TMC
02-21-2023, 10:18 PM
https://www.looper.com/1206275/the-upsetting-george-costanza-moment-on-seinfeld-that-didnt-age-well/
George creeps on a 15-year-old girl
Of all the questionable and unethical things George did throughout "Seinfeld," perhaps none have aged worse than the time he leered at an underaged girl in the Season 4 episode, "The Shoes." The moment takes place when Jerry and George meet with a network executive to pitch a TV show. At the start of the meeting, the executive mentions that his daughter, who he makes clear is 15, will be arriving shortly.
When the daughter, played by Denise Richards (https://www.looper.com/429651/the-transformation-of-denise-richards-from-starship-troopers-to-now/), arrives, she removes her jacket, at which point George stares at her cleavage and is reprimanded by the network executive. Jerry, too, chews George out afterward, not for sexually objectifying a teenager but for being too obvious about it. Elaine later scolds him mildly for staring at a minor but Jerry pushes back.
What makes this moment particularly distasteful is not merely George's behavior or Jerry's sanctioning of it, but the way the camera holds on a close-up of Richards' blouse as she bends over. In this way, the camera implicates viewers of the episode in George's grotesque behavior, suggesting through cinematic language that viewers share in the crude moment alongside him. While Richards was in her early 20s when "The Shoes" was filmed, the entire idea of the scene is unequivocally gross. Unlike Richards, who went on to enjoy a successful career, it's a moment that has not aged well.
George creeps on a 15-year-old girl
Of all the questionable and unethical things George did throughout "Seinfeld," perhaps none have aged worse than the time he leered at an underaged girl in the Season 4 episode, "The Shoes." The moment takes place when Jerry and George meet with a network executive to pitch a TV show. At the start of the meeting, the executive mentions that his daughter, who he makes clear is 15, will be arriving shortly.
When the daughter, played by Denise Richards (https://www.looper.com/429651/the-transformation-of-denise-richards-from-starship-troopers-to-now/), arrives, she removes her jacket, at which point George stares at her cleavage and is reprimanded by the network executive. Jerry, too, chews George out afterward, not for sexually objectifying a teenager but for being too obvious about it. Elaine later scolds him mildly for staring at a minor but Jerry pushes back.
What makes this moment particularly distasteful is not merely George's behavior or Jerry's sanctioning of it, but the way the camera holds on a close-up of Richards' blouse as she bends over. In this way, the camera implicates viewers of the episode in George's grotesque behavior, suggesting through cinematic language that viewers share in the crude moment alongside him. While Richards was in her early 20s when "The Shoes" was filmed, the entire idea of the scene is unequivocally gross. Unlike Richards, who went on to enjoy a successful career, it's a moment that has not aged well.