In one episode Comedian in car drinking coffee called “Larry Eats A Pancake,” Jerry Seinfeld has coffee with Larry David.
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Between More important things are happening in the worldyou may have missed it a recent interview with Jerry Seinfeld. While doing the rounds press to promoting his upcoming movie, the billionaire comedian offers some thoughts on “why TV isn’t funny anymore.” His explanation? Political correctness and the extreme left. (What his new movie is about, by the way The race to invent the Pop-Tart – a subject so intense and iconic that I’m surprised the mob that runs Hollywood let it happen.)
I’m not going to waste anyone’s time arguing about how funny today’s TV is compared to the TV of the past. But I think it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the nature of Seinfeld’s criticism (which, by the way, is the criticism that he and other comedians, has been in the works for nearly a decade now).
It fits into a rich tradition of blaming political correctness for all the ills of the modern world.
Donald Trump Have done it many times over the years, including after calling for a “complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” Author Anne Rice did just that, while defending Paula Deen after the chef admitted to using the N-word (“Aren’t we becoming something of a lynch mob culture?” Rice added on Facebook.) Jackson Miller, a former Virginia legislator and member of the “Redskins Pride Caucus,” say opposition to the Washington Football Team’s name was “accelerating political correctness.”
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What these statements seem to do, especially consistently, is to avoid getting involved Why someone might find a type of joke, comment, or act of mass discrimination perpetrated by the most powerful person in the world distasteful. Instead, they caricature the *type* of people who have problems with these things: snowflakes, buzzing noises, crybabies.
And one of the nifty things about the term “politically correct” — like “woke” or “cancel culture” or dare I say “DEI” — is that Its meaning can change to include anything. Does being politically correct mean capitalizing the term Indigenous? Are not Laugh at a super joke? Trying Push back against racist research policies at an elite university? It’s all in the eyes of the person trying to dismiss other people’s concerns as whining.
But As one of my favorite comedians, Gary Gulman, said, “I noticed that the people who say you ‘can’t say anything’ are saying everything on Netflix for $20 million a hit.”
This makes me wonder: What if the people who complain the most about “PC culture” are the wealthy, well-liked, respected power players who have the resources to – again, do a movie about Pop-Tarts – who is the real crybaby after all?
This newsletter was written by Leah Donnella and edited by Courtney Stein.
