Seinfeld a white man's show?

[Talon87]

So says one Japanese fan:

この番組は白人にはとても人気があるが､黒人には全くの不人気であるという｡

"This TV show is incredibly popular with white people but is entirely unpopular with blacks."

This was in someone's comments for the first season of Japanese-dubbed Seinfeld and I was curious to know: in your experience, is this true? Has anyone ever heard such a claim before? I don't see any reason why this should be true. But then again, I'm white. So maybe I'm blind to the things in Seinfeld which make it appealing to a specifically white audience. Y/N?

An aside: apparently the Japanese-language translation isn't very good. I read on the page that NHK may have done the translations (Japan's version of PBS) and that they rendered a lot of things much more polite than they are in the original crass New York English. At least one fan attributes this to why the show never caught on in Japan. That would certainly do it. Good comedy really does require a razor-sharp translation without which the comedy act can seem bland or confusing. Some gags or punchlines, though, are specific to a particular culture or society. (Like the gay episode where the recurring gag is how they say "Not that there's anything wrong with that!", a common political correctness apology in the United States but perhaps not elsewhere.)

[Doppleganger]

I didn't watch Seinfeld because I was pretty disinterested in sitcoms way back when, but the people I know who are enthusiasts for it are uniformly suburban elites. And yes, they are all white. Though it doesn't help that there are very, very few black folks around here.

[deoxys]

Semi-relevant: Jerry Seinfeld once came to the movie theater I worked at and bought out an entire theater. Instead of going to the management to purchase the entire theater that way, he insisted standing at the booth for 45 minutes while the host printed every ticket individually until he had a thick stack of about 300 tickets or something. I was told that it was an incredibly awkward experience, presumably for the both of them.

Trufax.

[GrJackass]

no hes a notorious dick. comics tell stories about him all the time. one of the regular places he goes to test out new material was the comedy cellar where he parks outside by the hydrant all the time. one night a cop learned whose car it was and was willing to wave the ticket for an autograph... Seinfeld opted for the ticket lol


OH lol my favorite had to been after the opening night of Colin Quinns broadway show 'long story short' they were driving back home, and the car broke down. instead of getting a cab or calling a tow truck he had Colin fucking push his car back to his place.

cause i believe he is the one who bought a brownstone and converted it into his personal parking garage filled with a shit ton of cars.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4L_CBffhOA

[Talon87]

Yeah, he's ridiculously wealthy. He apparently bought a 10+ million dollar mansion + property somewhere ... and had the building demolished because he didn't like a number of small things about it (e.g. didn't like the floor panels) and contractors told him it'd just be better to tear it down and build his dream home there instead of Frankenstein operating on the existing home. They were probably right, but it's still ridiculous. So in any event, he buys this 10+ million dollar mansion, has it demolished, and then builds another 10+ million dollar mansion on top of it. The guy is loaded.

I read a comment the other day on Youtube that suggested that, of anyone who worked on Seinfeld, it's Julia Louis-Dreyfus who's actually the richest one of them all. In addition to the money she made from working on Seinfeld, apparently she's the daughter of a billionaire. Looked it up just now on Wikipedia and ... it seems to be true. Her dad was a member of some group I've never heard of but which apparently is one those "behind-the-scenes movers of the world" kind of agencies. Kinda creepy stuff. lol In any event, yeah. Her dad is a billionaire, her stepdad was the dean of a medical school ... this girl was never hurting for cash.

But back to the question I opened with: is Seinfeld a show that only white and Jewish people tend to enjoy? Or do we have some blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc who'll vouch for enjoying Seinfeld or for non-white, non-Jewish friends or family who enjoy Seinfeld? I always thought it was a show people from all races and backgrounds enjoyed. Rich, poor, young, old, white, black, male, female ... I thought the Seinfeld fandom, large as it is, was also very diverse. Was I wrong?

[Tyranidos]

I like Seinfeld. I am neither white nor Jewish.

[GrJackass]

i mean its hard to say, it was hugely popular here while it was on the air of course. but i honestly dont recall many non white people talking about the show. i dont think it would translate well to be honest. i really cant word it without it sounding bad, so im not gonna attempt it

[Talon87]

Fair enough. I had a hell of a time wording the OP post myself. XD As for the Japanese commenters on Amazon ... they are more than comfortable postulating about race and Seinfeld. XD Can't tell you how many times I saw the word "Jewish comedy" in a 5-star rating reply to the Volume 1 box set. ^^;

[GrJackass]

well if it helps, i'm not jewish /shrug

[deoxys]

I liked Seinfeld. Sometimes. Kramer and George are what made it, but yeah, I mean, I am white... not Jewish... I would never think that race or religion would play into what determines who likes a show, but then again I've never been fond of Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

[GrJackass]

found a way to kinda describe it, Seinfeld just kinda hits at the humor of white culture. much like how Tyler Perry, while to the white eye seems to be devoid of any humor, hits the humor of black culture. if that makes sense.

[GrJackass]

lol deoxy's beat me to it

[Doppleganger]

The implication I'm inferring is Seinfeld is "high-brow" and "white collar" while other ethnicites prefer "low-brow" and "blue collar" comedy.

[deoxys]

Yeah, I suppose cultural background has more influence on taste in humor than I previously thought.

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

"blue collar" comedy

Exhibit A

[Silver Wind]

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

The implication I'm inferring is Seinfeld is "high-brow" and "white collar" while other ethnicites prefer "low-brow" and "blue collar" comedy.

lolwut? I might remember an episode where George is shocked at the fact Jerry bought new sneakers, as if having more more than one pair is outrageous. Personally, I feel the show is directed toward middle-cllass white people and the minor issues they seem to over exaggerate in life.

[GrJackass]

well the only example i can think of which highlights my (and i suppose deoxy's as well) point that doesn't include race would be policemen. they often develop a gallows humor because of the horrible situations they've been put in.

one guy i knew who was a blood splatter analysist would constantly tell me about horrific situations and crack jokes about it that people who aren't in a similar profession would find horrific. why? because its a part of the "culture" of being a policeman or whatnot.

[Doppleganger]

Originally Posted by deoxys

Exhibit A

Exhibit J

[deoxys]

<3

[GrJackass]

my argument to that is that no one liked jersey to begin with