Seinfelds Impact on American Culture Essay - 2273 Words

Seinfelds Impact on American Culture Jerry Seinfelds television sitcom, Seinfeld, which went off the air in 1999, is still one of the most culturally pertinent shows today. The show dealt with little nuances of American society. A puffy shirt, for example, could be the main subject for an entire show. This show, which was derived from Jerry Seinfelds observational humor, was voted as the Greatest Show of All Time by TV Guide in 2002. According to the shows official website, the ratings for the syndicated version of Seinfeld are ahead of many of the current primetime comedies (Seinfeld 2/5). Seinfeld was always present in my home during its nine-year run on Thursday nights as Must See TV, and the social†¦show more content†¦Of his obsessive nature his mother said: He never wanted just a piece of chocolate cake, it was the whole cake. And he always waited until he got what he wanted (Jerry Seinfeld 1/7). Soon Seinfelds easy-to-relate to humor gave way to regular appearances on The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman. Other more gimmicky comedians failed the test of time, but Seinfelds steadfast style made his popularity bloom. Despite national exposure, Seinfeld still stayed close to his roots, continuing to play at small venues as well as on television. With jokes like: They say Tide cleans bloodstains. I say if youve got a T-shirt with bloodstains, then maybe laundry isnt your biggest problem (Jerry Seinfeld 3/7) its not hard to see why Seinfeld caught on. In 1990, Seinfeld, a sitcom based on Seinfelds humor, debuted as a summer replacement show. Seinfeld allowed characters on the show to embody some of the idiosyncrasies his stand-up comedy had observed. Seinfeld played himself on the show, and the other characters on the sitcom were based on friends and acquaintances in Seinfelds real life. The show was set in a recognizable Manhattan with specific storefronts and locales in the cut scenes and dialogue. The plot of an episode of Seinfeld usually centered on the daily menial tasks of the characters and the little quirks that they observed along the way. Seinfeld, widely