Lately I've noticed that the crap percentage in the world, in our continent, our country, our state, our city and district , our neighborhood, our street, our building, our home etc. has increased exponentially. Actually may be its probably always been like this, but I just fancy stating this fact at this moment.
I've been watching the news a lot lately and well to put it mildly it depresses the **** out of me. So many dead, so many raped, corrupt politicians , scams, cross border firing blah blah blah. My head was heavy and I decided to switch to something else, because that's the beauty of the remote! You can change the channel.
As my impatient nature had me switching between channels practically at the speed of light, I happened to land on Seinfeld. There they were!! These four self centered , egotistical , self righteous lunatics who made everyday chores , tasks and situations more complicated and yet incredibly hilarious . One of the most interesting things about this show is that all four of the main characters, although completely distinct individuals, with no resemblance in physicality or biography somehow all had a heightened sense of self worth and incredible delusions of grandeur. I found this fact extremely curious. 'THE SHOW ABOUT NOTHING' the incredibly popular line coined about this all time classic of a show, I figured was indeed about something. Were the four of them good human beings??? inherently yes, but their antics were caused mainly because of the way they perceived things and how each one of them most of the time made it worse for each other.
Part of why this show was funny, was also because Jerry's stand up clips were played in every episode and was somehow related to the subject of that particular episode.Why it worked, was because it was relatable. Simple everyday things highlighted and presented in a way that would grab our attention. And using humor to grab our attention . Genius!!. A task for instance- Walking your dog. Its something most dog owners have all done at some point or regularly in their lives. For some its a routine, for some its fun, for some its something that they have to get out of the way so they can have a dog poo free house or yard. Jerry Seinfeld in his routine says-
'Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one of them's making a poop, the other one's carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge' :) See! genius.
He took an everyday situation (as most comics do) and made it hilarious by putting a fun spin on it or may be its merely an exaggerated humorous and hypothetically imaginative observation.
Another example is that of his observation or opinion about a lawyer- 'To me, a lawyer is basically the person that knows the rules of the country. We're all throwing the dice, playing the game, moving our pieces around the board, but if there is a problem the lawyer is the only person who has read the inside of the top of the box'.
What set Jerry Seinfeld apart from other stand up comics is that he had a show , a very talented cast to help him do a whole 20 min show about the routine he did on his stand up shows. That's why it appealed to so many people. It was about everyday life and everyday chores. Relatable.
And as I finished watching the show and somehow contained my laughter I realized that it's always funny to laugh at everyday situations going haywire and berserk ...as long as it doesn't happen to you.
Of course when it happens to you, the shit hits the fan.
:)
