Two hundred and nine episodes of some of the most memorable, likable, and infuriating characters I have ever met, and we’re blessed with one of the most satisfying series finales. Along this journey it really felt like I met these characters in real life, it felt like I watched them develop and grow, it felt so real. Now if you haven’t finished The Office, first off, what are you doing reading this? Second, there will be spoilers… (duh), and third, go watch it and prepare yourself for some feels (although there is some explicit content).
The Office is a TV reality show about a fictional paper company Dunder Mifflin and the employees of the company. This show is unique because it is a show inside a show. The “characters” of the show know they are being filmed for a documentary about the office and often talk to the film crew to reveal inner thoughts (like they do to people on reality TV). This intentional fourth wall break is an element that defines the show with constant stares into the camera and the monologues from the characters. In the ninth season, the fourth wall is broken in a different way and the documentary crew is revealed…
I won’t spoil too much but would this be considered a fifth wall break?
Something that jarred me when I watched The Office is the abundance of explicit jokes. Michael Scott, the Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, often made inappropriate jokes topics ranging from Hitler, to homosexuality, to racism in America; the other characters have realistic reactions to his ill-timed jokes condemning them and as an audience I often reacted similarly thinking: “holy crap you can’t say that on TV.” Really, I think the purpose of these jokes by Michael is to satirize the censorship of these topics. Michael makes very inappropriate jokes at inappropriate times, but at heart he means well and isn’t ever afraid of articulating his concerns. Many issues joked about are legitimate in America and maybe the use of comedy is a way for the producers to draw attention to them.
As the conflict rises to the peak in season nine, it resolved and many of the loose ends in the show are tied up. With this closure, two important lessons struck out to me. The first being the importance of being honest with yourself, and to do what you really want to do, not just what you’ve convinced yourself is for the best. The nature of the office usually includes a dead end job, and we see that from almost all the characters. Maybe some of them wish they could break out and really chase what they want… but rarely is that desire acted upon. The characters who we see are truly happy are characters who suppress their fear and chase what they truly want.
The second lesson is that there are beautiful memories in all the small and regular things in life. You don’t need to live an exciting life to create exciting and lasting memories. Through this journey we know as The Office, we have seen everything: strange, scary, funny, sad, and every imaginable emotion; we’ve seen all this happen in the small space of an office floor of a paper company. Not every environment is going to have a Dwight to bring porcupines to work, but at the end of the day it’s the small things that we treasure the most.
Here is a beautiful line from Andy Bernard who perfectly sums up this show.
