Introduction: The Office, a TV series that aired from 2005-2013, is what some would describe as a mockumentary of a typical office and its employees. Michael Scott, the manager of this office in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is portrayed as largely incompetent, unprofessional, and unproductive. Within the show, when themes of Humor, Love and Relationships, and Identity and Belonging come up, Michael attempts to help his employees understand these topics in his own incompetent and comedic way. Humor: What is the difference between Humor is a huge theme in The Office TV series, and this overarching theme helps display the concept of social class. Within the show, Dwight, with his unwavering loyalty, constantly tries to please Michael despite the …show more content…
After raiding the Accounting Department in Episode 14 of Season 2, Michael exclaims, “Yeah! Sales rules!” He exclaimed this, displaying that he and Dwight were raiding the Accounting Department to show that the Sales Department has a higher status and more dominance than the Accounting Department. Love and Relationships: What is Love? Another prevalent theme within the show is love and relationships, and this theme helps display two sociological concepts, Social Interactions and Types of Love. Within Social Interactions, there are two types of flirting, flirting for fun and flirting with intent. Flirting for fun is when someone is flirting with no intention of having a romantic or sexual relationship. Flirting with intent is when someone is flirting with the intention of having a romantic or sexual relationship. There are many scenes in The Office where some of the characters flirt with intent. An example is when Jim flirts with Pam throughout Episode 6 of Season 2. At the beginning of the episode, Pam is giving Jim a palm reading, and Jim jokes with Pam and says, “You’re making this up as you go along, right?” In response, Pam says, “I am just
Soon after the story begins we get an insight into who Michael truly is. One could easily describe him as a Meek young man, as the narrator states Michael is very unsure of himself while asking the townspeople questions on the subject of the whereabouts of the Hangman. Though, his insecurities do not stop him from his ability to do his job. To be a decent writer you have to be observant, which fits Michaels personality perfectly. While describing the Hangman's appearance he notices small details that most people would skim over. Describing him as “a little fellow, without
...dness but comedy was used as an emotion. When Michael was going to make a "citizens arrest" at the banks, there was comedy there, sort of like sarcasm which is known to sway a person's thoughts if it is funnier in the sense. The whole movie really shows a lot of emotions and tries to persuade our thoughts on the government with it.
Michael is a static character (unlike Molly he doesn’t change much throughout the show), a white male, and a talented computer hacker. Michael is significantly younger than the other main characters and serves as some of the comic relief for the show. He is the third character in the dysfunctional trio (Maya, Celina, Michael). Together they all have different strengths and though they’re reluctant to be grouped together sometimes, they round each other out. Michael comes from a middle-class background, does well in school, and does not have any of the barriers up against him that the other characters have had. Three words to describe Michael: gifted, immature,
They create an unprofessional and uncomfortable environment when they flirt with each other. The main sources of the uncomfortable atmosphere is Koob suppressing her feelings resulting in excess sweat which makes everyone uncomfortable. Koob is altogether a walking source of buried feelings and stress, and makes for Buddy and the reader too, often feel that stress. One should never push his/her feelings inside of themselves because no one likes being
Phyllis then calls out Michael for making fun of them every day. His insults consist of fat shaming his employees and mocking them on their appearances. He is abusing his role and as a manager, he is using irresponsible dialog to communicate with his employees. By humiliating his employees he is satisfying his own self-worth and ego. Michael shows lack of empathy towards his employees and he is unwilling to recognize or even take into consideration what their thoughts and feelings are. When he starts his “training” he makes his main focus on himself and his feelings, even though the main focus was geared towards everyone. Michael Scott stated in the Kai pod episode “ you cannot make fun of a person for something or action they have no control over” he then continues on by saying it is only acceptable to make fun of something they have control over. He calls out Oscar and tells everyone it's okay to make fun of him because he chose to be gay; on the other hand, it was not okay for Michael’s employees to make fun of him because he did not choose to fall in the Koi pond. He is concerned more about what others see in him rather than helping the situation. He is using his authority and displaying his authority as manager to persuade the others to think it’s okay if someone else gets made fun of but not
He dreads coming to work every day because of the environment his boss, Bill Lumbergh, has created. The monotonous, tedious tasks Peter is given have taken away his motivation in the workplace. One of the first interactions we see is between Peter and Bill. Bill approaches Peter, flexing his hierarchical status as the CEO of Initech in an effort to intimidate his subordinate. Peter responds to this display of power with annoyance, thus proving the obvious, that there is a lack of respect within their relationship. In order for any given organization to succeed, it must have structure. As Wood states in the text, “many organizations rely on a hierarchical structure that assigns different levels of power and status to different members and specifies the chain of command” (2015, p.239). Not only do we see examples of the utopian bureaucratic structure of hierarchical communication, we also see Peter, the outlier, break away from the organization and violate various social
Michael went from being useless on the field when joining the team, to becoming incredibly good through his team. Before he goes to Briarcrest, Michael Oher has no family taking care of him, and he has no future. Michael needs someone: “Big Mike was going to drop out,” said Big Tony. “And if he dropped, out he’d be like all his friends who dropped out: dead, in jail, or on the street selling drugs, just waiting to be dead or in jail” (3). With no one to guide Michael, he has no future ahead of him....
The outrageous events create a contrasting tone. The typical office orientation situation is invaded by shocking situations such as Amanda Pierce’s. Pierce’s husband “subjects her to an escalating array of painful and humiliating sex games.” Describing very personal aspects of an employee’s life creates a very uncomfortable feeling in this situation. This type of information is not supposed to be talked about in an office
...ience. Finally, The Office reflects the theater of the absurd through the audacious actions of Michael Scott, the ridiculous seriousness Dwight takes his job with, and the extreme uselessness of workers in an industry that sells something as boring as paper. With its surface reeking of pedestrianism, The Office forces viewers to wonder whether if they, like the characters they see on screen, have resigned themselves to a lost existence.
...erfections. Also, just as a poet can create poems out of nothing, a lover can see things that do not exist, such the reciprocation of a flirty gesture, simply because that is he or she want to see.
The Office exemplifies both the positives and negatives of Herzberg’s two-factor theory. To begin, a motivator factor is demonstrated. At the beginning of season two episode five of The Office, Michael Scott walks into the office and greets his co-workers by saying “Happy Halloween, everyone” along with a warm smile. His co-workers are instantly recognized which ensures that they are well-respected by their manager. On the other hand, shortly after the introduction, Michael Scott informs the audience that he is in charge of firing an employee by the end of the month. Therefore, this exemplifies a hygiene factor because of low job security in the
Henningsen, D. (2004). Flirting With Meaning: An Examination of Miscommunication in Flirting Interactions. Sex Roles, 50(7/8), 481-489.
An example of this might be going to dinner or the movies with a prospective mate, rather than the casual encounters that someone might have with them in everyday interactions. Intimacy does not only pertain to specific acts, but also to verbal and non-verbal expressions of love. Although verbal expressions of intimate feelings through self-disclosure are important to relationship quality, the nonverbal expression appears to be more important. In general, people rely more on nonverbal than verbal cues to interpret messages. Some examples of these nonverbal cues include touch, gaze, gestures, and time spent together.
Detweiller, Eric. ““I was Just Doing a Little Joke There”: Irony and the Paradoxes of the Sitcom The Office” Journal of Popular Culture 45.4 (2012): 727-748. Web. 15 January. 2014.