At least since the resolutely cynical "Seinfeld" and the absurdist (and underrated) "NewsRadio, " the sitcom has been self-reflexive, a parody of itself.

NPR: A Grim Outlook For Sitcoms Post-'30 Rock'

Welles brought to the display his own willfully hyperexpressive and janglingly playful delight in technical wizardry, as well as impulsive exuberance, tragic self-consciousness, and reflexive immediacy.

NEWYORKER: Citizen Kane

This brisk and self-searching, sharply intelligent and deeply vulnerable romantic comedy is a masterwork of reflexive construction.

NEWYORKER: An Oversimplification of Her Beauty