Response to Blog Post #2
I love watching The Office because of the uniqueness of each of the characters. They all bring something to the show that makes it hilarious and there is never a dull moment in an episode. I agree with you about the incongruity that makes the show what it is. There is a certain level of inappropriateness in it that we know would never happen in an actual corporate business setting. If more than half of the things that go on during the show actually happened Dunder Mifflin would be out of business. However, that is what makes it so funny to watch. We know that working in an office setting like this would probably be boring and stressful so when we get to see them all joking around and doing the things they do we find it funny and it draws us in to continue watching it. I think the part where you bring up how Dwight suggests the need for a new plague is hilarious, even though it truly would be terrible for it to actually happen. Also, when he makes the comment about Meredith, priceless. Dwight is known for making comments like this constantly during the show and I hear people quote him on absurd things he says all the time. I recently watched an episode where Angela got another cat after she already has a ton and she has a video camera set up in her house, so she can watch them. In the episode, they started acting up so she had to go home and take care of them. She left the video camera on and while everyone in the office was watching her she started licking her cats to clean them. When she got back everyone acted like they hadn’t watched it and as she sat down she coughed up a hairball. It was a good laugh.
I agree with what you said about there never being a dull moment. The show is so full of great but very quiet and witty jokes that it seems like every time I rewatch an episode I find another joke to laugh at. You're also correct about the fact that most of the content in the show would not be tolerated at any business. I think it is this kind of exaggeration of the small issues that most people see on a daily basis that makes the show so funny.
ReplyDeleteI think both you and Trace hit on the interesting issue of exaggerating already uncomfortable situations. Perhaps benign violation explains what is happening here. The office takes situations that are uncomfortable in order life and makes them so uncomfortable that they seem harmless, or it just makes them ridiculous. IN a way, the exaggeration is a kind of benign ness, because it is so extreme we can't take it seriously.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that what makes the show so interesting and amusing is the fact that we know that a real office environment is nothing like this. It makes people laugh to see the characters in a setting that should be serious and mature yet everyone is laughing and making inappropriate jokes.
ReplyDelete