Seinfeldand Comedy

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

“Life is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel.”

--Horace Walpole, 18th Century

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Original definition of “comedy”: a story that ends happily.

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Comedy Theory

Notoriously incomplete and lacking in definitive answers.

Plessner’s thesis in Laughing and Crying.

Helmuth Plessner, author of Laughing and

Crying

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Henri Bergson

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Comedy TheoryThree basic camps

•Superiority--laughter reinforces social power.

•Incongruity--humor the result of the “clash of incompatible discourses.”

•Relief--the comic as a vent for repression.

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Comic Modes:

Satire

Parody

Slapstick

Caricature

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Key Questions:

•Do we laugh at or with?

•Is comedy innately subversive?

•Is comedy congenitally offensive/politically incorrect?

•What is the connection between the body and the comic?

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Comedy on TV

Sitcoms

Dramedy

Sketch Comedy

Stand-Up

Animation/Adult Animation

Satire

Comedy in other genres: talk shows, fake news, drama, advertising, etc.

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

The SitcomA comedic television genre (originating in radio), ordinarily 30 minutes in length, in which a group of characters, related by family, a workplace, or as friends, exhibiting little or no development as individuals, encounters and seeks to resolve on a weekly basis a situation (or situations) in which they find themselves embroiled. Sitcoms on American television are often accompanied by laugh tracks.

Sitcom TraitsExportable and seemingly

universal in appeal;

Tolerant of commercial interruptions;

Dependent on gags, slapstick, and jokes;

Episodic but customarily without memory;

Often the site of controversy

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

The Laugh Track

The result, in part, of the production practice of taping before a live audience.

Use of older laughter on American shows.

“Make me funnier here”--in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall.

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

The Sitcom

Workplace (think The Office)

Family (think The Simpsons, Modern Family)

Friend Families (think Seinfeld, Friends, How I Met Your Mother)

Unruly Woman (think Roseanne)

Gay and Lesbian (think Will & Grace)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

(NBC,1970-1977)

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

All in the Family (CBS, 1971-1983)

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Cheers (NBC, 1982-1993)

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

The Bill Cosby Show (NBC, 1984-1992)

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

The Simpsons (Fox, 1989- )

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Frasier (NBC, 1993-2004)

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Friends (NBC, 1994-2004)

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS,

1996-2005)

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Will & Grace (NBC, 1998-2006)

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

Great Sitcoms Since the

1970s

The Office (BBC2, 2001-2003) The Office (NBC, 2005- )

Great Sitcoms Since the 1970s

Great Sitcoms Since the 1970s

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]ENGL 2030: Experience of

Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]ENGL 2030: Experience of

Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]ENGL 2030: Experience of

Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Studying TV Comedy

The sitcom is one of the most popular and yet least studied television genres. Like the late/great Rodney Dangerfield, it “can’t get no respect.”

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Seinfeld(NBC, 1989-1998)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

TV Guide’s Top Television Shows of All Time

1. Seinfeld (NBC)2. I Love Lucy (CBS)3. The Honeymooners (CBS)4. All in the Family (CBS)5. The Sopranos (HBO)6. 60 Minutes (CBS)7. Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)8. The Simpsons (Fox)9. The Andy Griffith Show (CBS)10. Saturday Night Live (NBC)11. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS)12. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (NBC)13. The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS)14. Hill Street Blues (NBC)15. The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)16. The Carol Burnett Show (CBS)17. Today (NBC)18. Cheers (NBC)19. thirtysomething (ABC)20. (NBC)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Seinfeld and the Sitcom

Originally rejected by NBC chief

Brandon Tartikoff as “too New

York, too Jewish”

A show about nothing

Sought to always override

normal sitcom conventions

Governed by the motto: “no

hugging, no learning”

Dealt with previously taboo

television subjects

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Gaming the Refs

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Larry David

“Seinfeld was not really about how evil humanity is, though it's about that to some extent. The show is really about the joy of charting, in exquisite, unrelenting, almost celebratory detail, the infinitely variegated human interactions that, closely watched, will ultimately tell the story of the disintegration of our species.”--Bill Wyman, Salon.com

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

“What relief to encounter comedy which does not mistake itself for anything else. Its characters are free to start from zero each time, free to indulge the marvelous shallowness which is the privilege of the creatures of farce. Nothing counts here, nothing has consequences: as one of the show’s writers (Larry Charles in Entertainment Weekly) has observed, the crucial guideline is that the characters do not learn from experience and never move beyond what they intrinsically and eternally are.”--Geoffrey O’Brien, “The Republic of Seinfeld”

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

The Creators: Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Kramer, Elaine, George, Jerry

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Kramer, George, Elaine, and Jerry

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

George, Jerry, Kramer, Elaine

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Jerry SeinfeldENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—

Drama [Lavery]ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—

Drama [Lavery]

George CostanzaENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—

Drama [Lavery]ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—

Drama [Lavery]

Elaine Benes

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Cosmo Kramer (“Hipster Doofus”)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Unforgettable Minor Characters

The Soup Nazi

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Unforgettable Minor Characters

•Kenny Bania•Babu Bhatt•Lt. Bookman•The Bubble Boy•Jackie Chiles•Estelle Costanza•Frank Costanza•Crazy Joe Davola•Jack Klompus•The Maestro•Sue Ellen Mischke

•Newman•J. Peterman•Mr. Pitt•Poppi•David Putty•The Soup Nazi•Stan the Caddy•Uncle Leo•Dr. Tim Whatley

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Some Seinfeldisms•Anti-Dentite•Baldist•Bizarro•BBO•Bombable•Break-up by Association•Bro•Bump Into•Call Waiting Face-Off•Cell-Phone Walk and Talk•Changing Teams•Close Talker•Consolation Guy•Dating Decathlon•Degifting•Double Dipper

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Some Seinfeldisms•Excuse Rolodex•Festivus•Hand•High Talker•Home Bed Advantage•“Hoochie Mama:” •I love you Return •“It’s Not You, It’s Me”•Kiss Hello•Long Talker•Low Talker•Make-Up Sex•Mansierre•Master of My Domain•Mimbo

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Some Seinfeldisms•Nonvite•Pop-In•Regifting•Sentence Finisher•“Serenity Now”•Schmoopy•Shiksappeal•Shrinkage Factor•Shusher/Shushee•Spongeworthy•Spare a Square•Tap, The•Undateable•Unshushables•Unvitation•Yada, Yada, Yada•“You’re so Good Looking”

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

B.O.: abbr., Body Odor. As a compound word, B.O. refers to the unpleasant odor emitted by a human body. The components can be referred to as separate entities, however - as the Body and the Odor, thus allowing for examination of the odor outside of its bodily context, for example: “when somebody has B.O., the "O" usually stays with the "B". Once the "B" leaves, the "O" goes with it.” (The Smelly Car)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Break-up by Association: the assumed dissociation of mutual friends brought forth by the end of a romantic relationship. Thus, if lover A initiates a break-up with lover B, the friends of lover A are automatically subject to a break-up of their friendship with lover B. (The Deal)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Bro: An undergarment designed to support the weight of adipose tissue in the male breast, a symptom of obesity or gerontological processes. Also known as Mansierre. (The Doorman)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Double Dipper: An inconsiderate slob. An incogitant unsanitarian. One who contaminates a shared supply of chip-dip, via the following process: (1) the chip is dipped into the chip-dip. (2) the dipped portion of the chip is consumed; (3) the remaining portion is, possibly, polluted by the saliva and other oral slimes of the chip-dipper; (4) The now-contaminated portion of the chip is then redipped, causing a transference of contaminants into the chip-dip. (The Implant)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

“It’s Not You, It’s Me” Routine: A generic script for ending a romantic relationship, which is intended to be as minimally offensive as possible. (The Lip Reader)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Shrinkage Factor: The phenomenon by which the size of the male genitalia decreases upon prolonged exposure to cold water. An inaccurate appraisal of the affected organ results, when the observer is a female who is unaware of the shrinkage factor. (The Hamptons)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Spongeworthy: A male of a sexual caliber that merits the use of a contraceptive device (sponge), that is of a rare and limited supply. (The Sponge)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

A Seinfeldism (by Betty Lee, from Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain)

Yada, Yada, Yada: equivalent to, “and so on,” “etc., etc.,” “blah, blah, blah,” but used in a molested context, in which the abbreviated meaning cannot be clearly implied. For example: “I apologize for being late. I was in an accident, almost died, yada, yada, yada.” The listener is left, usually, with a sense of confusion, curiosity, and dissatisfaction. (The Yada Yada)

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

“No Exit: The Seinfeld Finale

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

Seinfeld AfterlifeSeinfeld Afterlife ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

“But I don’t want to be a pirate!”: The Puffy Shirt

The Puffy Shirt in the SmithsonianSeinfeld AfterlifeSeinfeld Afterlife

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

The Fab Four reunited in Season Seven of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Seinfeld AfterlifeSeinfeld Afterlife

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]

ENGL 2030: Experience of Literature—Drama [Lavery]