The critically acclaimed episode “The Contest” of the Seinfeld series was very successful for many reasons. One of the most important reasons that stick out to me is its way with the words. For the most part Seinfeld is known for its narrative structure, distinct rules that characters follow and many other attributes. However, this time around the show primarily wanted to get our attention with its “vulgar” language, that didn’t really exist. Our culture loves when you take to us dirty, but make it “family friendly,” which is exactly what the Creators of the sitcom did for this particular episode. The way the words are used is something that we had never witnessed. For instance, the characters use many metaphors such as Master of your Domain, King of the County, Lord of the Manor, and Queen of the Castle. These phrases were all very new to us when we first heard them in the early 90’s and were expressions that normally wouldn’t be used to depict “masturbation.” In actuality “master” of your domain wasn’t a big family discussion at the dinner table, but we did know it was alive and well. The way Seinfeld brought to us mastering your domain was something very comical and unique, being that America was so uptight about it before. “The Contest” brought us a new and witty prospective on “Queen of the County “ and the languaged used is an element about Seinfeld that will be remembered in pop culture history.
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