SEINFELD: THE UNTOLD STORY
Throughout Seinfeld’s eight-season stint on network television the show and its creator’s have stereotyped everything from young Puerto Rican boys to Jewish Priests. The main stereotype of this sit-com is the very florid portrayal of the generational age groups of the characters. The main characters represent the beginning of the Generation X culture. The parents and relatives of Jerry Seinfeld and that of George Costanza present the presence of the members of the Silent or GI generation. Throughout the television series we have seen the elderly as stereotypically helpless individuals with little or no purpose. The character’s Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza, Elaine Benes, and Cosmo Kramer, represent the Generation X culture. These half-witted characters are often unreliable and uncaring about the society they live in. These characters often care about nothing more about life outside their own. The stereotype of these characters and the success of this very popular television show have contributed to the media’s wide usage of stereotyping generations. The article, “My Inner Shrimp,” can be directly correlated to George’s eccentric ego trips with his problems with shortness, unemployment, and baldness. George’s character is often portrayed as a very loud, very rambunctious person who is often seeking to be on top.
Elderly: Helpless or Not
Throughout the series we have seen the elderly characters of Seinfeld often being absent minded, senile, and often helpless. Jerry’s parents upon retirement moved to the sunny state of Florida to bask in their retirement. This proves to be a very common nomenclature among senior citizens. Throughout the nation many retired citizens have been moving eagerly across the country spending their hard earned money and moving to much more appealing climates. Throughout the show Jerry’s parents often try to impose money upon him even though he never request any money from his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Seinfeld often believe that Jerry is living a life of poverty and that he lives a very inadequate life. Throughout our nation the elderly have often saved and saved countless dollars so that they may have a better life and provide their children with the sustenance they need to live a very adequate life. Mr. and Mrs. Costanza are often portrayed as very senile individuals. George’s parents often tend to exaggerate things outside the spectrum they should really include. One certain episode can attribute to there senility. During the Seinfeld’s visit of New York to see their son Jerry, the Costanza’s graciously ask the Seinfeld’s to accompany them to dinner at their home.
But as Jerry was getting richer, he was also getting a more difficult person to treat with. He acted like he was superior because of his money, as his ex-wife Jeannie Walker says “His abrasive manner grew with his wealth”, or as the very own Debra Lynn Baker also declared in tears to the team of the documentary about the case presented on the TV Show “Snapped”, “Jerry was extremely hard on his family, extremely hard on his kids”.
Since its start, the television industry has been criticized for perpetuating myths and stereotypes about African-Americans through characterizations, story lines, and plots. The situation comedy has been the area that has seemed to draw the most criticism, analysis, and disapproval for stereotyping. From Sanford and Son and The Jefferson’s in the 1970s to The Cosby Show (1984) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the 1990s, sitcoms featuring black casts and characters have always been controversial. However, their significance upon our American culture cannot be disregarded. During the 1950s and 1960s, 97% of the families were Caucasian. In the first five years of the 1990s, nearly 14% of the television families were African-American (Bryant 2001). These statistics obviously show the substantial impact our American culture has had on African-American television families.
Since television came into existence, it has evolved into a useful tool to spread ideas, both social and political, and has had a great effect on the generations growing up with these heavily influential shows. To these younger generations, television has taken the role of a teacher, with the task of creating a social construction by which many of us base our personal beliefs and judgments on. This power allows television shows take the opportunity to address problems in a manner that many audiences can take to heart. Many television shows present controversial topics in a comical matter, in some ways to soften the blow of hard-hitting reality at the same time bringing attention to the issue being addressed. In the television show, Everybody Hates Chris, season one, episode four entitled “Everybody Hates Sausage”, the stereotypes that continue to fuel racism are examined in a satirical motif, and class is presented in a comical way, but carries serious undertones which present a somewhat realistic view of the different social strata within the United States.
re using it for fast punchlines... I can put a joke together well enough that I
What do Marlon Brando, James Dean and Henry Winkler all have in common? Well, besides the fact that they are all from the 50’s, they have all portrayed characters that epitomized the American teenager’s rebellion. At one point in time, teens in the United States drew inspiration from these actors to figuratively say “Screw You Mom and Dad.” These men undoubtedly changed the youth culture in America. Further along in time, we watched “hippie” teen’s rebel against their conformists’ parents in the 60’s and “Grunge head”, Nirvana-listeners sneak out of the house to go do illicit narcotics in the 90’s. One must admit that there is something quite perplexing about this sweet American air, that makes teens disobey their parents. While the American teenage rebellion is a natural part of maturity and is an accepted cultural “norm”, there is a lesser acknowledged insurgence.
Jerry Seinfeld's 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 Seinfeld's observational humor, was voted as the "Greatest Show of All Time" by TV Guide in 2002. According to the show's official website, the ratings for the syndicated version of Seinfeld are ahead of many of the current primetime comedies ("Seinfeld" 2/5).
Nelson argues that ageism exists in America due to the cultural bias of American society towards the youth. According to Nelson, American culture encourages the youth to emulate a very individualistic and dominative personality, thereby promoting the idea that the life of the youth is in their own hands. Aging and death are factors that are not in our control, so lack of control causes youthful individuals to lash out in fear towards aging, death, and the elderly. This argument is made stronger by the comparison between modern, westernized culture and a more conventional, eastern culture. Nelson compares the idea eastern cultures promote a sort of reverence towards elders due to their long life and wisdom. In eastern culture, the youth look up to their elders with respect and dignity, while the modernized, western culture promotes a more individualistic viewpoint. By presenting this comparison, as well as the
Many seniors are sitting on more money than they need while family members no longer living with them are destitute or have financial problems.
HBO's Sex and the City has become a cultural icon in its 6 seasons of running. Based on Candace Bushnell's racy book Sex and the City, the show exhibits an unprecedented example of the sexual prowess of women over the age of 35. The result is an immense viewing audience and an evolving view on the "old maid" stigma that a woman's chances of finding love are significantly reduced after thirty-five. In this paper, we will closely analyze the characters and themes of Sex and the City to explain the significance of what the show represents in American culture.
The term “ageism” is not easily understood by most of the population because of its acceptance as normal behavior due to the ingrained attitudes that most people develop in their youth, but health care workers must fully embrace the term within their profession in order to avoid becoming a contributor to the historical prevalence of prejudices and discrimination. The term ageism is defined by Klein and Liu (2010) as “the discrimination of individuals based solely on age” (p. 334). “Ageism is a social construct that is internalized in the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of individuals” (Klein & Liu, 2010, p. 334). Robert Butler, a well-known gerontologist, coined the term “ageism” citing that the discrimination and prejudice associated with this term is often based on the lack of a person’s experience with older people (Ferrini & Ferrini, 2013, p. 6). Ferrini and Ferrini (2013) refer to the strong influence that cultural beliefs and attitudes as well as a person’s current age influence the perception of aging (p. 6). Everywhere within society there are influences that encourage ageist attitudes such as media conveyances through movies, books, television, greeting cards, magazines and the Internet (Ferrini and Ferrini, 2013, p. 6). These negative connotations related to growing older begin to influence all people at a very young age and therefore impact their attitudes as they make career decisions. This has directly impacted the number of health care providers who specialize in geriatrics as well as the attitudes of those who do provide services for older adults. These false perceptions and negative attitudes are currently impacting the q...
This movie demonstrates how sad it can be when a person realizes that they are in the old-age category. Some said they noticed it the first time in meetings that they were the oldest person in the place. Another person said that he realized there are limitations now due to the fact that he cannot do everything that he used to be able to do when he was younger. Another statement comes from a woman who is so embarrassed about her “ossified brain”, due to her inability to read without turning back to remember what she just read. Despite their increased age, and limitations their body puts on them, some older adults report that growing old has provided them with tremendous clarity on the world around them, and some say that they have “never felt
Aging is a sensitive topic for many, with ageism being incredibly prevalent, as it has such a negative connotation that is attached to it (Hooyman, Kawamoto, & Kiyak, 2015). What does it mean to age in society today, when the baby-boomer population is starting to reach their old-old age status? (Hooyman et al., 2015). In order to break down stereotypes and understand what exactly it means to age within our current day society, I interviewed a married couple of 29 years, whom wished to remain anonymous, regarding their views on aging. The gentleman is sixty-three years old, and his wife is in her fifties. She was not the main focus on my interview, the gentleman was, but his wife was able to chime in and provided me with her two-sense every once in a while.
Stereotypes that are associated with a group of older individuals might consist of this particular group being less productive than younger workers within the workplace because of the label attached to their age group. Other aspects that are associated with this group is that they are susceptible to contracting Alzheimer’s disease and they are “boring” or “forgetful”, I feel as though this is the most common stereotype. It is quite unfortunate that this type of discrimination still persists. Though, no act of discrimination should exist or be justified. It is evident that one will follow a social cue to fit in with individuals of a certain group. Author Schaefer mentions that social circumstances provide cues for a person’s attitudes. (Schaefer, 2015. Pg. 38). This notion influences others to act in a particular manner in order to receive a positive or negative reaction from individuals in their proximity. These reactions result from acts or expressions of prejudice. The normative approach, a theory of prejudice, is an exemplification of
The social statuses individuals play every day are complex, and may sometimes be at odds with each other. This was quite apparent when I sat down to interview my friend John. At first glance, most would see John as a typical aging hipster, which is partly correct. However, at forty-five years of age, the complexities of the social roles played by John are immense to say the least.
In his book Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them, David Anderegg uses an episode of Seinfeld, entitled “The Abstinence,” to make an argument about nerds and sex, called the Seinfeld Axiom. His argument states that the absence of sex in George’s life, caused by his girlfriend’s Mononucleosis, actually caused him to get smarter and when he finally has sex in the end of the episode and lost touch with his new knowledge, that it was sex that caused him to get “stupid” again. Yet, deeper into the episode, Anderegg blatantly ignores that a second main character, Elaine, faces abstinence with opposite effects. Instead of gaining intelligence, she begins to lose it until she cannot focus on anything. Looking at the evidence in the episode, it is clear to see that the abstinence played a limited role in the increased and decreased intellect. As George and Elaine were stimulated by knowledge while abstinent, it was George who grew more intelligent because he was being stimulated by knowledge he already had while Elaine faced new information with little to no value to her.