Seinfeld: What "Nothing" Really Means 

Watching this as I have a snack break, but now I need a drink because _these pretzels are making me thirsty._

this channel is GOLD JERRY!!!! GOLD!!!!!

Seinfeld is indeed genius in that it's about "nothing." It's interesting how through the progression from "family" to "friend" sitcoms, the subjects become less idealized and instead of an emphasis on good values and qualities, it's on the bad. We all make mistakes, and so Seinfeld is revolutionary in presenting us with a group we don't have to aspire to be - we already are Jerry, George, and Elaine.

Seinfeld is one of the best sitcoms in television history. My mother and I caught onto this "deconstruction" early on and always joked that in every single episode, an action of one character consequently ends up screwing another character one way or another. We could see the intertwining of events and always knew that it would come back to bite someone in the ass at the end of every episode - that's one thing we loved about the show. I watched this show growing up and still enjoy it just as much as an adult, perhaps even moreso. There are no doubts that Larry David is a comedic genius.

For the most part, I agree with this. The only thing you COULD have mentioned was that there were sitcoms that had a similar outlook as Seinfeld before. The biggest being The Abbott and Costello Show, which never had a hint of sentimentality and relied heavily on the same kind of storytelling techniques. Jerry and Larry David have both credited it as an influence.

My dad’s Kaleiscape has a good description of the show: “Four friends louse up their daily lives by overreacting to things that annoy them.”

This sounds like an an undergrad philosophy class paper. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

It's good to know people still watch this show. My professor made a Seinfeld reference the other day, and everyone had a blank expression on their faces. I was the only one laughing my ass off.

I've been saying for years that Seinfeld is genius. How the plot of each episode blows up and then fits into a puzzle at the end is amazing

Please do a video about A Clockwork Orange and There Will be Blood.

The last sentence by nerdwriter in the essay captures the essence of the entire show so accurately. I eagerly wait for each vlog of yours, thanks for each one of them

I think Nerdwriter is pretty good, but it's kind of hard to fathom how someone could make such a high-minded and laugh-free video about such a hilarious show. My guess is that Seinfeld and David themselves would hate the self-serious tone of this. . . . Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Would like for you to take on current sitcoms like Modern Family and The Office. The Office was really transparent in the documentary POV style (and they reference the fact that it was all a doc in the final season), but Modern Family and Parks and Rec just use the format. All the shaky cam POV stuff gives current sitcoms a weird quality that could be interesting to look into.

Just discovered this channel. I'm liking it a lot. It's impressive your ability to summarize very complex discussions in a few minutes, and still manage keep them both relatable and non superficial. Really good, congratulations.

This is another great analysis. I think this video is the perfect reply to Nostalgia critic's video about 'Seinfeld' where he accused Seinfeld's infamous element of 'nothing' as a gimmick. He takes the concept of 'nothing' in a very shallow and literal sense while your take on it is much more appropriate. Many of these famous sit-coms like Friends or How I Met Your Mother,etc. have tried to uphold the concept of characters learning something about themselves, others and life in general. But they have done it on many occasions in the most cringe-worthy and cheesy ways imaginable. I think this partly has to do with the fact that the format of sit-com doesn't really lend itself to deep, transcendental themes or spiritual growth of characters. I believe Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld understood that. Instead of making a show about learning lessons, we get a show about 'nothing'. The characters even after 9 seasons remain practically the same. They don't learn lessons. But what they do is go through innumerable incidents and encounters which might seem trivial, but these are encounters that are extremely relatable. Every viewer of Seinfeld has experienced at least one of the many silly incidents that Jerry and the gang went through during the series. While other sit-coms attempt to celebrate life and try to look at the experience of going through life as being transcendental, Seinfeld is about confronting life in all its absurd and illogical glory. So Seinfeld might be a bit nihilistic, but goddamn nihilism has never before or never since been this ridiculously funny !!!

Great video! I love your part about how coincidences and small things in one character's life can affect others in ways previous sitcoms didn't. It reminded me of Arrested Development and how those little details come back to be large plot devices affecting the rest of the family. I'd love to see you analyze Arrested Development, as I believe it is a monumentally unique show and I love it! Thanks for all the videos :)

God, I love Seinfeld.

Seinfeld is not about being in the situation, but talking about the situation !!

Would love to hear you discuss The Office (the American one). Also, a video on Lost would be amazing, but The Office would be my #1 pick.

I love your subtle and clean editing and animation style. Even for simple things like text appearing on screen, you make it classy.

Seinfeld had no grievances. The perfect sitcom, perfect show. But not about nothing. Every plot has ironic moments that loop back around to the catalyst.

Seinfeld is probably my favourite comedy of all time. Nevertheless, I think it should be remembered that British sitcoms had innovated and deconstructed the genre in countless ways well before Seinfeld came along.

So it's a British sitcom, basically. I'm kidding, but also not.

I quite liked this video, but I'm not sold that _Seinfeld's_ "nothing" means "like nothing else." I take it to mean that the drama comes from the reflections and interferences between the many ripples created by all the small things in your life, not by big plot points. It recalls John Lennon's "life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." I think this view is in line with most of the things you said, but you momentarily lost me with that expansion of the phrase.

Louie is truly a show about nothing there's no resolved plot for most episodes

The last sentence of Nerdwriter videos always give me goosebumps in a really fun way.

I feel smarter after having watched this.

watching Seinfeld reminds me of my Grandma Jana 😢 we miss u Grandma!!!!!

Seinfeld wasn't about nothing. It was about chaos. A small point at the start of the episode starts a sequence that influences the ending.

Thank you for finally revealing to me why I love Seinfeld and can't stand Friends...

I always figured that the show being about "nothing" meant specifically "nothing IMPORTANT." When George says, "This should be the show," or asks the execs "What did you do today?", he's speaking to the mundane things in life, the things no one in their right mind would make a show about. That's what has him grinning: the audacity of it. It's kind of the overall running gag of the show that the things that the characters obsess over are so inconsequential (at least inconsequential in terms of what would be considered the meaty themes and subject matter for a show to normally focus on.) But the REALLY brilliant thing is how many of these inconsequential things, how much of this "nothing" really does matter to us, more than we realize or like to admit, and how the show made us see this in ourselves. For a show about "nothing", I find myself in many, many, many situations where I turn to someone with smile and say, "Remember that one episode of Seinfeld?"

Grew up watching Seinfeld, and it was not till much later did I realize the genius, and the genius in the simplicity. It's so easy to see why these characters are beloved, they remind us of ourselves, our sometimes petty, selfish, unchanging selves. And this was the first show to try and not elevate our lives to something grander, more romantic. It really paved the way for shows like Louie and Girls, I don't think those shows could have existed if Seinfeld didn't come first.

"Nothing happens [...] like life." Robert McKee: (stands up) NOTHING HAPPENS??

The style an author or artist uses in conveying their message is oftentimes just as important as the message itself. It's why I absolutely love Patrick Rothfuss. His novels are like a love story to language. A story about stories. And you'd never notice it unless you paid attention. Great video!

"Seinfeld isn't a show about nothing. It's a show about _little things_" - Doug Walker

I feel like this channel is the more chilled out brother of PBS Idea Channel. Absolutely love the work you do!

As someone who rarely watches sitcoms, I was never aware that they had a story.

Interesting that Jerry states in the AMA that the original pitch was about where comedians get their ideas because that was used in the ad campaign, years later, for his documentary Comedian (2002) in which several of the viral ads (which can be found on the DVD) showed Jerry laughing to himself in a mundane situation with the tagline "Where does comedy comes from?" It seems like a topic he's very interested in because he revisits that theme a bit in his Netflix special, Jerry Before Seinfeld (2017), as well.

I kept thinking during this episode, please don't end. I could watch 2 hours of this.

Was so excited to see a Seinfeld Nerdwriter analysis pop up in my subscriptions. Really enjoyed this one!

I was waiting for the scene were Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer get off the subway, look at each other for a moment, and go away without even saying goodbye. That's Seinfeld

I literally just finished binge-watching every episode of Seinfeld last night (first time) and you upload this video today. Coincidence truly is the rule

I hate that now whenever I watch Seinfeld all I hear is Barry from the Bee Movie...

watching this after reading an article on how 'It's always sunny in Philadelphia ' is the new 'Seinfeld' I can definitely see the connection - especially with how an episode plot unfolds and the importance of characters' actions. Keep up the enlightening work :)

What about Fawlty Towers? That 1975 sitcom didn't have any moral lessons or family values, etc.

Doesn't matter what subject you're talking about you make it seem so emotional and compelling. Love the narration.

(bass solo)

'Everybody's doing something....we'll do nothing' Such a funny line....

The series always felt sneakily existential to me.

Big Seinfeld fan here too. Thanks for yet another insightful episode Nerd Writer! Intrigued by the comparison to Flaubert and now I'm curious to explore his work. Your channel rocks Evan! Looking forward to next weeks episode about something.

I just... I have no words for how brilliant this video is. I can't believe the simple idea that a work *has* to be judged against others in its medium is something that hadn't sunk in properly for me until this point. Or maybe it's that I had kind of lost sight of that with the sheer amount of information I consume. Either way, you've left me sitting here kind of dumbstruck in realization about several things I'be discussed and argued recently.

How did you make your head 3x size at the end? Editing 10/10

Guess what I learned after watching this video at 3 AM... "NOTHING".

To say that Seinfeld it's a show about NOTHING INTERESTING is more acurate.

Solid video, I think you wrapped it up a lot cleaner, and made a much more convincing point than a lot of your other videos, which was a big issue I had with some of your previous content.

Postmodernism is the philosophy of Seinfeld, that's why "a show about nothing" fits it so well.

The best thing about Seinfeld is that any episode could be playing on tv and you'll automatically think "oh man, i love this episode"

Your one of the best you tubers out there and one of my personal favs. Why aren't you more popular?!

It feels so bizarre that time after time, you have uploaded a video praising something that I praise and not many people understand: Ghost in The Shell, Cuaron's directing style, Pan's Labyrinth, The Beatles (favorite band), Seinfeld (favorite sitcom), Prisoner of Azkaban being the best HP film, HEAT (thank you for this one), and the fact that I believe Wolf of Wall Street was intentionally full of excess. All of these you've managed to examine much better than I ever have, and explained them wonderfully too. Thank you for your excellent analyses in these and all the other works you have targeted. I'm curious, Have you ever thought about translating these video essays to another language? If so, you have a volunteer here for a Spanish sub, if you'd like. Of course at no cost at all. I would do it just to help you get as many views as you can. Truth is I can't be a patron at the moment and I really believe in your channel and have been rooting for you for the past 4 or 5 months I've been subscribed. Believe me, Wednesdays are very special to me now, thanks to you. So if you're interested contact me through RU-vid, My Spanish is as good as my English and I happen to be a perfectionist in these kind of things, so you can be sure to get a good translation. Anyway sorry for the long comment, Keep up the good work! ---- David A P.S You may notice I meant subtitles, and not dubbing, though I could do that too. xD

Your videos have been super high quality lately and its really amazing

Jesus, this guy is amazing. He deserves more than 700k

It'd be interesting to see you (or someone else) do a follow up to this about how Seinfeld's style changed the sitcom landscape. Shows like It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Louie have taken Seinfeld's blueprint ("no hugs, no learning") and taken them to different levels while continuing to subvert the notion of the sitcom. It'll be interesting to see what the next 'Seinfeld' (as in, the next sitcom to totally change the style and become hugely popular - will that even happen?) does to TV in the future.

there is no substance to life or existence, there is no meaning in anything. There is only the call of the void.

It's so weird to have a thought-provoking video end with the Seinfeld theme, but hey, I loved every minute of it

finally some well deserved analysis and appreciation for this great anime 😤😤😤😤😤😒😒👉👉

pretty similar point i discussed with a friend yesterday. how critics write about movies always based on the plot, always viewing back on the movie and trying to find the underlying meaning and discard as one of bad quality if they fail to find this meaning. but i think art and entertainment media lives in the moment. the time of interaction with the medium is at least as important that the stuff that sticks in your mind long after you finished.

Seinfeld was good, but Curb Your Enthusiasm is Larry David's true work of artistic and comedic genius.

what a phenomenal insight. I'm writing a paper on Seinfeld for a Comm class, I hope you don't mind my listing you was a source

Dude... God bless your beautiful mind.

It’s remarkable how many catch phrases came from this show and became a part of our collective vocabulary

Something I often notice, probably because I'm not an American, is that when Americans describe how things were or are, like what is done with the small history lesson in this video, they don't even acknowledge that there is a world outside of the United States. TV history in this video is described as being THE TV history. Even though the creator of the video wouldn't say he thinks America is the world, that's how it comes off, since it's not mentioned at all that he's speaking of American culture, social conventions or history. It's just taken for granted and other practices are made invisible. If I were to talk about Swedish TV, I wouldn't be presumptuous and describe it simply as "TV history", since it's not the one and only one.

These are just getting better and better, keep up the good work.

How can you know so much about so many things :0

These are just getting better and better, keep up the good work.

Seinfeld the post modern sit com.

You are a good thinker, and you have inspired me to think more and be more reflected. Keep up the work my good man!

You're livi'n in the past man... You're hung up on some show from the 90's man. 😃

I love this channel and the video style, long length, in depth analysis etc

Sometimes I want to marry this guy

I loved this. You never disappoint, Nerdwriter. Keep it up!

The amount of research and planning that goes into these boggles me.

Gustave Floubert: "what I really would like to do is write a book about nothing, held together just by the strength of its style" James Joyce: "Hold my Guinnes"

Watching Mr. Robot season 2 episode 1.. they're talking about how Seinfeld is about nothing

The interconnected plots, one of the best was Frank Costanza's PTSD about being an Army cook when he sees Elaine's crazy new copywriter. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Reminds of Mr. Robot. Please do a video on Mr. Robot!

Could you do an episode about Generation Kill? It's arguably one of the best series ever made, at least it's one of my all time favourites. I really like your style of analysing and enlightening different aspects of films and series, you have a way of making it complex while at the same time keeping it simple if that makes sense. Keep up the good work!

Stop seducing me with your voice and well articulated explanations of such profound concepts. I'm very much into women. So please just stop its only going to end up hurting us both haha

So those eight minutes can be summarised in the maxim, "No hugs, no learning".

Good video. .. But I have to disagree with the notion that "Seinfeld was the first to break with traditional sitcom set ups like family or friends" ... There were a few before .. One of which was Married with Children. .. In fact MWC was made delibrately as a protest to the established sitcom rules provided by shows like "The Cosby show" and "Family ties" or "Cheers" for instance... It turned those rules on their head by providing a protagonist with a horrible wife... equally horrible children. .. A Job he absolutely hates... And his "friends" dealing with the same issues. ... It was a total satire on the goody two shoes television of that time and of the state of America itself in those days... Keep in mind this show started in the late 80's ...2 years before Seinfeld supposedly "broke the rules for the first time" ..Making a show like nothing else?... I'm sorry Jerry Seinfeld... Al Bundy beat you to it by almost 3 years... 😊

The music behind is Dexter Britain and you Sir, are amazing...

Flow Bear....Badass rapper name

This show basically took the extraordinarily minute details about social interaction and over exaggerated them while ignoring the really important things that most people care about. That's why it was so unique. A hand gesture, a grammatical error, a mark on someone face would be overblown to the point of absurdity. Its genius actually.

greatest show of all time

You are brilliant !!! Best channel. It’s so diverse and I feel watching your video gives me so many conversation points. As a stay at home mom I feel I don’t have anything new or interesting to talk about. Now I do!

great video, but the whole comparison to Flaubert is tenuous and pretentious as fuck. Seinfeld was revolutionary, enough said.

awesome job yet again Nerdwriter. you tackle awesome subjects with such ease and expertise. Seinfeld was always my favorite show. Growing up, we'd all gather around the tv everynight at 7 as a family. So, thanks for this.

I love this channel :d

First video I found of yours. Now, you are almost at 2 million. Crazy, eh? Congrats, dude!

Does Ulysses counts as a novel about nothing?

It's unbeliveable how this guy manage to make an 8 minute video about such a simple phrase like "a show about nothing". But you know what? Some other people would just act jerk and just say "it's not that deep", but not me. I respect you for that!