A13705823
Professor Michael D. High
Television Comedy and American Values
17 October 2016
The Office: A Critical Analysis
The Office, an American television comedy series that aired on NBC from March 24, 2005 to May 16, 2013, depicts the mundane lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. It takes on the style of the mockumentary, with Michael Scott (portrayed by Steve Carell) as the leading character of the series, who serves as Regional Manager of the branch. The show derives its humor from the superiority theory, in which Michael demonstrates conflicting values of power and benevolence. The superiority theory can be defined as finding something humorous because one feels superior to …show more content…
He shows benevolence, which is why despite his apparent ineptitude and narcissism, Michael is an incredibly likeable character, but more importantly, why he is funny. Benevolence can be defined as “preserving and enhancing the welfare of those with whom one is in frequent personal contact” (Schwartz), and it is another prized value of Michael’s. In Diversity Day, Michael’s benevolence comes through when Michael and the staff all sit down after the activity, and Michael tells everyone that he really disliked Mr. Brown, the consultant. He continues, “I mean, he had never met any of us before, and here he was telling us how to do our thing. I just wanted… I just wanted to do it our way, you know? On our own” (Novak). Hence, it is safe to assume Michael felt threatened by Mr. Brown in that he did not want the work dynamic to change—or anything to change for that matter—and though Michael’s constant desire to be the center of attention often manifests itself in selfish behavior as aforementioned, Michael always has playful intentions and does things out of love, loyalty, and friendship. Likewise, benevolence values “emphasize voluntary concern for others’ welfare (helpful, honest, forgiving, responsible, loyal, true friendship, mature love, sense of belonging, meaning in life, a spiritual life)” (Schwartz). Oscar Nunez (the actor that takes on the role of Oscar) said in an interview, “[Michael] had us put those little cards on our heads, trying to bring people together” (Burns and Schildhause). In the 17th episode of the third season titled Business School, Michael is one of the few Dunder Mifflin employees to show up to Pam’s gallery showing. Unlike Oscar and his then-boyfriend Gil, who had shown up and
Professor Michael D. High
Television Comedy and American Values
17 October 2016
The Office: A Critical Analysis
The Office, an American television comedy series that aired on NBC from March 24, 2005 to May 16, 2013, depicts the mundane lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. It takes on the style of the mockumentary, with Michael Scott (portrayed by Steve Carell) as the leading character of the series, who serves as Regional Manager of the branch. The show derives its humor from the superiority theory, in which Michael demonstrates conflicting values of power and benevolence. The superiority theory can be defined as finding something humorous because one feels superior to …show more content…
He shows benevolence, which is why despite his apparent ineptitude and narcissism, Michael is an incredibly likeable character, but more importantly, why he is funny. Benevolence can be defined as “preserving and enhancing the welfare of those with whom one is in frequent personal contact” (Schwartz), and it is another prized value of Michael’s. In Diversity Day, Michael’s benevolence comes through when Michael and the staff all sit down after the activity, and Michael tells everyone that he really disliked Mr. Brown, the consultant. He continues, “I mean, he had never met any of us before, and here he was telling us how to do our thing. I just wanted… I just wanted to do it our way, you know? On our own” (Novak). Hence, it is safe to assume Michael felt threatened by Mr. Brown in that he did not want the work dynamic to change—or anything to change for that matter—and though Michael’s constant desire to be the center of attention often manifests itself in selfish behavior as aforementioned, Michael always has playful intentions and does things out of love, loyalty, and friendship. Likewise, benevolence values “emphasize voluntary concern for others’ welfare (helpful, honest, forgiving, responsible, loyal, true friendship, mature love, sense of belonging, meaning in life, a spiritual life)” (Schwartz). Oscar Nunez (the actor that takes on the role of Oscar) said in an interview, “[Michael] had us put those little cards on our heads, trying to bring people together” (Burns and Schildhause). In the 17th episode of the third season titled Business School, Michael is one of the few Dunder Mifflin employees to show up to Pam’s gallery showing. Unlike Oscar and his then-boyfriend Gil, who had shown up and