The Office Podcast

This week, a friend and I decided to create a short podcast discussing The Office and several of its episodes. All I have to say is savor it, because although it is only our first podcast, it will definitely be our last.

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The Office - "The Injury" Alternate Ending

The Office episode “The Injury” is probably one of my all time favorite episodes of the series. In the beginning of this episode we discover that Michael has accidentally burned his foot on a George Forman Grill while he was attempting to cook bacon. As he explains, “I enjoy having breakfast in bed. I like waking up to the smell of bacon, sue me. And since I don’t have a butler, I have to do it myself. So… before I go to bed I will lay six strips of bacon out on my George Foreman Grill. Then I go to sleep. When I wake up, I plug in the grill, I go back to sleep again. Then I wake up to the smell of crackling bacon…. Today I got up, I stepped onto the grill and it clamped down on my foot.” (Schur/Gordon, 2006, 00:48-01:20). Since he is being very over-dramatic and claims he is too injured to drive, he calls Pam to come get him, but after she refuses Dwight runs to his rescue. In the process, Dwight crashes into a pole outside the office building, resulting in him getting a concussion.

When Michael and Dwight arrive back to the office Dwight is a much nicer person than he normally is, especially to Pam (which is a result of his concussion), and Michael continues to be over-dramatic about his injury, acting very much like a baby and asking his employees to take care of him in fairly absurd and unnecessary ways. Despite Michael’s wishes, his employees are not being compassionate towards him as they don’t see his injury as that big of a deal; at the same time, they realize that Dwight is acting strange but have not yet figured out that he is suffering from a concussion. Michael becomes upset that nobody in the office really cares that he is hurt, so he invites their property manager Billy Merchant (who is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair) to come to the office and talk about what it is like to be disabled. Billy (who assumes he was invited to the office to talk about business) quickly leaves after Michael makes some offensive remarks and after he implies to Billy and to his employees that his foot injury qualifies him as disabled.

Soon after, Jim finally realizes that Dwight has a concussion and decides to take him to the hospital. Michael, who is Dwight’s emergency contact and who believes that his foot injury is more serious than a head injury, decides to tag along. Right before Dwight leaves for the hospital, Pam (who has quite enjoyed the new, nicer, Dwight) tells “new” Dwight “goodbye” and is a little sad about the fact that next time she sees him he will be back to normal. Once they arrive at the hospital, the doctor orders a CAT scan for Dwight. Michael, who is in the room with Dwight, decides to try to put his foot in the CAT scan machine (even though, moments before, the doctor told him not to). In the end, it is revealed that Dwight will be okay and will be back to his normal self the next day.

I personally love this episode just the way it is and wouldn’t really change anything, but if I had to change the ending it would be in the following way. As Dwight is getting a CAT scan and Michael attempts to put his foot in the CAT scan machine, a doctor immediately tells him to stop and, fed up with the way he is acting, tells him off, making it clear to him that he is not disabled nor is his foot injury worse than Dwight’s concussion. Michael, feeling defeated and embarrassed, doesn’t say anything and remains silent for the rest of the time they are at the hospital (pouting much like an upset toddler). The doctor, after reviewing the results of Dwight’s CAT scan, then tells Jim that Dwight’s injury is slightly more serious than they expected and that he will continue to be the nicer, more likable, Dwight that he has been all day for the next couple of weeks. This is good news for everybody in the office as they are bigger fans of the good-natured Dwight than they are of the “normal,” annoying, Dwight.

For the next two weeks, Dwight treats everybody in the office with kindness, something he never really had done before. In the meantime, Michael becomes extremely jealous of all of the attention Dwight is getting. As a result, Michael becomes even more obnoxious than he normally is, doing and saying outrageous (yet, for the audience, fairly hilarious) things in order to get some attention. Because he is acting worse than normal, Jim decides to pull a prank on Michael (something he has been itching to do since he hasn’t been able to pull one of his normal pranks on Dwight because of the state that he is in). Jim, favoring the nicer Dwight over the annoying Michael, somehow convinces Michael that corporate is demoting him and making Dwight the new regional manager of the office. Michael is, obviously, fairly upset while Dwight is ecstatic and begins to run the office in a far more efficient, and kinder, way. A couple of days pass and Dwight begins to act like his normal arrogant self, having little sympathy for his co-workers and starts to implement some very strict rules. Jim, realizing that his prank has taken a very bad turn, tells Michael the truth. Michael, although upset, knocks Dwight down a peg and regains his power as the manager of the office, but at the same time realizes that maybe he would be a more effective manager if he was a bit kinder to his employees.

Kaling, M. (writer), & Gordon, B. (Director). (2006). The Injury [Television series episode]. In M. Schur (Producer), The Office. Los Angeles, CA: Deedle-Dee Productions.

Academic Research on The Office

With The Office having been such a big hit during its time on air (and for some time after it ended), it is no surprise that it has been the center of much academic study, with quite a few journal articles written about the show. One particular article by Eric Detweiler titled “‘I Was Just Doing a Little Joke There:’ Irony and the Paradoxes of the Sitcom in The Office,” looks at how the show uses irony in ways that is different from sitcoms popular in the 1990s and earlier. Older shows, such as Seinfeld, used irony as a way to “exploit gaps between what’s said and what’s meant” (Detweiler, 2012, p. 728). Conversely, in The Office “the gaps are often between not ‘what’s said and what’s meant,’ or what’s said and what’s seen,’ but between what’s said and what’s said… or what’s seen and what’s seen” (Detweiler, 2012, p. 728). An example of this heavily discussed within the article is how the character Jim Halpert often will make an ironic facial expression to the camera following something ridiculous that Michael Scott or Dwight Schrute has done. As a result, Jim is established as a “sympathetic ironic guide for viewers” (Detweiler, 2012, p. 729). Not only this, but the article argues that The Office “simultaneously undermines and reinforces the ideals, dreams, and realities of the post-millennial American middle class” (Detweiler, 2012, p. 730). One way this is done, as brought up in the article, is through the depiction of gender roles. Pam, for example, is depicted as someone who conforms to gender roles by being a secretary on the show, but also contradicts those roles by aspiring to be an artist and eventually gaining a higher position within the company.

Similarly, the article “‘That’s What She Said:’ Gender, Satire, and the American Workplace on the Sitcom The Office,” by Jessica Birthisel and Jason Martin, discusses how gender is represented within The Office. What they found was that the show relies on socially constructed ideas of gender norms and stereotypes that are present within our culture. For example, the show situates the characters of The Office “into masculine and feminine hierarchies within the company,” with “female hierarchies being less developed than the men’s hierarchies and few plots revolving around women… reflecting important cultural conceptions about women’s role in the workplace” (Birthisel & Martin, 2013, p. 68). One way this is shown is how “when the women interact within the office, it is in the feminized and domestic space of the party planning committee” (Birthisel & Martin, 2013, p. 68). What this article ultimately argues, though, is that although the show does perpetuate these ideas of gender roles, it also allows for the critique of these ideas. As it states in the article, “through the use of ‘excess as hyperbole,’ the show satirizes and mocks the figures of patriarchal corporate authority with which most American workers interact each day” (Birthisel & Martin, 2013, p. 75).

Lastly, Bore’s article “Negotiating Generic Hybridity: Audience Engagement with The Office” discusses, as the title states, how “viewers engaged with a hybrid sitcom… [one which] embraces a more naturalistic style, using the visual style of a documentary with mobile, fly-on-the-wall camera work” (2009, p. 33). In looking at other research that states that The Office, in its mockumentary format, challenges “the association between documentary and authenticity,” what the article mainly argues is that viewers often ignore the documentary style (and the things that signify this), and instead focus on the “authenticity of its setting and characters” (Bore, 2009, p. 33). For audiences of The Office, the authenticity and the show’s “realness” was judged based on the viewers real life experiences (meaning that the mockumentary style, which can sometimes be used to make things seem more real, really had little to no effect on the show’s authenticity).

Bore, I. K. (2009). Negotiating generic hybridity: Audience engagement with the office. Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 23(1), 33-42, doi: 10.1080/10304310802570882

Brithisel, J. & Martin, J. A. (2013). “That’s what she said”: Gender, satire, and the American workplace on the sitcom the office. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 37(1), 64-80, doi: 10.1177/0196859912474667

Detweiler, E. (2012). “I was just doing a little joke there”: Irony and the paradoxes of the sitcom in the office. Journal of Popular Culture, 45(4), 727-748. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5931.2012.00955.x 

The Office: An Image, Content, and Textual Analysis

Stanley, aka Michael's "secret weapon," attempting to play basketball

In episode five of The Office, appropriately titled “Basketball,” a “friendly” game of basketball takes place between the employees of the office and the employees in the warehouse. Michael and Darryl (one of the warehouse workers) decide to make a bet where the loser of the game has to work on Saturday. Whether it was intentional or not, this episode actually touches on several issues pertaining to race. When doing an image analysis of this episode, we can see that the depiction of race is not just accurate or inaccurate and positive or negative, but is in fact all of these things. It is accurate and positive in the way that it challenges stereotypes by showing that not all African Americans can play basketball well, and poking fun at how people (like Michael Scott – who is ultimately made to look like a fool in this episode) assume that someone may have a particular quality based on their race. A perfect example of this is how Michael assumed Stanley, who is African American, is good at basketball (resulting in Michael picking Stanley for his team), but in reality Stanley is terrible and is actually a bit offended that Michael assumed that he could play well just because of his race. The images in this episode, however, are also in some ways inaccurate and negative. This can best be demonstrated by how Darryl and Lonny (the only two African Americans who work in the warehouse) are portrayed as tough guys and manual workers. Although this episode may have been challenging some stereotypes, it very much was relying on and perpetuating others.

In terms of content analysis, those of a non-white race were heavily under represented. In total, there were three African Americans (two of which worked in the warehouse), one person of Asian descent (who also worked in the warehouse), and one person of Mexican descent, while the rest of the cast (which totals to about 15 or more people) were white. When looking at this through a textual analysis lens, it implies that those of a minority race usually work in manual labor positions, and rarely work higher paid positions, which in some ways reflects some inaccurate cultural assumptions that many people in our society make. This idea of minority races working these lower positions can be considered a social construction, one which is inaccurate and stereotypical.

The Office, the American Character, and Cultural Forums

In episode four of The Office, titled “The Alliance,” the employees of Dunder Mifflin are concerned about the downsizing rumors that have been circulating the office. Dwight, one of the many employees who is terrified of the possibility of losing his job, suggests to Jim that they start an alliance (an idea that he took from the show Survivor) so that they can have each other’s back and see to it that the other employees, but not them, get fired. Jim, however, thinks Dwight’s plan is ridiculous and just sees it as a great opportunity to mess with him. Michael, noticing how stressed out his employees are about the downsizing rumors, decides that they should throw an office birthday party for Meredith (even though her birthday is still a month away) in order to cheer everybody up.

The American character is represented in several different ways within this episode. Predominately, however, this episode along with the whole series represents the American character as someone who wants or works a stable nine to five office job. This is shown to be a cultural norm as everybody in the show, obviously, works in an office and is very concerned when their seemingly stable job is in jeopardy. Along with this, this episode presents us with some ideological ideas about women in the workplace. First of all, it is a male dominated office with only four women working, one of which is a secretary, and all of which are on the party planning committee (which has no men in it). The ideological ideas that go along with this are that men might be best suited for the higher/better positions within the office, and women might better suited for secretarial positions and more “womanly” tasks such as planning parties. In one scene, Michael even calls Pam, Angela, and Phyllis his “party planning bee-otches,” which does not amuse them at all.

Along with promoting certain ideologies, this episode also creates a false consciousness about working in an office. From watching this show, you may get the idea that people who work in an office do nothing all day but goof-off and have fun. Throughout “The Alliance,” and most episodes of The Office, very little work actually gets done. Jim and Pam spend the entire day pulling a prank on Dwight, Dwight spends his whole day absorbed in the idea of being in an alliance and trying to find out information about who might get fired due to downsizing, and Michael spends his whole day trying to find something funny that he can write in Meredith’s birthday card. Consequentially, none of these people actually work or get anything productive done, giving the audience the idea that working in an office isn’t really “work” and can be fun, therefore creating a false consciousness.

Lastly, in a way this episode acts as a cultural forum, discussing the issue of downsizing and having people lose their job (an issue many Americans at the time were facing). Throughout the episode the characters are depicted as being extremely stressed out and worried about their job and their future. This is actually the reason why Dwight started the alliance with Jim; he was extremely concerned about the possibility of being fired and wanted to make sure someone in the office had his back. The episode also showed, though, that even Michael, their boss, has been affected by the economy and is struggling financially. He donates $25 to Oscar’s nephew’s charity walkathon, not realizing that it is not a flat rate and is per mile, and begins to heavily stress out when he finds out the truth (as he thought that $25 dollars was generous to begin with, but now is stuck paying close to $500). In this way, this episode acts as a cultural forum as it discusses major issues, such as the economy and job stability, that the entire country was facing at the time that this episode aired.

Production Aspects of The Office

It’s been three weeks since I decided to re-watch The Office from the very beginning. So, appropriately, this week I sat down to watch the third episode of the first season of the show titled “Health Care.” In this episode, Jan assigns Michael the task of selecting a new healthcare plan for his employees. After Michael discovers that he has to cut benefits and find a less expensive plan, he decides to delegate the task to Dwight in an attempt to remain the “good guy” in the situation. Dwight, being the unsympathetic and far too practical man that he is, cuts almost all health benefits and chooses the worst possible health plan offered. The employees, understandably, become very upset which leads Michael to promise them a “surprise” by the end of the day in an attempt to cheer them up. With no idea what to surprise them with, Michael ends up hiding in his office all day, never delivering a surprise, and never fixing the terrible choice Dwight made about the healthcare plan.

The production of The Office, and this episode in particular, very much adds to the overall feel of the show. In some ways the production aspects of the show are relatively simply, but very effective. The show’s staging is nothing special, consisting of bland colors and cheap looking office desks; but it is this “non-special” look that contributes to the show feeling like a typical office workspace. The editing and sound within the show also add to this. Between each scene in this episode (and in most episodes of the show) you can hear the clicking of keyboards and the ringing of phones while visually it is edited to show the employees carrying out typical office related tasks, emphasizing their bored looking faces, and often cuts to a shot of the clock slowly ticking away. What these sounds and strategically edited visuals do is give us a sense of a slow, boring, bland day at the office (which many Americans know all too well).

The camerawork is also very crucial to the overall feel of the show. For the most part, the show is filmed in a “mocumentary” style, with shaky cameras that don’t always have the best angle and often have to “spy” on characters from behind plants or through the blinds on windows. Along with the shaky handheld cameras, there are also single person interviews, some over the shoulder shots (but normally only when two people are sitting across from each other at a desk), and some strategic zooming in and out when a character has said something of importance or comedic value. This camera work adds to the documentary feel of the show and also gives you the sensation of being there with them, working along side them throughout the workday.