Character Analysis: Treat Yo Self With Leslie Knope

Treat Yo’ Self with Leslie Knope
If television shows reflect the milieu of our society, then it seems as if we are in bad, bad times. Tuning in to Saturday Night Live’s parody of president-elect Donald Trump might be amusing, but it becomes less entertaining once we realize that the parody might just be an accurate representation of him. It is easy to become cynical of society when we have elected a politically-inexperienced businessman as president despite his misogynist, racist, and xenophobic attitude. This cynicism towards our society extends beyond the political sphere; it is reflected by many fictional characters in the media. Take, for example, Don Draper of Mad Men - the egotistical Creative Director of an advertising agency in New

York, who subdues his insecurities with his many vices such as drinking, smoking, and womanizing - or Walter White of Breaking Bad - a family man who became entrenched in a perilous illegal drug market, forcing him to subdue compassion towards others. Such characters highlight the negative traits of people. Is there no appeal for sheer goodness? Is society simply too cynical? Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation comes to the rescue. Leslie Knope, a character played by comedian Amy Poehler, is an extremely cheerful and dedicated bureaucrat in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. She is characterized by her bubbly personality and high ambitions, serving as the Deputy Director of the Parks & Recreation Department in Pawnee, City Councilor of Pawnee, and later the Regional Director of the National Parks Service – Midwest. Leslie Knope is a heroic figure who strongly appeals to the audience because she has an optimistic attitude and extreme self-confidence; her actions reflect her genuine intention to help other people; and because she offers a positive picture of a dedicated public servant in an age when society’s distrust of government is rising. These qualities, as a result, combats the cynicism of the audience and offers hope and positivity instead.
Leslie Knope is a heroic figure whose actions reflect her genuine intentions to help others, which appeals to the audience as it encourages them to support one another despite their general cynicism towards society. In “The Thematic Paradigm,” author Robert B. Ray outlines the characteristics of official heroes and outlaw heroes, from which Leslie Knope fits the former. Ray suggests that official heroes emanate maturity through their sound reasoning and judgment. Leslie Knope embodies this ideal. For example, in “Soda Tax” of Season 5, her sound reasoning and judgment is exemplified when, as a City Councilor, Leslie proposes a tax bill that would increase the price of sodas but would make the people of Pawnee healthier, as the town is known for being the “fourth most obese city in America.” Despite the criticism she received from the citizens of Pawnee, she decides to pass the bill into law as she knows it would benefit the people, though they might not realize it. This is a sound reasoning on her part and a reflection of her maturity as a character, as she did not cower to public opinion. Ray also suggests that “official heroes [are] … willing to undertake even those public duties demanding personal sacrifice” (Hacker 453). This is accurately represented when Leslie saved Eagleton, Pawnee’s rival town, from economic destruction by proposing that the two towns combine. The weight of this decision is significant because the series have explored Leslie’s deep animosity for Eagleton, as the town constantly berates Pawnee and its citizens. This is a perfect example of how Leslie personifies a heroic figure, sacrificing her own personal view for the good of the people she personally resents. These actions show that Leslie Knope has a genuine intention to help others. The cynical audience might expect that Leslie has a hidden agenda behind these actions, perhaps to score political points. However, there are no political points to gain; she stood behind these actions despite the backlash she would receive as she knows it would benefit the most people. These actions convey that the audience should help others as well, even if it demands personal sacrifice or draws criticisms of others. In a cynical world, it might be difficult to do so, but Leslie Knope embodies selflessness that is not often encouraged due to the audience’s cynicism of society. This positivity, in turn, appeals to the audience as it contrasts with their cynicism. By analyzing the actions of the character, we can see that Leslie Knope personifies a heroic figure in television today; furthermore, her personality strengthens her appeal to the general audience.
Leslie Knope’s appeal to the audience is also, in part, due to her optimism and self-confidence, which encourages the audience to personify these qualities within themselves. Although Parks and Recreation is a political satire, Leslie Knope’s personality comes off as genuine and sincere. Her optimistic attitude is demonstrated throughout her various projects in the Parks Department. For instance, she willingly undertakes the restoration of the Harvest Festival in Season 3, despite the possibility that the Parks Department will shut down if the festival does not become a financial success. This act shows that Leslie is fueled by her optimism. She simply believes in herself and her team to complete a successful project in the future. Furthermore, her self-confidence is manifested in her campaign for a City Council seat in Pawnee. Leslie Knope is self-assured throughout the campaign – she believes completely that she is the right person to gain the seat, as demonstrated during the City Council debate in “The Debate” of Season 4 that shows her conviction in the policies she advocates and the values she holds. Although there would be situations when she would doubt the outcome of the election, she never doubted her ability to hold office. It is important to note that this self-confidence never deviated into egotism or narcissism, which is what many cynical viewers might expect. In an environment that fosters cynicism, it is easy to forget these virtuous values of optimism and self-confidence, but Leslie Knope encourages the viewers to embody these values. As demonstrated by her successes – the financial profit of the Harvest Festival and her win of the City Council seat – Leslie proves that the viewers can reap benefits from believing in themselves and adopting an optimistic attitude.
Leslie Knope also gathers a particular appeal for the female audience, as her optimism and self-confidence reflect the values of feminism. Unlike many female characters in television today, Leslie Knope’s character focuses on the positive qualities of women. Sarah Seltzer of Flavorwire describes the general trend of feminist characterization on TV in her article “Knoptimism vs. Liz Lemonism.” Seltzer describes a particular feminism embodied by Liz Lemon, the protagonist in satirical television sitcom 30 Rock, where feminism is “a delightful pity party, one which accompanies nighttime cheese… and snarky comments about other women…. For fans, this aesthetic means taking comfort in relating to our most vulnerable…, the part of us that uses feminism to enable our bitterness.” This self-deprecating version of feminism embraces the flaw and bitterness of women to empower them. We can see this kind of feminism in other shows like Girls, where the show highlights the protagonist’s not-so-endearing qualities of narcissism and entitlement. This version of feminism highlights the negative qualities of women to let them know that it is acceptable to be bitter and egotistical at times; however, in the end, it contributes to the general cynicism of the audience. In contrast, Leslie Knope’s feminism embodies the positive qualities of people in her self-confidence and optimism that contributed to her successes as a politician. As referenced by Stevie St. John in her article “Out of Character,” comic book artist Phil Jimenez states that the feminist superhero Wonder Woman’s “strength [was that] when she walked into a room, you just wanted to be around her. And when she left, you wanted to be a different person. You wanted to be a better person” (Hacker 461). This is the same heroic quality that Leslie personifies – by embodying optimism and self-confidence, both of which are positive qualities of feminism, Leslie encourages females to personify the innate goodness within themselves. It is with these positive qualities that Leslie Knope also appeals to the audience of 2016, especially in the political atmosphere of the current year.
Leslie Knope also offers an ideal picture of a politician in an environment when the public generally distrust the people running the government, which is especially important in the political scene of the present.

Donald J. Trump’s win in the 2016 election is generally seen as problematic due to his divisive rhetoric of racism, sexism, and xenophobia. Furthermore, Donald Trump has had no political experience. Leslie Knope, though fictional, offers hope for those who gave up in our political system. Leslie Knope represents an ideal politician – someone who is always fighting for what is right and is leading by example. For instance, due to the polluted state of the Pawnee River, Leslie proclaims that she would be personally cleaning the river every Saturday morning, a promise which she kept. She also simply cares about the people of Pawnee, often holding public forums to hear their opinions, no matter how absurd the opinions may be. These are ideal qualities of Leslie, as it shows her dedication to her job and the people she serves. As Robert B. Ray also suggest in his article, official heroes always stick to the rules and conventions. Leslie has always done so, due to her belief in the law and political system, but she did break a rule by Chris Traeger, the City Manager, that prohibits relationship between coworkers as it can encourage corruption. However, Leslie’s relationship with Ben, the Financial Manager of Pawnee, did not hinder her from doing her job effectively. Although she did bribe a construction worker from revealing with other people the nature of her relationship with Ben in “Li’l Sebastian” of Season 3, this was merely a light offence that audience can forgive due to moral lightness of this action, since the audience knows that Leslie has been doing her job correctly and do not give in to corruption. In simpler terms, her bribery is not that bad in the audience’s view. Furthermore, it is arguable that Leslie breaking the rule is not a flaw of

character; rather, it highlights the strength of our hero, which is her innate love of people. This is what made her appeal in the first place. Leslie’s relationship with her coworkers and friends highlights the qualities that the public do not get from real-life politicians. Through Leslie’s interactions with other characters, it shows that she is just a normal person like us, which politicians today fail to convey through their prepared speeches and high image. The viewers, by seeing Leslie’s life, can feel more connection, and therefore can see the true, genuine intentions of her actions. In an age when people generally do not find connections with politicians or distrust the government, Leslie offers hope in personifying an ideal politician, as viewers have seen that she is trustworthy and capable of effecting change.
Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation is a unique, heroic character that exhumes optimism to cynical viewers, which contributes to her appeal. Her upbeat and optimistic attitude, combined with her self-confidence, makes her a heroic figure that uplifts the moods of the viewers. Furthermore, her ability to effectively create real change as a politician and affect the people around her offers the audience hope that someone like Leslie exists in the real-life government. Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation proves that we can create characters that embody the positive qualities of people, which are often negated in the media today. If the audience ever needs a little pick-me-up to combat their cynicism, then Leslie Knope is the ideal character to call. Leslie will certainly bring with her waffles and encouraging words to sprinkle sunshine and positivity in the world.