In an snafu which garnered much controversy recently, Seinfeld star Michael Richards caused an uproar after a racist rant at a comedy club. Apologizing with the excuse that he was trying to deal with a heckler, Richards clearly has some identity issues; as a physical comedian who throws himself into his work, Richards is sometimes indistinguishable from his well-known character Kramer. And although he redeemed himself with an embarassing, yet slightly touching, apology on David Letterman, a series of questions still remain: who is the man behind Kramer? And where did Kramer go wrong?
Perhaps Richards's insensitivity to the plight of his fellow man comes from his acting; after all, life does imitate art. Psychoanalytically, Richards's crazy antics certainly start with his portrayal of Martin Beck, a clown-punching, bowtie-wearing murderer in Problem Child. A man who breaks out of prison to contact his fan, Kramer displays his first signs of discrimination, this time against children. "I drove over 1,000 miles, to hang out with a seven year old," he grumbles, even when Junior says that he'll be eight in two weeks.
Most notably however, Richard's character traits mimic those of his character Kramer. This is the same man who cruelly suggested recruiting homeless men to drive his "up-and-coming" rickshaw business; the creep who suggested that an uptown-downtown relationship was "too long distance;" who trapped Japanese men in a set of drawers in his apartment; and most memorably, a man who befriended a Nazi - even if he was a Soup Nazi.
However, there are places where the identity clearly deviates. The true Kramer would never sputter racist remarks. Although Kramer did support some strange ideas, he staunchly supported the plight of the dentists by warning of the dangers of anti-dentism: "Oh, it starts with a few jokes and some slurs.'Hey, denty!' Next thing you know you're saying they should have their own schools."
But what most of the press is probably overlooking is the effect that Kramer vs. Kramer probably had on Kramer. Did he have an unhappy childhood? Is he crying for attention? Only one person might know the answer. When asked for her comment on the situation, Kramer star Meryl Street remarked, "No comment"
