Wickliffe 1

Rich Wickliffe
Naftzinger
ENC1145
20 February 2015
Jerry Seinfeld: More than Just a Yada Yada
Jerry Seinfeld: Arguably one of the most successful comedians to bless American television.
Not only is Jerry Seinfeld praised for his unique and hysterical standup comedy routines and
classic jokes, but also as the co-creator and star of the critically acclaimed sit-com that everyone
knows as Seinfeld. Given that Jerry Seinfeld is one of the main comic geniuses behind the show
(alongside creator Larry David), its no surprise that the hit comedy series was named after him
and thrived from his laudable sense of humor. Character relevance, story content, and plot
dialogue make it clear to the audience of Seinfeld that Jerry Seinfeld is the primary star of the
show. Viewers know that Jerry is a successful and well-known comedian (on and off the show)
and that mostly everything in the show mainly pertains to Jerry. Through a series of Marxist
theories, how can Jerry Seinfelds behavior and character significance be interpreted to the
audience of Seinfeld?
As the creator of Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld created a notable exigency to the audience of the
show. An exigency is the primary reason that we, as critical humans, feel a need to speak out on a
given topic or issue (citation). Exigencies make viewers aware that theres a difference between

Wickliffe 2

what we wish (or perceive) to happen and what actually happens. A part of the exigency that
viewers of Seinfeld may subconsciously encounter is the fame and alpha aspect of Jerry
Seinfelds character. Jerry never seems to be wrong, and he always seems to be the leader. The
other three core characters of Seinfeld, George Costanzao, Elaine Bennes, and Cosmo Kramer all
seem to have flaws and minor imperfections that make them who they are. Elaine is a hyper
female character and often runs into trouble, whether shes trying to order Chinese food from a
place that wont deliver to her or if she encounters the soup Nazi. George is a vulnerable and
slightly neurotic character that can never seem to do something right, such as when hes caught
taking his tip out of a tip jar or giving away a flawed cashmere sweater. Kramers overall just a
clumsy and hyper character thats never taken completely seriously. Jerry on the other hand, has
very few flaws, and this is the aura, or sense of authenticity, that the viewers of Seinfeld perceive.

Throughout the nine entire seasons of Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld displayed a notable amount of
beliefs known as Althusserianism, a topic of Marxism. Louis Alhussers beliefs rejected any
normal interpretation of basic superstructure and focused primarily on social formulation.
Althusser claimed that social formation consists of economic, political, and ideological concepts.
Ways that Jerry Seinfeld demonstrates this idea can be viewed through a number of instances in
the show itself. The episode The Cadillac displays the economic factor of Althussers beliefs.
In the episode, Jerry flaunts his plentiful amount of money he was given for a comedy show.
With this fortune, Jerry decided to buy his parents a new Cadillac Fleetwood. This displays
Jerrys economic dominance through social formation on the show. Political and ideological
concepts are especially evident in the episode The Puffy Shirt. In the episode, Jerry makes an
appearance on The Today Show to promote goodwill. This subplot alone highlights Jerrys

Wickliffe 3

positive ideologies. The comical relief of this situation in the episode is the fact that Jerry agreed,
out of kindness, to wear a puffy shirt designed by his friend Leslie. The shirt is described as
what the pirates used to wear, and Jerry didnt like that. The tacky appearance of the shirt
evokes laughter from the shows live audience, and in the episode, Jerry is made fun of on The
Today Show for wearing the shirt, and as a result, denounces the shirt live on air. This situation
demonstrates Jerrys honest judgment and brave decision making as a lead character. This is one
of the few times in the show that Jerry is made fun of and laughed at by others, and it is due to
Jerrys free will to promote an article of clothing designed by an acquaintance of him, not
something that was initially his idea. Although no ordinary interpretations are rejected in these
examples, Jerry Seinfeld still demonstrates a bold sense of Althusserianism through economic,
political and ideological circumstances.
Althusser himself would analyze Seinfeld extensively if he were still here on this Earth. The
concepts of Althusserianism are very prevalent when discussing this particular television show.
With Althusser, ideologies were a very important aspect of his beliefs. According to Cultural
Theory and Popular Culture by John Storrey, Althusser defined ideologies as a system of
representations and a practice, essentially, through which people live their lives to the real
conditions of existence (X). Althusser claimed that ideologies dispel contradictions through a
persons lived experience (citation). Seinfeld is fully of ideologies from numerous character
sources. The four main characters, Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George all exemplify lived
experiences and each hold different and unique personality traits. Jerry, however, shows very
prominent traits pertaining to Louis Althussers beliefs relating to ideologies. Seinfeld was all
about social formation. Throughout the nine seasons, its clear to viewers that Seinfeld strives to
change television. In the episode The Hamptons, Jerry and Elaines friend Carol is introduced

Wickliffe 4

and plays a role in the plot. In the episode, Jerry and Elaine constantly talk about how ugly they
think Carols baby is. Typically in television, babies are delicate subjects that symbolize family.
Babies are often thought of as small and adorable. Seinfeld, however, didnt care about that
preconceived notion. Instead, Jerry and Elaines characters are so brilliantly mean that the
episode is declared a classic. No other television show would call a human baby ugly, but Jerry
Seinfeld changed that.
Louis Althusser argued that if we fully understand the meaning of a specific text, we must be
aware of the several assumptions that will inform it. In our case, the text is the content in
Seinfeld. In the controversial episode The Contest, Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer each
engage in a contest to see who can go the longest without pleasuring themselves. What was
brilliant about this episode was the fact that the word masturbation was indeed not mentioned
one single time. The writer of the episode, Larry David, did this in an effort to keep it T.V
appropriate. Since the particular word wasnt said in the episode, instead, other words were
used to substitute for it. The audience was aware of the assumptions that had to be made to
understand the subject matter of the episode and in return, viewers fully understood the episode.
John Storry gave an excellent example in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture (Pages 89-90) to
help get a grip of the concept of Althussers problematic consisting of underlying ideas and
assumptions. Think of a car advertisement. Typically, a car will be seen driving alone in a scene
of nature, such as a desert or even outer space. This is done to get rid of negative publicity about
cars causing pollution and car congestion. This gives the viewers a new thought process on the
subject through underlying ideas. In Seinfeld, an episode titled The Junior Mint mildly
displays this idea. Jerry cant seem to remember a womans name, but he knows that it rhymes
with a female body part. He thinks to himself, Dolores? Bolva? Without mentioning the body

Wickliffe 5

parts, the audience is still very aware of what the characters are talking about. This evokes
laughter from the viewers. As Louis Althusser believed, ideology is still a representation of the
relationship between individuals to real conditions.

Many fans and television show critics can agree that Seinfeld is a work of art. The writing in
the script, the characters, the countless relatable plots, and everything else that makes this show
what it is. Everyone that has seen the show, whether a fan or not, understands that the artistic
mind behind this show is Jerry Seinfeld himself. As we discussed, Jerry Seinfeld and Marxisms
go hand in hand. While viewing the components of Seinfeld as art, the concept of mechanical
reproduction is highly evident. The mechanical reproduction of art (i.e. the show Seinfeld)
changes the reaction of the masses (critics and viewers). According to John Storreys Cultural
Theory and Popular Theory, The progressive reaction is characterized by the direct, intimate
fusion of visual and emotional enjoyment with the orientation of the expert (X). In relation to
the show Seinfeld, the progressive reaction involved with mechanical reproduction is simply
the way the audience perceives the show. The orientation of the expert in our case, is the
guidance and direction of our main protagonist, Jerry Seinfeld. The way that Jerry Seinfeld
demonstrates mechanical reproduction which changes the reaction of the masses of Seinfeld is
through his unique and refreshing comedy style. Jerry Seinfeld introduced the concept of
incorporation standup comedy material and jokes into a televised sit-com. Each episode of
Seinfeld began with footage from one of Jerrys stand-up routines, followed by the reaction of
the audience (which was always noticeable laughter). After that, the episode began and jokes
used by Jerry in his standup routines emerged in dialogue and subplots. This concept alone
demonstrates how Jerry Seinfeld mechanically reproduced the art of comedy in television. There

Wickliffe 6

are countless of examples that lie within the show that prove this statement. Each episode of
Seinfeld doesnt necessarily have a full on plot. In fact, when the show was first pitched to go onair, it was described as the show about nothing. In the episodes, several different subplots
occur that each hold a strong comedic value which tells a story similar to how Jerry would in a
standup routine. An example of a subplot that holds a hilarious concept can be found in pretty
much every episode throughout the nine seasons. In the episode The Opposite, George does
the exact opposite of what his instructs tell him, and this gets him involved with the New York
Yankees. In the same episode, Elaine leaves her job at Pendant Publishing because of a number
of committed errors. Seinfeld has clearly bred a plethora of timeless classics that will be
remembered and referenced for decades.
Regarding the idea of Jerry Seinfeld mechanically reproducing the art of television, the
shows subject matter also contributed to a large change in reaction from the masses. An episode
of Seinfeld that pushed the limit and went beyond the television norm for provocative subject
matter is clear in the episode The Contest, as stated earlier. This episode was controversial
because of its inappropriate subject matter and was claimed to be too extreme for prime time
television. This episode help obscure sexual references that made clear to the audience what was
going on. In the episode, George Costanzo tells Jerry, Elaine and Kramer that his mother
unexpectedly caught him touching himself. Because of this laudable and vulgar situation,
Kramer, Elaine and Jerry all create a contest to see who can go the longest without pleasuring
themselves. Although television has changed over the years, this Emmy-winning episode
opened up the gate to a whole new style of comedy- inappropriate subject. The audience and
critics of this episode all thought the same thing: that the episode was highly inappropriate and
too controversial for television. NBC thought that the subject of masturbation was too

Wickliffe 7

inappropriate for prime time. What Seinfeld did to compensate for this was that the episode never
once mentions the word masturbation. Instead, euphemisms were used that the audience
clearly knew what was going on. The writer of the episode, Larry David, won a primetime
Emmy for outstanding individual achievement in writing in a comedy series. This highlights
the brilliance of the episode and shows how Jerry Seinfeld changed comedy television. He
simply pushed the limit and focused more on satisfying the audience than satisfying the network,
NBC. Because of this, Seinfeld thrived and continued to be the work of art that it is.
The sit-com Seinfeld is clearly one of the particular shows in the history of television that had
a massive impact of comedy. Seinfelds unique episode structure, hysterical characters and
classic subject matter all contribute to why this show is the timeless classic that it is today and
will be for the decades to follow. Creator and leading character Jerry Seinfeld, however,
definitely played the main role as to how this show included that components that it did. From
bonding with a male nudist on the New York subway (The Nudist) to finding flaws in mostly
all women with man hands or a woman with wo faces (The strike; The Bizarro Jerry),
its clear that Jerry Seinfelds character will never be satisfied. This concept alone opens up the
opportunity to analyze Seinfeld is it relates to different Marxist beliefs such as mechanical
reproduction and Althusserianism, primarily. Seinfeld is truly one of a kind.

Wickliffe 8

Works Cited

Storrey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. Fifth ed. N.p.: Shamset Tabrejee, 2010.
Scribd. 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
Fear, David. "From Soup Nazis to Nuts." Http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/lists/from-soup-nazisto-nuts-100-best-seinfeld-characters-20140709/kevin-19691231. Rolling Stone, 14 July
2014. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.
Contributors, Unknown. "Jerry Seinfeld." SeinfeldScripts. Fan Contributors, 2011. Web. 23 Mar.
2015. <http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/seinfeld-jerry.html>.
Neves, Carlos M. Althusserian Marxism Science, Ideology, and the Problem of Theory and
Practice. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliotheque Nationale Du Canada,
1995. Print.

Wickliffe 9

Bohrer, Ashley. "Althusser's Lesson - Review by Ashley Bohrer - Marx & Philosophy Review of
Books." Marx & Philosophy Review of Books. Jacques Rancire, 2011. Web. 23 Mar.
2015. <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/reviews/2013/712>.

Wickliffe 10

1. Whats the claim or purpose of your paper?

With my paper, my main purpose was to open up my readers minds to the concepts of
Marxism and how it relates to Seinfeld (Jerry, to be exact). I understand that the concepts
associated with my paper can be complex, so with that being said, my goal was to help
my reader understand it well. For example, I tried my best to give as much detail as I
could about Althusserianism, exigencies, and mechanical reproduction. However, my
research paper focused more on Althussers beliefs. The main purpose of my paper was
to make my reader think. I wanted to introduce new concepts to my reader, and then
introduce examples and statements regarding Seinfeld to help my thesis.
2. What did you learn from this paper?
From this paper, I learned a lot of things. I learned a lot of numerous Marxisms. Upon
working on this paper, I read John Storreys Cultural Theory and Popular Culture in
depth. I made sure I had a good understanding of Chapter 4, Marxisms, so I knew what I
was talking about in my paper. Specifically, I learned a great deal about Louis Althusser
and his beliefs. I now have a firm understanding in what he believed in and what he
thought about ideologies. Aside from Marxisms, I also now feel very comfortable with
Jerry Seinfelds character and how he was in the show.
3. What did I do well?
In my paper, what I believe I did well was that I feel as though I included good
examples. I believe that I included a great deal of Seinfeld material which includes
character analysis, episode examples, insight, and proper incorporation. I included
Marxist theories, followed by numerous Seinfeld examples.
4. What didnt I do well?
In paper, I believe that I may have lacked information regarding Althusserianism. My
reader may not fully understand the concepts while reading the paper. Althussers beliefs
are rather complex, so it doesnt surprise me that the readers may have difficulty
understanding what Im talking about.
5. What questions will you have while grading?
The questions my readers may have while reading my paper may include: What exact concept of
Althusserianism are you talking about? Why did you choose Jerry Seinfeld out of all the
characters? Why did you include the examples that you included?
6. What questions do you have for me?
Honestly, I dont have any questions.

Wickliffe 11

Rich,
Youve got a lot of work to do here. The major issue is that the paper just didnt really
make a lot of sense and was hard to follow. I think what would help the most is coming
up with a clear thesis and then making an outline. Youre looking for aspects of
althusserianism in seinfeld, so use the three things mentioned in the definition your
provided: economic, political and ideological circumstances. Then arrange your paper
around those three things. Then, when you get to the section about economics, define
what althusser means by that and provide examples from the show. After providing
examples from the show, tell the reader exactly how the example connects to althusser.
Then do that for the other sections.
The other major issue is that youre not citing most of the stuff that needs to be cited. If
theres anything that you had to look up before you wrote it in the paper, it needs to be
cited. Otherwise its plagiarism.
I would really suggest going to the Reading-Writing Center and getting some help with
this paper, because its going to be hard to fix it on your own.
Grade: D