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Everett GentryJeff NaftzingerENC 114503/05/15Mainly SeinfeldSeinfeld first hit the big screen on July 5, 1989, when the pilot episode aired on NBC. Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David created a masterpiece that would continue for nine full seasons and gain millions of more viewers each new season. The show, notoriously known for being about ‘nothing’ (Hurd 770), is centered around Jerry Seinfeld’s life as a middle class stand up comedian and his friends and their ability to always find a way to be in strange yet humorous situations. Besides Jerry, the main characters of Seinfeld include George, Elaine, and Kramer. These four main characters in a loaded nine seasons would create history in the realm of sitcoms and ultimately influence a generation of sitcoms proceeding the Seinfeld era.The show was originally named The Chronicles of Seinfeld but was changed to Seinfeld in hope it would not get confused with another show of that time, The Marshall Chronicles (Hersey 13). Although we already know which show became more popular, they shared a plentiful amount of aspects for having aired around the same time. There is particularly one aspect that truly sets them apart and that is the fact that Seinfeld only has one main female character, Elaine. The role of a female character for Seinfeld was first embodied as a sassy waitress from a nearby diner that the characters would often visit. By utilizing the woman role as a main character, the producer attempted to equal out the high testosterone level that accompanied having only three main characters, all being male. The three to one ratio of main male to main female characters required the show to have an animated main female character. The influence of the character traits expressed by Elaine onto the structure of the main female characters of other sitcoms such as The Big Bang Theory and Friends, was fueled by the overall success of the show itself. Essentially, The Big Bang Theory and Friends utilized the idea revealed by Kirby Ferguson as remixing. Remixing embodies the act of copying an idea, transforming it in some type of way, and ultimately combining that idea with a new one (Everything is a Remix). Remixed traits of Elaine include sexuality, family life, and career status. These served as a blueprint that would be copied, transformed, and combined into the main female characters of proceeding shows such as Penny from The Big Bang Theory and Monica Geller-Bing from Friends.The three shows exploit the sexuality of the main female characters through those in which they have relations. All three main female characters discussed share the similar trait of having a relationship with a main male character of the show. Elaine Benes enters Seinfeld in the second episode, “The Stake Out,” and is introduced as a former girlfriend of Jerry’s. The sexuality of Elaine is immediately revealed and from that moment forward. Her character can be related to by the audience and defined by the recurring fact that she has dated Jerry. This relation becomes an excellent medium for comedy utilized by the producers. Elaine’s relationships, including the one with Jerry, usually end over shallow, superficial reasons. It is implied within a few episodes that Elaine and Jerry separated due to a discomfort in physical chemistry. In the episode “The Sniffing Accountant,” Elaine dates Jake Jarmel, a promising writer and client of Pendant Publishing. Their relationship ultimately ends because Elaine could not handle his persistence to use exclamation points. These exaggerations are evidence that Elaine’s sexuality was utilized as a means of comedy and highlights the show’s ability to create relatable comedy to its viewers. This ability is exploited throughout the series and ultimately contributes to the show’s success as a comedy. Producers of other sitcoms have witnessed this success and have implemented similar traits such as this one in order to try to achieve similar success.The main female character of The Big Bang Theory, Penny, similarly shares this trait of sexuality. The Big Bang Theory and Seinfeld share the distinct quality of having only one main female character compared to multiple main male characters. Furthermore the shared trait is more distinguished by having that one main female character date a main male character. Penny is introduced into The Big Bang Theory as a neighbor to the main male characters, Leonard and Sheldon. By the end of season one, Penny and Leonard begin to date. This cements the fact that both Penny and Elaine share the experience of dating a main male character. In turn this is evidence that The Big Bang Theory copied Seinfeld because both shows express similar sexuality traits regarding the sexuality of their main female character. Penny and Leonard break up in season three episode nineteen, “The Wheaton Recurrence,” after Leonard tells Penny that he loves her and receives an “Oh. Thank you,” in reply. This superficial response generated laughter from the audience reveals that the comedy for that scene came at the expense of the exploitation of Penny’s sexuality. This process clarifies that the character traits of Elaine in Seinfeld have been copied and transformed through Penny in hopes of a funny and relatable humor that the audience can latch onto. Both female characters express the same traits and have broken up with a significant other in a funny manner. This shows that the character of Elaine has been copied but also transformed into a new character and situation. This remix of Elaine’s character through Penny cements the influence of Seinfeld on later sitcoms, especially The Big Bang Theory. Monica Geller-Bing is a main female character from the sitcom Friends who also expresses this trait of sexuality. Unlike Elaine and Penny, Monica is not the only main female character in that particular sitcom. Compared to the others, Friends has a one to one ratio of main male characters to main female characters. However, Monica continues the experience of a main female character dating a main male character. Monica and Chandler, the main male character Monica dates, date within the serious without coming to a break up point. Monica exemplifies the remix of Elaine through the copied trait of sexuality by dating a main male character, but also displays transformation through the fact that Monica and Chandler do not break up such as the Elaine and Jerry couple and the Penny and Leonard couple.Evidence of comedy through the expense of Monica’s sexuality is shown through her break ups with minor male characters. In episode twenty-four of season three, “The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion,” Monica breaks up with her boyfriend Peter Becker because he loses a Ultimate Fighting Competition match. This is a superficial reason for Monica to break up with Peter, which creates humor for the audience. Utilizing this ability to exploit the main female character’s sexuality for comedy is evidence of the influence of Seinfeld on Friends. Monica exemplifies the remix of Elaine through the copied trait of sexuality by dating a main male character. She continues to express this copied trait as she if found to break up with former boyfriends for superficial reasons to create comedy. However, her character also displays transformation of this copied trait through the fact that Monica does not break up with Chandler such as Elaine with Jerry and Penny with Leonard. By applying similar traits seen in the character Elaine from Seinfeld and transforming them into the structure of Monica in Friends, the success of Seinfeld upon Friends is evident. Another character trait all three female characters share is that they are career women. In Seinfeld, Elaine occupies jobs including being an assistant, a writer, and an editor. By having Elaine hold a job within the show, it opens up more ways into which humor can be related to the audience. Elaine loses more jobs than she holds onto in the show in which becomes a means of which to implement comedy. In the episode, “The Diplomat’s Club,” Elaine is fired from her job as an assistant to Justin Pitt when he thinks that both Elaine and Jerry are plotting to kill him. This exaggerated reason to fire Elaine is a means of creating comedy for the audience. By creating humor from the expense of Elaine’s career, the audience is able to relate through humor, contributing to the success of the show. The Big Bang Theory continues to copy Elaine’s traits and use them as a blueprint for Penny as she too is a career woman. Penny’s main line of work in the show is as a waitress at the local Cheesecake Factory. Similarly to Elaine, Penny reveals that she has lost more jobs than held. For example in season seven episode one, Penny reveals she held a topless role in a low budget horror film called Serial Ape-ist. In season seven episode nineteen, “The Gorilla Dissolution,” Penny reveals she played an ape/human clone in the film Serial Ape-ist 2. Finally in “The Occupation Recalibration,” Penny’s character displays transformation of the copied traits as she declares she has quite her job at the Cheesecake factory to become a full time actor. This is a transformation of the character of Elaine because Elaine is constantly searching for a job when she is unemployed. Here, Penny completely ends her search for a job as she enters unemployment. By having Penny share this similar trait with Elaine, influence of Seinfeld on The Big Bang Theory is evident. This implies that Elaine has influenced the character of Penny in The Big Bang Theory, evident through the copied and transformed character traits combined into the character traits of Penny. Monica expresses the trait of being a career woman as similarly to Elaine and Penny, she holds a fair amount of jobs in the sitcom. Monica is originally a below par paid chef at a restaurant called Iridium through seasons one and two. Comedy is expressed at her career expense as she is fired for the reason of accepting a gift from a food distributor. Similarity between Elaine and Monica is evident as she is fired for an absurd reason solely for the humor of the audience. This instance reveals that the trait is copied from Elaine. Through seasons two and three Monica works at Moondance Diner at which she wears a comical work outfit. This point in time during Monica’s career is used to humor the audience as she is seen in a hilarious work out fit working at a 1950’s themed diner. By creating comedy at the expense of Monica’s career, influence of Seinfeld on Friends is evident. Just as Elaine’s career was exploited for comedy, as was Monica’s career. This copied trait expressed by Monica reveals the influence of Elaine on the character of Monica. Through implementing the copied and transformed trait and combining it into the character of Monica, the influence of the remix of Elaine’s character on Monica from Friends cements the influence of Seinfeld on proceeding sitcoms. The family life of the main female characters is another trait that reveals influence of Elaine on later sitcoms. Elaine’s family did not have a large part in Seinfeld. Implications of a rather rough family background are integrated into the show as Elaine’s mother’s name is never mentioned in the series and little influence came from Elaine’s father when featured in the episode, “The Jacket.” Throughout the series it is implied that Elaine’s parents are divorced and in the episode, “The Phone Message,” it is revealed that Elaine has a brother but he is never seen in the show. This similar family structure related to the main female character is copied, transformed, and combined into the other main female characters of other sitcoms such as The Big Bang Theory and Friends.Penny shares a similarly rough family background. The influence of the traits of Elaine onto the character of Penny is seen through the little influence Penny’s family has in the show. Sheldon mentions Penny’s mother in the episode, “The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition,” as he claims that she was using cannabis when expectant with Penny. In the episode, “The Maternal Capacitance,” Penny’s father is mentioned having stopped playing catch with Penny due to the fact that she developed breasts. Penny mentions her brother in the episode “The Pirate Solution,” as a cook for a meth lab. The relations between Penny and her family reveal the reason for little to no family influence within the show. This in turn supports the remix of the traits of Elaine and their influence on the character of Penny. Both share the traits of rough family backgrounds, but do not share the same situation. This reveals the copying and transformation processes. By Penny expressing a remix of the trait seen in Elaine, the influence of Seinfeld on Friends is evident. The success through the exploitation of the traits of Elaine and implementation of those traits into the character of Penny, the influence of Seinfeld through success of the traits of Elaine on the main female character is revealed. The characteristic trait of a rough family background expressed by Monica Geller-Bing is seen through her relationship with her parents. Throughout the seasons it is revealed that Judy, Monica’s mother, is very critical of Monica. She refuses to answer her calls, finds flaws in everything Monica does, and creates voids in the relationship by neglecting Monica the position to make the toast at their 35th wedding anniversary party. Monica’s father expresses more influence as he visits Monica when she is emotionally vulnerable after she breaks up with Richard. However that influence is diminished as she finds out that her old bedroom was turned into a gym by her parents, and that her old mementos were destroyed by her parents using the boxes to stop a flood. Monica displays the remixed character trait expressed by Elaine through the relationship with her family. The transformation of this trait is shown through the specific relationships she has with her mother and father. By revealing this, the influence of Elaine’s character is evident on the character of Monica. Through the implementation of the traits of Elaine into the character of Monica, the influence of Seinfeld on Friends is evident. The success of Seinfeld is undoubtedly the factor that generated the influential ability of the traits of Elaine on other main female characters in sitcoms. Through remixing and implementing the traits of sexuality, career, and family life of Elaine into the main female characters of Penny and Monica, the influence Elaine on these characters is evident. The implementation of these remixed traits into the main female characters of The Big Bang Theory and Friends, the influence of Seinfeld on these proceeding sitcoms is evident. The success of past ideas is the pinnacle reason for remixing. New ideas are brought about through the remix of old ideas and combining them with new ones. This process reveals that success is the main influence on which new ideas are founded and constructed.Works CitedEverything is a Remix. Dir. Kirby Ferguson. Youtube, 2013. Video.Grigoriadis, Vanessa. “Julia.” Rolling Stone.1207 (2014): 38-66. Print.Hersey, Eleanor. (April 2000). “It’ll Always Be Burma to Me”: J. Peterman on “Seinfeld.” Studies in Popular Culture, Vol. 22, 11-24. Hurd, Robert. (Autumn, 2006). Taking “Seinfeld” Seriously: Modernism in Popular Culture. New Literary History, Vol. 37, 761-776. Sadker, David. (Nov., 2002). An Educator’s Primer on the Gender War. The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 84, 235-240, 244. “The Stake Out.” Seinfeld. NBC. 31 May. 1990. Television. ................
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