Millennials Are Watching ‘Seinfeld’ And Think It’s Really Offensive

Feb 03, 2019

It wasn't too long ago that millennials were tweeting about how offensive some jokes were throughout the entire run of Friends. Now that that's blown over, it seems that millennials have found issues with Seinfeld in somewhat of the same vein as they did with Friends.

The generation, which encompasses those aged between 22 and 37, have found issue with a few particular jokes from the classic show.

This is one of the more famous jokes from Seinfeld's entire run, and it does hit a bit on the nose. The entire scene is set up as a loose anecdote of the conditions that many Jews faced in concentration camps during World War II. Because of that, it's relatively easy to find offense with the scene.

The scene, which first aired in 1995, introduced a great chef who was nicknamed 'The Soup Nazi.' This is due to his demand for order in the queue, as well as his demands on his staff for extreme discipline when it comes to preparing food and serving customers. Also, a part of the joke was his adamant refusal to sell food to any customers who made a complaint.

Puerto Rico Day has been celebrated by thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people outside of Puerto Rico, not to mention Puerto Ricans themselves. Because of that, Seinfeld dedicated an entire episode to the holiday. But, that's not where the offense has come from.

In a short joke from the episode, Kramer accidentally sets the flag on fire before promptly trying to put out the flames by stomping on the flag. Naturally, this offended everyone who was gathered to celebrate the day and managed to end up offending millennials over two decades later.

This is one of the jokes that came across as offensive even during Seinfeld's initial run. While visiting a friend in the hospital, Kramer stumbles across a mentally ill patient who also happens to be overweight. Due to his mental illness, the patient believes that he's got the face of a pig and runs around yelling 'Pig Man!' Naturally it's very easy to find the offense here, as not only does the show make fun of the patient's weight, but also mental illness itself.

During one part of a particular episode, George ends up staring at a teenage girls cleavage which gets him into hot water with the girl's father. While it's played as a joke, many millennials found offense with the objectification of a seemingly underage girl. However, that's not where the joke stops.

In an effort to show that it's 'natural' for a man to stare at a woman's (or girl's) cleavage, George convinces a female friend to show off her cleavage in the presence of the girl's father. The shows takes it slightly further than this by the father seemingly understanding what George means. This isn't the only time that Seinfeld has seemingly objectified women in this way, with people highlighting some other episodes and jokes that are somewhat similar.

With the amount of social media buzz surrounding the supposed controversy, it was inevitable that Jerry Seinfeld would share his stance about the issue. As Bustle has noted, Seinfeld has commented on the offense being caused by the series before.

Having said that, though, many millennials mightn't be satisfied with his response. Initially, he stated that pushing boundaries has typically been what's made comedy funny for decades. That's what made the series so popular during its initial run, as well as for years afterward. He also observed that ethics and comedy have changed in the 20 years since the show first aired.

However, that's not all that he's said about the ethics of comedy over the past few years, as well as society itself. As Bustle has noted, Seinfeld has suggested that society has become too politically correct and this has been retroactively used to find offense in a number of classic television shows and movies. As he's suggested, this has applied to the likes of Friends and has now been turned toward Seinfeld.

Jerry Seinfeld has also noted that it's been increasingly more common that modern standards of ethics are being applied to comedy that in some cases can be decades old. It seems that he's suggested that these older shows will never match up to modern standards, due to the fact that they're not modern shows. This, in turn, has led to the supposed controversy surrounding these kinds of shows.

Not all of the criticism has been aimed at the show, however. As sites such as the Daily Wire have pointed out, the standards of today will always provide an excuse to find offense in shows that are a decade or more older. As the Daily Wire notes, the jokes weren't considered offensive when they were initially aired; at least, they didn't receive as much controversy as they do now.

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Not all of the criticism was so serious, though. As Brobible pointed out, Bustle had a problem with the use of the word 'Nazi' in a way that isn't very serious. This is even though Bustle used the term 'grammar Nazi' on at least four occasions, which Brobible were more than happy to point out in a relatively comedic way.

There's also the fact that in one episode, Jerry and George are mistaken for a same-sex couple. This ends up forming the basis of a number of jokes throughout the episode, which has also garnered considerable controversy. This is even though the episode received a GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Award for its depiction of same-sex relationships.

What do you think of the Seinfeld controversy? Do you think they're actually offensive, or are they just a product of their time? It'd also be interesting to see what your friends think about the supposedly offensive nature of Seinfeld, so why not get them in on the discussion?