"Seinfeld"
The Outing (1993)

Director:

Tom Cherones

Writers:

Larry Charles (writer)
Larry David (co-creator)

TV Series:

"Seinfeld" (1990)

Original Air Date:

11 February 1993 (Season 4, Episode 17)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A woman is eavesdropping on the conversation that Elaine has with Jerry and George at the coffee shop...

Plot Keywords:

Neurotic | Actor Shares Last Name With Character | Stand Up Comedian | Cult Favorite | Neighbor

Cast

Jerry Seinfeld	...	Jerry Seinfeld
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Elaine Benes
Michael Richards	...	Cosmo Kramer
Jason Alexander	...	George Costanza
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kari Coleman	...	Allison
David Gibbs	...	Man #2
Estelle Harris	...	Estelle Costanza
Lawrence Mandley	...	Manager
Anthony Mangano	...	Sailor
Paula Marshall	...	Sharon Leonard
Barney Martin	...	Morty Seinfeld
Ben Reed	...	Male Nurse
Liz Sheridan	...	Helen Seinfeld

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Jerry Seinfeld: [on homosexuality] Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Movie Connections:

References Forever Young (1992)

One of the Best of the Best

From one of the best sitcoms ever, a take on what it means to be thought of as gay.

As a gay man, it's my opinion that this Seinfeld episode is an extraordinarily sharp, clever, and brutally honest commentary on straight attitudes toward gay people.

Of course, I'm speaking about contemporary urban/suburban life where "liberal" or "tolerant" views are not only accepted, they're enforced. They're enforced by peer pressure; few would admit to homophobia or anything other than an accepting take on gay life. In a word: political correctness.

This episode exposes the hypocrisy that many straight people have about gay people. It happens every time Jerry (or any other character) says, "Not that there's anything wrong with that." What they're really saying, of course, is that there's EVERYthing wrong with that if THEY are being thought of as gay. Acceptance for these people only goes so far.

Thankfully, in the 15 or so years since this episode first aired, attitudes have become more enlightened. Me, myself, I think lot of the change is due to media exposure in general, and this episode of Seinfeld in particular.

Now if only some sitcom writer would come up with a similarly clever way to demolish the truly hurtful phrase: "That's so gay" . . . .