Seinfeld and the Comic Vision

(Hardback)

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Seinfeld and the Comic Vision analyzes the television situation comedy Seinfeld to form a theory of comedythe comic visionarguing that comedy should not be seen merely as entertainment, but deserves to be taken seriously as expressing a philosophical worldview. Whitley Kaufman demonstrates how in Seinfeld, and in comedy on a larger scale, characters are given license to violate social norms and to fail to live up to societal ideals in a way that shows they remain fundamentally decent people. Kaufman examines how comedy can be seen as a celebration of the lower aspects of human natureour more animal or bodily sidebut argues that the comic vision is not cynical or pessimistic, but rather fundamentally affirmative of human nature and of life, despite the many human limitations. Scholars of television studies, media studies, pop culture, and philosophy will find this book particularly useful.

Author Bio

Whitley Kaufman is professor in the philosophy department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.