#5 What Guys Want

If there was a poll taken to discover what the 3 things that guys enjoy doing the most, I’m sure eating, watching television, and having sex would be at the top of the list. In the first clip of the SEINFELD episode “The Blood,” George finds himself attempting to combine food, television, and sex into one activity at the same time. For the everyday SEINFELD viewer, this scene is just another belligerent, off-the-wall move that is expected from George. However, from an analytical perspective, there is a bigger picture to be seen that the show is trying to convey to the audience. SEINFELD is making fun of society’s stereotype of guys by combing all 3 elements. George doesn’t care about the girl next to him in bed; he is only focused on fulfilling his own wants and needs that supposedly all guys must have.
In the second clip from “The Blood,” SEINFELD continues the joke by showing George lustfully eating his food as Jerry looks on in disgust. George is now sexually turned on by his own food and has gone to the extreme of connecting the idea of sex with food. Jerry even compares George to a horny Roman emperor while he is eating to give the audience a comical reference to compare to George. As society watches this episode, not only are we laughing at the amusing actions of George in the show, but also the stereotype of the typical guy in reality.

#5 The Greedy American World

It seems like in today's society, nobody ever has enough. Whether it comes to food, sex, or television time you always want more. So, naturally, a man would come up with the idea of combining the best of all his worlds. George, in "The Blood", tries to do what nobody has tried before by eating a sandwich and watching television while in bed with a woman. Of course, he gets caught. SEINFELD is showing that America will always want more and can never be satisfied with what they have. I believe even if George got away with his "Trifecta" it wouldn't be enough for him. What would he need to satisfy him-a toy car to look at? Especially with George's over-the-top personality, there is nothing that can be done for him to sit back, relax, and enjoy what he has in front of him.

In the second clip of "The Blood", he has mixed his feelings up and is turned on by the roast beef sandwich in front of him. I believe SEINFELD is also making a point of karma- if you try to selfishly get everything you want, it will come back and kick you in the back. George now has to suffer from his greedy decision by getting flushed every time he eats, which I don't feel sorry for him in the least bit!

Can I get a Trifecta Combo?

Turn on the television and watch a few commercials, probably seventy-five percent of them have some sort of food or sexual reference; or sometimes even both as seen in the Carl's Jr. commercials where Paris Hilton is seen sexually munching on a burger. In "The Blood" George is seen in bed with a woman, but in the mix of things starts eating a sandwich and watching TV. I believe that in this episode of Seinfeld the characters are poking fun at America's wild obsession with sex, food and TV. Laughing at how, generally, our minds are on the "trifecta" twenty-four hours a day, showing how we seem to spend the majority of our days associating ourselves with these actions, and in George's case, all three. By combining all three of these "American pastimes" Seinfeld is showing us that sex, food and TV have somehow combined into one mindset where as we think of one, the others are involved. As seen in the second clip, where as George eats a sandwich, he gets flustered, since he associated the sandwich with sex. George clearly showed his strong connection to the three; and if he can't even eat a sandwich without becoming excited, what is that saying about America's fascination with sex, food, and TV. I just wonder how far are we going to take this fixation; or will sex, food and TV forever be considered a "combo" deal?

#5: The Consequences of Multitasking

In the first clip from “The Blood,” Seinfeld suggests that when you combine food, sex, and television you get what George so poignantly refers to as “the trifecta,” or the most pleasurable combination of activities. While George is a gifted liar and cheater, he is not a first-rate multitasker and is unable to avoid arousing the suspicion of the woman he is attempting to have sex with while eating a sandwich and watching a minuscule, portable television. When she calls him out on his faux pa after catching him humping the bed with sandwich and television in hand; he meekly mutters that he was actually trying to pleasure her while obviously fully absorbed with his own wants.

In the second clip from later in the episode, Jerry and George are conversing about how George has created a sexual association between food and sex (and although not mentioned in the clip, quite possibly television). George starts hastily devouring his own food and even some of Jerry’s. This behavior suggests that George has created a physiological need for “the trifecta” which directly affects his demeanor as we see him mumbling that he’s sleepy right after gorging himself. I’m sure these humorous connections between food, sex, and television popped up again in this episode or another with other hilarious consequences for George, physically and emotionally.

In today’s American society we constantly celebrate our many pastimes. These two clips of SEINFELD bring up three of our favorite and most enjoyable, sex, food, and television.

In the first clip George is starting to fool around with his girlfriend. He then crawls out from under the sheets and reaches for a sandwich in the drawer next to the bed. All while “pleasuring” his woman, George the goes for “the trifecta” as he then pulls out a miniature television. And, as always, George’s ridiculous schemes and constant selfishness backfires on him.

In the second clip Jerry and George are eating in the show’s classic restaurant. The two are eating holding their traditional “conversation about nothing” when George goes into a very awkward and unusual erotic state. Jerry then makes a connection between George's sandwich and his suppressed sexual desires.

In these two clips SEINFELD blatantly present these three pastimes. It shows how we as Americans can be completely obsessed with them. The funny part about it is that they’re right. You can see it all over the place. You hear it in the content of our conversations and you see it in our actions. We watch hours of TV every day and eat to the point of exhaustion. Not to mention that sex has become more of a recreational activity then actually something meaningful. We have become so consumed with these pleasures that you can find see it all at one time. Just think about how many television commercials you’ve seen advertising either sex or food?

Having the cake and eating it too

The episode, "The Blood", could be considered the epitome of Seinfeld. The reason this sitcom stands apart from all others is that it takes the daily minutiae of everyday life and throws it in the face of viewers. Food, sex, and television are the most basic pleasures in a day to day routine as well as the most selfish yet we relate so eaily to this sitcom we cannot realize the extent of our greed.
Most people have certain preferences about each of these; what food one likes, what channel they want to watch, and the appearance of a sexual partner. For example in "The Chinese Restaurant", Elaine is starving and Jerry comments, "I offered you those cookies in my apartment" and she replies that they tasted of cardboard. Various examples come from coversations between Jerry and George discussing 'The Move' and womens' reactions to it. Lastly, in "The Haircut", the Hairdresser's enjoy the movie, "Edward Scissor Hands".

When George attempts the "tri-fecta" of pleasures, the plan backfires and his girlfriend is irate because of his greed. Humans continuously try to find ways to have our cake and eat it too while sending e-mails on our i-phones.

I just gotta have my Pops!

IN most episodes of Seinfeld, there is an abundance of food and food products. As Americans, we encourage eating, to the point where we are one of the fattest countries in the world. Our ever increasing waistlines are of course, subtle plot elements as many foods are featured in the episodes throughout the 9 season run.

Throughout Seinfeld's long run, there were a lot of candy products used as plot points. Junior Mints, Twix, Jujyfruits, Snickers, Nestle Chunk, and PEZ were monumental in several of Seinfeld's episodes.

In Jerry's apartment, he is obsessed with breakfast cereal. He has a plethora of various cereal boxes in his apartment, snacking on them at all times of the day. In "The Invitations," Jerry meets a girl who is "his soul-mate," who also snacks on cereal at random times of the day. The series finale shows Jerry's mother packing a suitcase full with cereal, as this is his very favorite food.

#5 He Didn't Even Offer Her a Bite

It is pretty easy to take clips from an episode like this basically any direction that you would like. Whether that may be saying that it is SEINFELD’ S way of poking fun at the American society that is spiraling downward due to its increasingly informal approach to topics such as pre-marital sex. Personally what I think it was genius writing that found a way to poke fun at multiple things all at once sort of like Georges ‘Trifecta’. In this once scene SEINFELD manages to find comedy from every angle.
First they use the food factor which is basically guaranteed to get a reference in every episode (always in awkward moments such as these). Second the fact that George pulls out his television, which undoubtedly has become a primary focus of today’s society and uses it in an extremely unorthodox manner. Thirdly for all of those George fans out there it is yet another classic narcissistic George moment; taking everything he enjoys the most into consideration and nothing about his lover, George knows what he likes and he wasn’t going to let a silly thing like this girls feelings get in the way of the perfect day.
To follow up on that last example think about the lunch conversation with Jerry. After Jerry compares him to Calagula, a sexually perverse roman emperor, he says “you’ve combined food and sex into one disgusting controllable urge!”, but it is Georges reaction to this that is the giveaway, he exclaims “you’re right!” almost as if he just discovered fire for the first time. The fact that he was ecstatic and impressed with himself and not mourning over his lost love further demonstrates his narcissistic ways.

#5 Two of the most pleasurable things in life

Sex and Food, sounds like every guys fantasy, just through in a game of football and it sounds like a guys whole life. Which means mixing the three at the same time is gluttony. They are three seperate pleasures that should be enjoyed seperately, or there might be problems. Like in the episode "The Blood" in the first clip, George thinks that the sex will be better with his girlfriend or would be more interesting if he does his two other favorite things, eat and watch TV; which leads to make his girlfriend mad and leads to their break up. Which further shows that each pleasure should be enjoyed seperately.
In the second clip shown of the episode "The Blood", Jerry is disgusted in the way George is enjoying his sandwhich in the way someone would enjoy sex. Jerry implies that if you mix the two or three pleasures together, they will mend together and create a habit which could switch the reactions; which is what happened to George in the Restaurant. To be on the safe side, keep your three pleasures seperate and enjoy them seperately.

#5 Sex - The New TV

After viewing "The Blood" episode from SEINFELD, it is clear that the writers were making a statement about the lowering standards that sex has in today's society. To enforce this point, this episode took everyday activities and meshed them with sex.

As seen in the first clip from "The Blood", George (Jason Alexander) is in bed with a woman, while eating a sandwhich, and then watches TV. All Americans eat, all Americans watch TV. Our society is heavily influenced by the food we eat, our entertainment, and what the mass media "feeds" to us. To throw sex into these things, implies that it is now apart of something we do everyday - something that is a routine.

Additionally, this point is further emphasized in the second clip. George and Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) are at Monk's and are talking about George's date. While George is eating, Jerry realizes he has infused sex with food. This reiterates the fact that society today has combined two once separate things. We, society, are "confused" about what should be a normal, everyday activity and what should be something that should be kept sacred.

While this episode was meant to show how ideas in society alter overtime, it is ironic how media, specifically TV and movies, is one of the major reasons why this confusion is present.

#5: It's all about food

The episode titled "The Blood" shows to a new extent how many situations SEINFELD includes food in life. SEINFELD has a reoccurring theme of food and puts it in comedic situations, from anything to comedic situations in a diner to eating food while having sex. The situation, where George (Jason Alexander) eats food while having sex and watching television, adds to the mountain of funny situations involving food.

Two episodes of SEINFELD that involve a few of the shows many scenes that involve food in a comedic manner are "The Pez Dispenser", "The Junior Mint". In "The Pez Dispenser" a raucous is caused when Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) brings a pez dispenser to a piano recital that causes Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to laugh loudly, sparking a chain of events that include the ruined piano recital of Georges girlfriend, the end of their relationship, and a former drug addict becoming addicted to the candy.

In the episode "The Junior Mint" an ex-boyfriend of Elaine's, who she decides to make plans with after she sees that he is skinnier, is having surgery when Kramer (Michael Richards), who is observing the surgery with Jerry, accidentally drops a Junior Mint into the open chest cavity while trying to get Jerry to have one. This eventually leads to George buying art, the man coming close to death, and Elaine breaking off her plans with him.

These are only a few of the many different situations that SEINFELD decides to include food in that end up causing some sort of hilarious chain of events.

#5: Food for thought

The clippings from the episode ‘The Blood’ in the sitcom Seinfeld suggest the paradigm shift of the conventional dominant theory of the five classical elements of life – ‘earth, wind, fire, water and non matter’ to the ‘trifecta’ of present day life - ‘Food, sex and TV’.

George attempts to ‘complement’ his love making with a sandwich and his portable TV and even compares the spiciness of the mustard to the intensity of his lover. He realizes the danger of combining food with sex when he draws an analogy to his behavior as flying “too close to the sun on wings of pastrami."

Jerry is aghast at this attempt to ‘combine food and sex into one disgusting uncontrollable urge’ raising a morality issue even though the characters of George, Jerry and Elaine seem morally indifferent.

This episode makes me think of the philosophy of life. There is no single definition of philosophy. It is dynamic and changes with the times. The ‘trifecta’ of present day life as implied in ‘The Blood’ - Is this the philosophy of modern times?

#5 Glutiny Is A Sin

In the episode "The Blood" I see Seinfeld suggesting that there are certain things that need to be respected and not belittled by mixing them with monotonous tasks. To me they have made a judgment that if you don't have a certain amount of respect for an act such as sex then perhaps you don't deserve to have it. In essence George gets into trouble because he gets to greedy when he should be counting his blessings he's in the situation in the first place!

There is another thought that comes to mind watching this episode, what social commentary is presented? Seinfeld seems to be saying that we as a culture are over indulging and that if we continue we are bound to regret it, just as George did. I think this is portrayed very clearly in Jerry’s reference to George as “Caligula”, a Roman Emperor known for his veraciously deviant sexual appetite who was assassinated by his own body guards in response to his behavior. If the American situation is truly that dire we are in for some very bad times.

#5 Sex with TV and Food??!!

When I watched the two clips, “The blood,” I couldn’t understand what this episode was trying to tell me at first. As I saw several times, I could understand that this wanted to show the American society as well. These days, percentage of corpulence is increasing and many people are spending lots of time sitting in front of stupid box, television. Also people think that having sex is not a big deal. At the clip, George showed every issue in these days society. He was trying to do having sex, eating and watching television at the same time to pleasure himself. Also it showed that George think that sex is the just casual thing as watching television and eating sandwich. When I came to the America first, I was shocked about how Americans think about the sex. They have really open mind about sex and they think that it is ok to have sex if they are going out. But in my country, having sex before married is really immoral so first time it was hard to understand showing having sex on the television as casual. Still I think that having sex before married is not good. I hope that many people think that this kind of episode is for making humorous and these issues are considerable in these days.

#5: Would you like some sex with those fries?

These two clips from SEINFELD's "The Blood" simplify the over-eager infatuation that Americans have with the trifecta that is food, sex and television. While these clips in no way show a long time period, they do highlight how in our society most of our time is spent doing (or thinking about) one or many of the three items in the trifecta, and is giving a comic example of what it would be like if we ever combined all three (as we combine two of the three on many occasions). If seeing George struggle in his juggling of the three wasn't funny enough, his mate steps in to make sure he knows of her presence (which he does, but it's very seldom).

In addition, George becomes de synthesized to having all three emotions present at once, which adds to the comedy when he is eating in the diner and is moaning as if he is feeling sexual pleasure.

This episode also makes a statement about how we are becoming de synthesized because the pleasure from an emotion such as sex that should be special and rare is being compared to the pleasure that you are given when you eat or watch t.v.

combining food, sex, and t.v. for a plethora of pleasure

I'm fairly sure that George is one of the few people in the world who would bring a sandwich and mini t.v. into bed when with a woman. Seinfeld clearly does this for comedic purposes, but is not to far from the truth. In America we have become a society that strives to combine our favorite things. We now have a combination of cell phones/cameras/video cameras/ and computers. You can see a movie while having dinner. So why not eat a sandwich while watching t.v. in bed with a woman?

It seems like a perfectly acceptable thing to combine the things that bring you the most pleasure because you would think that together they would bring you the most joy and pleasure possible. We see George in the diner after his encounter in the bedroom and he is blushing while he eats his sandwich then sees Jerry's fries and wants those too. This does not seem likely in real life, but the concept of getting some kind of joy or excitement from something random is fairly understandable. We sometimes tie fond memories to completely obscure or random things so Seinfeld took this and made it humorous.

# 5 TV DINNER WITH A SIDE OF SEX

The episode "The Blood," is an over exaggerated example how food, sex and TV are skewed in the American society today. In this episode, George attempts to combine his three loves in life into one. While doing this comical juggling act the writers are trying to portray a deeper, more serious meaning. I feel that the writers are commenting on American society and how they take meaning out of important parts of life. They do this by relating sex and eating, to meaningful actions, by relating it back to something you would do everyday, like watching TV. The purpose of eating is obviously to get the right amount of nutrients and energy. In America it is used for pleasure and over indulging, and who better to show it than your model American overeater, George Costanza. Much alike to overindulging in food, many Americans will also overindulge in sex. When people start to overindulge in these activities, it takes the meaning out of them and turns into a purposeless part of everyday life, like watching TV.

#5: One large order of SEINFELD- hold the sex.

After watching these two clips of "The Blood" I went back through some other of my classmates' responses to see if they might have felt the same way or similar to the way I felt during the clips. I also have been brought up to believe in sex as a sacred act, and that it should be treated that way. However, in society today, that standard has been lowered considerably. An unattached man may go out one night to a bar or other large social gathering. Upon entering, he has presented himself with an "all-you-can-eat buffet" of women. We see it in movies all the time right? When taking the time to sit back and consider this I was able to get past my own moral standards, and focus on the entertainment value of sitcoms like SEINFELD that use witty humor to attack issues in society today. With this in mind, I re-watched the clips from Seinfeld. I agree with the statement that Jerry Seinfeld is actually ridiculing America for its current values on sex.

What struck me as most humorous was the clip of George and Jerry sitting at the diner eating, and discussing George's recent embarrassing sexual encounter. It reminded me of two girlfriends who get together after one of them has been on a blind date. They giggle and gossip about how cute or unfortunate this man was, or about his personality, etc. Seeing Jerry and George "giggle and gossip" about the affair was funny because they are two middle-aged men. Not only that, but they brought food into the mix! What a winning combination. George's comment, "This sandwich is making me flush!" was hysterical! This, to me, was the same as a woman saying to another woman, "I was so nervous I was sweating," or "His pick-up line had me blushing." But feeling flushed over a sandwich, George? Ha! This also opens up another idea to me. Perhaps, more than simply insulting America for its low sex standards, the writers of "The Blood" sought to poke fun at single women, and their post-date conversations.

(5) Me, My-sex and I

After viewing the clips of “ The Blood”, it took me a while to realize exactly what SEINFELD was trying to suggest about food and sex. I begin to think about what America drives on, sometimes negatively and positively and the answer was very clear SEX! In “The Blood” we see George in the bed with his mate of the week, not only is he not paying attention to her, his mind is engaged in eating and entertainment. This particular section of the episode shows that not only has sex become a chore for some people it has become something that is for self-pleasure only. This is shown especially by George because of his narcissistic-ness, but is humorous because sex is becoming exactly how George portrays it. For yourself, for your own pleasure, and forget about the person you’re suppose to be with.

Lastly, SEINFELD is suggesting that food is becoming a pleasure for people instead of its original use. As seen by George in “The Blood”, he is being very pleasured by the food. He begins to eat it uncontrollably and ask Jerry is he going to eat his food, Jerry goes on to say “I hope that’s all you’re gonna do with it”. This statement was perfect; because it is suggesting that not only does America eat food, we indulge in it to the point were we have a high percentage of obesity. Basically SEINFELD was making fun of America on its takes of food and sex, and there metaphors are exactly correct.

#5 The Casual Dress of Sex

Something that has been greatly deteriorated by the media in recent generations is sex. Many people today believe that sex is just something for pleasure, and it is nothing special or out of the ordinary. I’ve always believed that sex is something shared between two people in love who are bound under marriage. However, it is no mystery on why many people have such casual views on sex. Many sitcoms, such as SEINFELD, joke about sex and even portray it as something that can be multi-tasked, as seen in “The Blood.”

George states that he was simply just trying to pleasure the woman in “The Blood.” I have been raised with the morals that sex should be an emotional connection, not just something where you try to pleasure your partner. I have been on the phone with someone when they were multi-tasking on the other line, and this made me feel unimportant because they didn’t really care about what I was saying. I can only imagine how useless that woman must have felt when she realized that George was trying to eat, watch television, and have sex with her at the same time. Our society finds comic relief in watching episodes such as “The Blood.” George makes a fool out of himself, and the audience finds humor in the fact that George believes food and television to be just as important as sex. Furthermore, I hope that our society can remember that the ideas portrayed on sitcoms are not always morally correct.

#5 A Medley of Fun

After watching these clips, it is apparent that SEINFLED is suggesting that sex, food, and television drive society and modern culture. This sitcom is playfully stabbing at the truth of American culture, that nearly everyone is gluttonous and selfish. Nearly every American spends a decent portion of their day in front of the television and we’re all over weight because we stuff our faces while we’re in front of the tube. Anyone can eat and watch TV without a problem but George seeks to add sex into the equation one big medley of entertainment. At the end of “The Blood”, George is with a woman who just pulled a batch of pastrami, the most sensual of meats, and she, like George, has this desire to have sex, stuff her face, and watch television at the same time. To me, SEINFLED seems to be subtly suggesting that everyone has this hidden desire to combine these pleasures just as George did at the end of this particular episode. This humorous approach to these three subjects causes us to laugh because with some people this may be true! However, hopefully the majority of America is not like George Costanza. 

#5: Seinfeld's Wake-up Call

SEINFELD is in many ways a reflection of our society, and in our society we are obsessed with three main things: food, sex, and television.

In the episode “The Blood,” George is in bed with a woman, fooling around under the sheets. Suddenly, George grabs a sandwich and a portable T.V. and attempts to “pleasure” the woman while eating and watching television. Naturally, the woman is upset with the situation and jumps out of bed in disgust. Later, George is seen eating with Jerry at Monk’s. As George takes a bite out of his sandwich he begins to breathe heavily; the sandwich is making him flush. Jerry says that he has combined food and sex into one uncontrollable urge; it is as if Jerry is speaking to all of America.

Our society is filled with millions of George characters. In an ideal world, having sex, while eating, and watching television, would be a daily routine in our society. The episode “The Blood,” is trying to suggest how pathetic this obsession is. Our society is so consumed with food, sex, and television that a situation, such as the one George ingeniously demonstrates, is actually believable. Perhaps SEINFELD is trying to give us a wake-up call.

#5 Sensual Sex According to SEINFELD

Like many real life topics, sex on SEINFELD is rarely portrayed in an intimate, private way. Instead, humor and open discussion about sexual endeavors, such as in "The Blood", is common. George, who can be characterized as a highly narcissistic man, is the perfect character to exploit sex in this episode. Above all else, I believe SEINFELD is attempting to convey to the public that sex is no longer an intimate act with a partner. Instead, to people such as George sex is simply an uneventful past time, or something to keep their partner satisfied for the time being. Not only has sex become just something to do, but people no longer have to feel much emotion, such as love for another, to engage in these acts. Individuals have become selfish enough to dispose of a once sacred act of love, only to replace it as a "multi tasking event." In "The Blood" George is seen juggling supposed sex with his girlfriend, eating a sandwich, and listening to the television. The humor society sees in this episode is that the male mindset is believed to consists of the three guilty pleasures: indulgence of food, entertainment, and sex, which George portrays perfectly. Although we laugh at George for his typical jerk ways, perhaps we as a society should ponder the deeper meaning being conveyed in "The Blood". Surely sex has not become a complete physical act free of all emotional ties, at least not to everyone.

#5: Sex-a-licious!

The two clips from Seinfeld take the three basic "likes," food, sex, and television and combine them to convey the comical, yet pathetic behaviour of George and Jerry

Whilst the idea that all men like to do once they get home from work is, watch t.v, eat, and have sex may be partly true according to social stereotypes, Seinfeld addresses each element separately in its series as each element does have a significant role- in our daily lives. Food for instance is the main plot in the "The Dinner Party" whilst television shows is the sub- plot in "The Puffy Shirt", and last but not least sex is addressed in "The Blood". Only this time combining all three to establish a storyline for the audience to grasp the fact, that it is possible to committ to all three indulgences at the same time- as George foolishly does- is hilarious, because it's an act that no one in todays society would attempt to try.

Usually one of the three would follow one after the other, according to a "normal" human beings presumumption, but the notion that here we have an individual actually attempting to committ to eating, watching t.v and having sex all at the same time undermines the viewers expectations is the ingredient to what makes this particular episode funny. Even Jerry exclaims in astonishment, "Oh no I'll tell what you did...you've combined food and sex into one disgusting uncontrollabe urge." Without setting any clear morals behind the main plot of the episode, "The Blood" is one of the prime examples of Seinfeld's paradoy on shows, hence "a show about nothing," where the sitcoms obsession on everydays minutiae seems to be the main premise for Seinfeld's main plots.

#5: The Trifecta

In the following clips from the episode "The Blood," what is Seinfeld suggesting about either food, sex, or television OR the combination of food, sex, and television? As always, be sure to include examples from the primary text (i.e., the episode) to support your point(s).