Blogcritics: Comments on A Book About Shows About Nothing

Comment by Eric Olsen

Mon, 11 Aug 2003 12:14:28 EDT

Fascinating and important Ed, great job. I would add that "being" about nothing isn't the same thing as "believing" in nothing, which is the actual meaning of nihilism, and even seemingly amoral picaresques like Forrest Gump may not take a stand on the big issues, but certainly do on interpersonal issues, celebrating friendship, loyalty and family, while dramatically demonstrating the instant karma results of a life led nihilistically.

Comment by Ed Driscoll

Sun, 10 Aug 2003 23:13:29 EDT

Bob, You're absolutely right--there's a long tradition of comedies "about nothing". You could include the anarchy of the best of the Marx Brothers' pictures, or Bing and Bob's "Road" movies to the list as well. But there's also a long tradition of American television sit-coms having certain formulas: the characters usually try to "grow a little" by overcoming some sort of moral dilemma in each episode, and the shows were usually oriented around a family environment. This tradition runs through all-American shows from Ozzie & Harriet to Happy Days, and even an apparently subversive show like M*A*S*H played by those rules as well. Hibbs argues that Seinfeld's creators and writers' deliberately dynamited those rules, as simultaneously, numerous movies flirted with nihilism in the 1990s as well. Here's an article that focuses a little bit more on Hibbs thoughts about the Seinfeld TV series, than I apparently did above. In any case, while I'm not sure I fully agree with his conclusions, it's an interesting book, and an enjoyable read. Regards, Ed

Comment by Bob Hawkins

Sun, 10 Aug 2003 21:10:13 EDT

The Jack Benny radio show was a show about nothing. Exactly as much as "Seinfeld", since they're the same show. (Star: a stand-up comedian playing himself. Regular cast: a gang of neurotics, including one beautiful woman. Recurring one-joke characters. Repeat a joke 3 times in a show. Admittedly, the Benny show was more anarchic and post-modernist.) The Benny show was top-rated in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Was the audience nihilistic all that time?