Regarding those two words, do you understand the difference as such: Ammoral -doesn't have a moral code Immoral- your moral code doesn't align with convention That's how I've always understood it. More specifically, what's your take?
Precisely. Everyone on Seinfeld does what they do because god is dead, nihilism is truth, friendship is dadaism and society is a myth. The Bluths, on the other hand, are resolutely, reliably, predictably selfish. Stories on Seinfeld revolve around the inconvenience of morality. Stories on Arrested Development revolve around the consequences of selfish behavior. Stories on Seinfeld are a consequence of the characters discounting the existence of right and wrong. Stories on Arrested Development are a consequence of the characters consistently justifying "wrong" in pursuit of individual goals. There are good Bluths and bad Bluths. Michael and George Michael consistently try to do the right thing but often find themselves cutting corners in pursuit of selfish goals only to face outsized penalties thereby reinforcing their desires to do the right thing. Gob, Lindsey and Buster, to varying degrees, consistently know what the right thing is but always pursue the wrong thing because it's easier and end up mired in the consequences. Michael and George Michael go through life striving for perfection, while Gob, Lindsey and Buster remain chained to the wheel of karma. Seinfeld? Seinfeld is a Nietszchean abyss. People act selfishly because it's the only rational choice and no justification is necessary. Thus they are forever mired in tedium and never advance, never recede, never care. There are angels and devils on the shoulders of everyone in Arrested Development. Seinfeld has only the void.
Still, I find both shows to be hilarious in their own right. One needn't be a nihilist to find humor in their ridiculousness.There are angels and devils on the shoulders of everyone in Arrested Development. Seinfeld has only the void.
I'll buy that. In fact, I may actual steal that line at a future dinner party.
I don't think Seinfeld was particularly Nietzschean. The characters are something like Nietzsche's last men, but the last men were the stawmen Nietzsche held up as what would happen if people didn't find new morals to replace the ones that couldn't be imposed on them anymore. They were the thing he thought we needed to overcome. Star Trek is more Nietzschean than Seinfeld.