Another politically-charged topic that Seinfeld uses to fodder its storylines is the issue of racism. Unfortunately, in our society racism is still very prevelent today anywhere and everywhere you go from the people who suggest that racism is "the way of life" to the media and even education from parents to their children. Although we have come a long way over the years, it is a sensitive issue that is hard to simply not discuss, because it does come up quite frequently. Seinfeld deals with this sensitive issue by staying neutral and not leaning towards one side or another. This is demonstrated in an episode that we screened in class, "The Wizard," as the characters discuss whether or not Elaine's date is black or white.
As they are discussing the matter, George asks, "Should we even be talking about this?" and Elaine replies that she doesn't need to know his ethnicity, although it is clear that she does care. Another example of the way Seinfeld deals with racism on the show is demonstrated in the same episode when Elaine goes over to her new boyfriend's apartment and hears loud blaring rap music. After hearing the music, she assumes that he is African American. I think that the reference of rap music was not biased because once Elaine arrives to his door, she is proved wrong when he apologizes for the loud music being played by his roomate. I admit that Seinfeld is clearly bringing racism up as an element in the show, but because of the way the characters handle each situation, (once proven wrong) they realize that they were wrong for making such strong assumptions. I wouldn't consider Seinfeld as racist in any way. I think that if racism was meant to be portrayed, they would have found a different way to make this apparent in the show. Overall, I think that Seinfeld is ambiguous in its stance concerning racism among other politically-charged topics because of the dialogue and the actions of each of the characters.
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Racism, as with abortion and homosexuality have become one of the politically-chared topics that can be seen on SEINFELD. SEINFELD has done a good job in portraying the fact that it is a sensitive subject, which makes the show relatable because it is still true today. However, I do not believe the show is ambiguous when it comes to stereotyping people or when it comes to racism. I believe the episode "The Wizard," was made to show how stereotyping people is not always the best thing to do. SEINFELD leans toward the fact that race, and stereotyping is a bad thing as seen when Elaine is trying to figure out her boyfriend's race, and the discussion with her and George. Yes, SEINFELD can be ambiguous with other topics, but with racism I think SEINFELD is biased.
Thanks for the post, Laura. Could you clarify something for me though? You write that "SEINFELD deals with racism [...] when Elaine goes over to her new boyfriend's apartment and hears loud blaring rap music. After hearing the music, she assumes that he is African American." How are these references (rap music, African art, etc.) not biased? I'm sure you have a reason here; it's just not explicit in your blog. Thanks!
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