Nothing but Norms

If there is one thing that I, my mother, and my grandmother can all agree on, it’s that Seinfeld is a good show.  It’s rare to find someone born in America in the last 80 years that doesn’t like Seinfeld.  The timelessness of the show relies upon one thing that we can all relate to—American social norms.  Take that away and you’ll find that the show has no story, no drama, no action.  In fact, it’s really nothing more than a few friends chatting in an apartment.  But that’s all it needs when it depicts, in a comical light, social predicaments we all know. 

            I recently watched an episode titled “The Dog” and took of the implied social norms in the 22 minutes of runtime:

The overly-friendly stranger:  Jerry is riding on an airplane as an old gentleman next to him goes on a never ending monologue.  We don’t care about your baseball-playing nephew in Minnesota, just let us have some quiet so we can read the dam Sky Mall. 

The pity favor:  The old man next to Jerry on the plane collapses from a heart-attack.  Jerry is obligated to care for the man’s dog in New York until family can pick it up.  You don’t want to do it (even though it’s the nice thing to do), but you have to because you would be labeled a jerk if you didn’t. 

The dog complex: Jerry’s ego struggles with having to carry around plastic bags and pick up behind the dog.  They may be on a leash, but we pick up their crap. 

Friend-in-laws:  Jerry, Elaine, and George are all supposed to go to a movie together, but when Jerry has to watch the dog it makes for an awkward night between Elaine and George.  A good friend of a good friend.  You wouldn’t spend time with him/her unless you were with the go-between friend. 

The friend’s girlfriend/boyfriend rule:  Kramer tells Jerry and Elaine that he is going to break-up with his girlfriend.  Jerry and Elaine are thrilled and can now finally tell Kramer how much they hated his girlfriend.  (In the end, this actually backfires because Kramer gets back with her.  Jerry and Elaine say they should have known not to say anything because “the first break-up never takes”).  She may look like a less cute gremlin; her personality may make you think of four-letter words; but when your friend asks you about his girlfriend she’s always pretty and kind. 

Saving movies for certain friends:  Jerry and George go to the movie theatre and want to see the new hit “Prognosis Negative,” but Jerry says he shouldn’t because he told Elaine he would see it with her.  George convinces Jerry to go, but he knows he will be in trouble when Elaine finds out.  You can’t talk to them during the movie, but you’re sitting next to them watching the movie at the exact same time and that makes all the difference.  You better not see it without me. 

The person you have nothing to say to but should:  Friend-in-laws Elaine and George realize they have nothing to say to each other.  To avoid being left-alone and having any awkward silences they don’t let Jerry go to the bathroom.  You are around each other a lot, but never alone.  The problem is you have nothing in-common and you can only talk about the weather for so long.