Here’s Jerry Seinfeld’s 17-minute commencement address at Duke, which I don’t find nearly as funny as I’ve been told. It may be because he once responded this way when asked about his reported statement that he won’t do comedy at colleges any more:
“I hear that all the time,” Seinfeld said. “I don’t play colleges, but I hear a lot of people tell me don’t go near colleges — they’re so PC (politically correct).”
So he stays pretty much away from politics in this address, something he more or less had to do given the Zeitgeist, but that also took the edge off his humor. To me, the “funny” bits aren’t funny, and the serious “advice” seems anodyne.
Fall in love with BIC pens and pizza crust? What’s that about? “Keep your sense of humor”? Yes, but he evinces little of that in his talk. “Work hard in life”? Yes, but that’s trite—the stuff of many such addresses. It’s clear that he decided to steer clear of anything that could cause controversy, and the result is a phoned-in and unfunny shtick. It’s a pity. And he didn’t even have to be controversial; all he had to be was funny, but he seemed incapable of that.
Nevertheless, as the NYT reported, there was still some protest.
As Mr. Seinfeld, who has recently been vocal about his support for Israel, received an honorary degree, dozens of students walked out and chanted, “Free, free Palestine,” while the comedian looked on and smiled tensely.
Many in the crowd jeered the protesters. Minutes later, as the last of the protesters were filing out, he approached the mic. His first words were: “Thank you. Oh my God, what a beautiful day.”
In his commencement speech, Mr. Seinfeld was mostly cautious, opting for a tight comedic script interspersed with life advice instead of a full-on response to the protests against his presence.
Well, at least he wasn’t deplatformed because of his support for Israel!
I agree fully with your analysis, Jerry. So much so that I did not even bother to call your attention to the video. Or maybe I am just too old to appreciate him. I did an estimate on the walk out numbers from looking at the video….dozens was a good call…I estimated 70-80. More than 40-50 but less than 100.
I thought highlighting of an inversion of values was worth thinking about – pride in things that should be an embarrassment, and embarrassment in things to be proud of. But maybe that’s not a unique observation.
There’s a Seinfeld episode where this is put on display .. on a subway, there’s this guy, … you know what – never mind.
I liked it, and I think he did what was appropriate and respectful (while the walk-outs were not). Sure, some will want a full-on Jerry Seinfeld routine and so be disappointed, but that would be all about him and that is not what the tradition is for. A commencement speech is traditionally about congratulating the students and delivering some unnecessary advice — its to be a speech about them. So he navigated down the middle, with a smattering of wry (and definitely non-controversial) humor, with the kind of observations that are the de rigueur for commencement speeches. It’s a day about the students, not about the entertainer.
👍🏼. Well said Mark. And Seinfeld was spot on in telling the students that humor was one of life’s most helpful tools. Teaching me to laugh at myself was one of the greatest gifts my parents gave to me. And it’s one I’ve often needed. 🥴
For funny graduation talks, I like Conan O’Brien’s better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELC_e2QBQMk
or especially Tim Minchin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoEezZD71sc
Minchin’s is quite thoughtful, not phoned in like Seinfeld’s.
I found this commencement address (“You Are All Diseased”), reprinted in the The Free Press to be excellent. It is notable as well that the speaker, who is an immigrant from Israel, was actually able to deliver the address without the hoopla we’ve come to expect. Stick around for his commitment to DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) statement.
Yes. The DEIB bit is in the last couple of paragraphs.
“The world is not driven by greed. It’s driven by envy.”
I’m committing that quote to memory. Lots more good stuff in there, like, “You did nothing wrong by being born.”
I liked Seinfeld’s address well enough, but Parham’s is much more insightful, IMO.
That is an excellent read – thanks for posting the link!
+1.
Agreed. It was excellent.
DrB, Thank you for the link to Robert Parham speech. In reading it I see the clear contrast between his speech and Seinfeld’s. Namely, Parham spends his few minutes developing a specific point. Seinfeld does not. Parham’s speech makes me think. Seinfeld’s does no such thing. Parham, incisive. Seinfeld, anodyne. My two cents.
That really is one of the best things I’ve read about such matters in recent memory. Thanks for sharing it.
Among others, I’ve forwarded the link with some comments to one of my wife’s children, who has a daughter in their first year of college. (She is the first of my wife’s grandkids to be in college.)
Although he has major flaws, I still love comedian Louis C.K.’s rant,
“Everything is amazing and nobody is happy.”
That’s excellent. He is and always has been a brilliant comedian and yes, sadly flawed. But I guess a lot of brilliant people are.
It was a good, solid commencement address, not a stand-up routine. Nice job. The losers who disrespected him and everyone else by walking out missed a fine speech by an icon of American culture.
Also, here is a short piece in the Atlantic criticizing the press coverage of the non-event of the walkouts: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/05/seinfeld-duke-speech-gaza-protest-media-coverage/678376/
Nice address by Seinfeld.
In media speak, dozens = 24 or more. Once I started seeing “dozens” repeated by every media outlet, it became pretty obvious that the overall amount was small.