Changing the Tube Forever

Who knew that in the 90’s the biggest show would be one that constantly pushed the boundaries of television? Seinfeld made its debut on NBC in the summer of 1989, and with its debut kicked off a show that changed television forever. Shows have been built around the changes Seinfeld has made for years. My father and I would watch Seinfeld together almost every night.

Seinfeld has been influential since its premiere. It was immediately controversial with its content being out of the ordinary compared to the other shows at that time. Seinfeld came up with innovative ways to show the public that it is alright to address issues you feel uncomfortable about. Throughout the series, the audience was introduced to characters with major flaws such as George not being able to hold a job. The show was able to impact the audience in a larger way than other shows at the time, because the audience could relate to the characters in the sitcom. In one episode the characters got lost in a parking garage in the mall and I think everyone has been in that situation before. Seinfeld’s impact is seen even today in all the shows that it was able to pave the way for. It has also left a lasting legacy through some of the slang terms created through its shows. One of the most commonly repeated phases was, “not there is anything wrong with that.” Seinfeld was also able to capitalize off of its popularity through product placement in their episodes. PEZ and Junior Mints had large parts in episodes that drove the plot and sales of the products.

Although Seinfeld had a large impact on society in a positive way, it also brought some negative influence with it. It was often screened several times by the FCC so that they didn’t put anything on the television that would be harmful to a younger audience. Seinfeld also had several plot lines were characters where called by names based off of their flaws. This could have a strong negative influence on society by telling them that it is alright to judge people based on their character flaws, such as the close talker or high talker episodes. Some could say that Seinfeld also changed society in a negative way. It changed our nation into a more open society where we feel more freely to talk about issues and topics that were deemed as out of place.

Seinfeld ended in 1997 with an everlasting impression on the media of our country. It was able to set new boundaries for television and influence many other shows to follow in its footsteps. Seinfeld changed television and society by pushing the envelope the things that you could do and say on television. Although it did changed society positively in my opinion, it could be perceived as being a negative influence. Seinfeld, taking advantage of its popularity, was one of the most influential shows on television.