In this episode, titled The Serenity Now, Elaine discovers her "shiksa appeal" and suddenly every Jewish man in New York, including her former boss, his Bar Mitzvah age son, and Jerry, is attracted to her. Elaine seeks help from the rabbi to see if she can reduce her "
We know this episode will get a mixed reaction from our readers, but it's Jewish, it's funny, and it makes a statement about the role of Jewish life in pop culture. So relax, lighten up, and enjoy!
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This clip is notable, but not for its humor. It is, in fact, an excellent example of how deeply embedded in our culture was/is the acceptability of sexual assault. The men in this clip do not simply come on to Elaine; they assume the right to physically appropriate her body for a sex act. And to do so with few consequences. A 13 year boy believes that "being a man" entitles him to french kiss a woman and is never reprimanded for this by anyone other than Elaine, for whom the issue is age, not the fact that she has neither indicated interest nor given permission for anyone to touch, let alone kiss, her. Back in the day, I was a Seinfeld fan and probably laughed at this episode. Today, in the light of the Stanford rapist and so many other unpunished perpetrators of sexual assault who think it is their right to violate women's bodies, this clip is chilling evidence of how mainstream culture communicated and reinforced such ideas -- even something as "cool" and liberal as "Seinfeld." Quite frankly, we can't change history but we needn't make the same mistake again. This was a very poor choice for JHC.
ReplyDeleteVery funny. Sad that Reb Pesach doesn't see this as part of a comedy.
ReplyDeleteI knew there was a reason I didn't watch "Seinfeld!" This episode also humiliates Jewish women and makes fun of Jewish men/boys as well.
ReplyDeleteHilarious! I don't consider the kiss from a 13 year old "sexual assault", and she rebuffed him and his father, too. The 'shiksappeal" idea is very cute, and Jerry is satirizing his own people in this episode. He and Larry David are satirizing a very real concept, the Jewish man who goes after a shiksa. I think it was done cleverly, and I laughed throughout.
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