The Office: Love and Morality
In a world filled with electronic entertainment, there are limited amount of things that keep people interested. With so many television shows, video games, music, movies, and any other kind of entertainment, for one particular thing to capture the hearts of a massive amount of people is extraordinary. The Office is an example of a show that truly captured the hearts of a generation of people. Comedy is a large part of the show. I believe the real reason we love The Office does not lie in the comedic appeal. The love we all share for The Office goes much deeper than simply because it’s funny. Ideals such as empathy and the pursuance of the American Dream, relatability to the characters and the lives they lead,
…show more content…
In his interview with Big Think, he says that “Dwight will do something stupid, but the laugh is on Pam watching it or Jim seeing it and then turning to the camera because that is I think how young people... that is how young people feel today. You know they're seeing all this absurdity and it's like if they could young people would just look at the camera, so it's less say a comedy of awkwardness and more a comedy of reactivity”(bigthink). It’s interesting how he mentions young people in his interview. He also says things like “...young people like that kind of humor. They love it. Older people, they don't like it. They're like, ‘I can't watch it. It's too awkward. It's too painful. The people are too gross.They're weird. They're mean and it's awkward. I can't stand it.’ Young kids I mean down to 9, 10, 11, 12 year-olds they eat it up. They love "The Office." They have it memorized. They love that kind of awkward humor” and “Ricky Gervais was able to just capitalize almost on a generational shift with an understanding that so much of the comedy is not in the set up, set up, punchline. There are very few "jokes" on our show. It really is behavior, characters behaving and the reactions to that behavior” (bigthink). I couldn’t agree with him more. Why? Well, on the established basis that the comedy in The Office relies on an understanding and relatability, young people get it. They build the connection. They relate to the comedy because they see it every day. Adults didn’t walk around their office building saying “That’s what she said!” No, teenagers walked around school saying it. The people who can connect to the show love it. And this connection serves only to strengthen the reason for why we love The
According to Aristotle, “Comedy can be any colloquy or performance generally intended to amuse or stimulate laughter”. In modern times, comedy can be found in different forms, such as television, movies, theatres and stand-up comedy.
Roseanne was a hit sitcom that debuted in the late 80s and continued into the late 90s. It was one of the most watched shows of its time despite the controversy that surrounded it. The series still airs on popular television networks today but, because it functionally paved the way, it is not considered questionable in today’s society. Although the show had its share of controversial issues and what was then thought to be “inappropriate” dialogue, the America population continued to tune-in to Roseanne and empathized with the weekly problems the Conner’s would face. The show depicted life much like people actually experienced it (and still do) and therefore captured the hearts of America, which translated to a better acceptance of the material folks found inappropriate or unacceptable. Over time, as people were more often exposed to the matters that Roseanne felt were pertinent, the disputes became fewer and the issues surrounding them became irrelevant. Dealing with issues such as sex, homosexuality, and a not so functional family, Roseanne proved to be very functional to society as a whole.
Popular culture is the artistic and creative expression in entertainment and style that appeals to society as whole. It includes music, film, sports, painting, sculpture, and even photography. It can be diffused in many ways, but one of the most powerful and effective ways to address society is through film and television. Broadcasting, radio and television are the primary means by which information and entertainment are delivered to the public in virtually every nation around the world, and they have become a crucial instrument of modern social and political organization. Most of today’s television programming genres are derived from earlier media such as stage, cinema and radio. In the area of comedy, sitcoms have proven the most durable and popular of American broadcasting genres. The sitcom’s success depends on the audience’s familiarity with the habitual characters and the situations
Family comedies have evolved throughout the past century. What was once revered as classic has completely changed forms and turned into the comedic experience we witness today. Family sitcoms in particular have been converted to show a broader picture of how family’s interact in today’s world. This greatly appeals to today’s audiences and is what people want to see. Modern family specifically has tapped into what nontraditional families are all about and even with being so alternative has resonated with every type of family, making it one of the most popular shows on TV at the present moment. The pilot episode of Modern Family uses hyper-irony, allusions and uses references to technology to enforce comedic impact.
Younger generations and the more vulnerable in society can be influenced in avoiding peer pressure, but for the individuals filled with wisdom, the shows can reflect based on American modern society. Everybody Loves Raymond and Full House are great shows who faces similar life obstacles a typical person living in the US has today. As a result, most modern family comedy sit-coms are reflecting our society’s generations and the more vulnerable. Based on the success of early family sit coms, American’s adapted to a fast pace lifestyle with the help of modern
...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.
For example, the comedy shows The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon expresses satirical humor concerning politics. His show also demonstrates political satire by telling jokes and even impersonating political figures for the audience. He creates humor through sarcasm that focuses on real issues. His sarcastic humor causes others to feel more confident in their criticism toward politicians. For example, “Jimmy Fallon expresses his humor about Donald Trump, impersonating his appearance and imitating his voice while talking about politics. He uses his humor by impersonating Donald Trump and his sweeping generalizations with Madea (Rogo).” Jimmy Fallon shows people his views through humor and it creates a sense of community to express their agreeable and disagreeable views. As we discussed some ideas about satirical humor that affects political changes, it was important to reveal their feelings about changes in life and drove them to look upon their society or government more
NBC network’s The Office is definitely a show that a lot of youth watch nowadays or well, used to at the least. Some people are amused by the show’s style of humour, however many are not so entertained. Personally, I find that the style of humour in this particular show is used to depict hegemonic relationships and stereotypes that exist in modern culture. Thus, for this specific reason, I will attempt to apply and analyze the theme of cultural hegemony to The 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.
An extremely similar show is Parks and Recreation, which I am also a huge fan and have seen every episode. They take the same approach as The Office except have a complete dissimilar environment and job description. “We need to remember what’s important in life: waffles, and work. Or Waffles, friends, work. But work has to come third” (Daniels).
The nature of comedy has always left it somewhat resistant to critical analysis, and to some extent the same can be said for comedic actors. The class-clowns of Hollywood like Will Ferrell are often times constructed as being nothing more than amusing, so they seem lik...
Kocela, Christopher. “CYNICS ENCOURAGED TO APPLY: THE OFFICE AS REALITY VIEWER TRAINING” Journal of Popular Film & Television 37.4 (2009): 161-167. Web. 18 January. 2014.
If there is one way to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is laughter. Funny jokes, comical stunts, sarcasm- Every person is different when it comes to what makes them laugh. Some find dry humor comical. Others think sarcasm or joke-filled ranting are the best. ‘Comedy’ is such a broad term, broad enough to allow everyone to find something they find comical. In fact, ‘comedy’ includes a specific type of drama, one where the protagonist is joyful and happy endings are expected. Comedy is like a drug; it allows you to escape reality. When we say the word ‘comedy’ in the present, we are generally referring to a type of performance which provides humor. However, in its broadest sense, comedy has only one purpose: comedy makes people smile and
Most of us have a tendency to regard a clever sense of humor as the distinction of a person who is good hearted and friendly, someone people feel at ease with. They are "life of the party" we always invite and the co-worker who always has a joke. Everyone has the jocular family member that they always look forward to seeing. We remember the kid in school that always made the class break into laughter. Humor is never forgotten when we reminisce and it is just as amusing as it was the first time.