In a recent interview, Jerry Seinfeld responded angrily to criticism that his new web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, much like his 90’s sit-com, had a noticeable absence of diversity.
—A link to the interview—( Jerry Seinfeld Responds to Criticism
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Seinfeld states that “Funny is the world that I live in. You’re funny, I’m interested. You’re not funny, I’m not interested. I have no interest in gender or race or anything like that.”
As he is wont to do, Seinfeld elevates the profession of comedian to something almost divine, an art so high that is beyond the everyday obligations of political correctness or personal responsibility.
His argument, at first glance, seems really reasonable. Upon closer inspection, though, his approach invariably explains his resulting history of diversity problems. Seinfeld is the best judge of what he thinks is funny and, when he jokes with fellow straight white male comedians, there are more shared experiences -marriage jokes, sex jokes, church jokes, whatever- and so, when a joke is told and it is a reflection of an experience that Seinfeld more easily identifies with, it is logical that he will simply get those jokes. He’s invariably less likely to identify with humor derived from the experiences of, I don’t know, someone like Gabourey Sidibe, or perhaps someone like Aziz Ansari. Thus, it is rational that Seinfeld can easily feel that he’s reached an objective conclusion when he deems such comedians unfunny.
Seinfeld’s statement reveals a still more crucial error in judgment.
As with opponents of various diversity programs, Seinfeld seems to misinterpret the purpose of those programs as diversity for the sake of diversity, as something that is forced on predominately white organizations for the sake of making them look good. It’s a common misunderstanding, but it has devastating effects.
Take Saturday Night Live, for example.
Personally, I love the show. Sketch comedy just works. Still, because the show appeals largely to a white heterosexual audience, there have been many times when I’ve had to strain to relate to much of the humor. If a particular sketch relied on heavy references to a mid-1980’s, middle class childhood, I’d just try to recall every Molly Ringwald movie I’ve ever seen and hope for the best.
The problem is not that the show was not funny- people like Kristen Wigg could make a funeral funny. The problem was that the bulk of the show’s humor only appealed to a very narrow range of experiences and, in recent years, people have noticed.
When SNL added Sasheer Zamata to their lineup, the show’s first black female cast member since 2007, SNL immediately expanded their appeal to a group outside of its previous range. Don’t get me wrong, the show’s producers still have much to do to confront their diversity issues, but the impact of this most recent step should not be underestimated.
An ideal comedy sketch show would include various perspectives (both in front of the camera and behind the scenes) who represent multiple perspectives and provide reliable, cross-cultural humor, so that the entire potential audience is included. If someone doesn’t relate to the humor in one sketch then no matter, the diversity of humor provides innumerable other opportunities for them to laugh throughout the show.
This is what Seinfeld misses in his reasoning. I don’t discount his credibility as a comedian, nor do I discount the validity of the critical acclaim given to his 90’s sit-com, Seinfeld. However I am convinced that he betrays his own devotion to the art of comedy by restricting the appeal of his jokes to a narrow audience.
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