...if i had watched the episode where kramer wants to stop his mail because he gets too much junk in the mail wouldnt have been that funny if i had watched it in india.......but since i have been here for a while now ...i can relate to how annoying it is to get junk mail...i think it was funnier....

-chandra.

I used to watch the show in Britain and loved it, but some of the references were lost on me. A lot of the stuff on Seinfeld probably means nothing to most outsiders. For example, most people outside the US have no idea who George Steinbrenner is. A year ago I moved to the US and lived in the New York area, and everything soon started to make more sense.

Graham Hughes "Any man can be 62, but you have to be a bus to be 62a." - Spike Milligan.

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Here in Norway, we are very americanized, and I think most people understand Seinfeldish. There are some unknown names, though.

Luckily, the episodes aren't dubbed, only subtitled. But you have got to listen to the speech in order to get a lot of the points.