Larry David: Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Tasteless (SNL)

I am one of perhaps a dozen people in the English speaking world who has never watched "Seinfeld" but an episode about Schindler's List????

If you’ve never seen any Seinfeld episodes, it would seem a strange topic for a comedy. IMO, the episode wasn’t so much making fun of the movie Schindler’s List nor of the Holocaust as much as it was pointing out, in a comedic way, the way some people viewed the movie with a near religious zeal. In the episode, among other intersecting plot lines, as there are always intersecting plot lines, Jerry’s parents have come from their retirement home in Florida to visit Jerry and are staying at his apartment but putting a crimp into his relationship with his new girlfriend; they can’t get any alone time together because his parents are always showing up and interrupting. And everyone is asking Jerry if he’s seen Schindler’s List and when he says no, is admonished that he “Must!” go see it.

So he and his girlfriend go to see it but they end up in the back row of the dark movie theater, and being sort of like hormonal teenagers, they start making out before the movie starts but keep making out after the movie starts. And Jerry’s arch nemesis, the postman and neighbor Newman, sees them and rats him out to his parents.

But Seinfeld was after all, a “show about nothing”. At lot of it, while often over the top and greatly exaggerated, really boiled down to everyday things happening to every day people, especially every day New York things and people or lampooned normal conventions and in retrospect, poked fun of a lot of political correctness.

One of my favorite episodes takes place in a big shopping mall garage where Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer, leave the mall but then can’t find where they’ve parked the car in this huge garage. That actually happened to me and some friends once and we, much like in the episode we wandered around for what seemed like hours trying to find it. It doesn’t sound like something that would make for a half hour of comedy but it worked and was really funny.

Speaking political correctness:

Kramer won't wear an AIDS ribbon

Seinfeld — Native American (Full Scene)

There are two kinds of people, those who love Seinfeld and those who hate it. Well, three if you count those who have never seen it but then – “No Soup For You!”

Well there was “The Producers” with “Springtime for Hitler”.....

Well I was in a different category of “lukewarm” about Seinfeld. I have seen maybe 10 or so episodes over the years, and it gets some chuckles out of me, but I neither love it nor hate it.

I'm with you. It's comedy we are talking about and I'm tired of everyone being offended. No special segments of our society should be off limits for comedy or criticism if it's warranted (often shrouded in a good joke), not the Jews, not the Blacks, not the Whites or the Hispanics. We need equal opportunity humor, and maybe it would be healthier and more instructive if we could just lighten up.

He’ll “joke” about anything.