The 21^st century has made it harder for television to get away with blatant racism.  These days, racial microaggression tends to dominate network television.  Microaggression (a word created in the 1970s by a Harvard psychiatrist) is a newer form of racism that has arisen from the recent condemnation of over racism; it describes the sometimes-unconscious treatment of minorities by whites. 

In “The Office,” the amiably ignorant Michael Scott is used as a symbol for this microaggression.  Even though he denies that he is racist, Michael unknowingly insults his employees by relying on racist stereotypes.

In the episode “Diversity Day,” the employees of the office are called in for a meeting to discuss diversity in the work place.  Michael Scott feels that the office doesn’t need diversity training because it is already a “color-free zone.”  Later on in the episode, he asks everyone in the office to “name a race that you are attracted to sexually,” revealing that race does, in fact, matter to him.

As the diversity day training continues, Michael feels that he could do a better job at training the office than Mr. Brown.  Michael then makes the employees wear cards on their foreheads denoting different races (Michael includes “Jamaican” and “Italian” on the cards, conveying the fact that he is confused on what the definition of “race” is).  He tells the employees to guess which race they are by asking fellow office workers to give stereotypes associated with that race.  (All the while, the card on Michael’s forehead reads “Martin Luther King Jr.”, an ironic twist).  The employees are forced to say racist stereotypes in the name of “diversity”, including the stereotype that Asians are bad drivers.

The episode “Diversity Day” functions on two different levels: it allows Americans to scoff at the ignorance of Michael Scott while also laughing at pre-existing stereotypes.  However, the inclusion of microaggression may reinforce stereotypes rather than abolish them.

Yet, microaggression in current shows like “The Office” may allow more communication about race in America. According to Joseph Fortunato, a film professor at Arizona State University, presenting racial issues in television and movies “actually breaks down barriers between races.” The episode “Diversity Day” is an example of comedy done responsibly, he said.  “Not only is it funny and witty, it presents different sides,” Fortunato said.  “People don’t get away with things without some kind of reaction.” Michael Scott is a physical manifestation of microaggression in the office, therefore allowing audiences to open up about racial issues that were once taboo. 

The key to opening up the race discussion is the portrayal of Michael Scott as ignorant and less knowledgeable than his co-workers. He is shown as incompetent throughout the episode when talking about race. (For example, he tells everyone that he is 2/15^th Native American, an erroneous ratio). As the episode goes on, Michael continues to offend other races and cultures.  When Michael is speaking to Oscar about being Mexican American, he asks Oscar: “Is there a term besides ‘Mexican’ that you prefer? Something less offensive?” Michael’s incompetence allows “The Office” to explore racial issues in a comedic way without crossing the line.

Even though “The Office” uses Michael Scott to invalidate negative stereotypes posed against minorities, it can also be seen as a way to strengthen existing stereotypes.  In the end, the television trend of exploring microaggression through comedy has helped to bring new insights into the post-civil rights era in America and allowed new discussion on race in the 21^st century.

Sources:

http://www.statepress.com/node/850

To me, the most appalling example of this anticipation for Christmas occurs on ABC Family.  In years past, ABC Family has featured “The 25 days of Christmas” beginning on Dec. 1st, featuring Christmas movies and television shows.  This year, ABC Family began the “Countdown to the 25 days of Christmas” throughout November.  To hold a countdown for a countdown is a little excessive (for me).  However, television keeps pushing up the Christmas season each year.

I remain a purist.  My tree doesn’t come up until after Thanksgiving.  No matter how much the media and television tell me that Christmas time begins at the beginning of November.  

A hundred years ago, the daily newspaper gave us local, state, and national news.  Movies were just taking off, as were the beginnings of the first gossip magazines.  Cut to a century later, and millions of Americans seem to want nothing more than to be immersed in their favorite television show to escape the realities of life.  And where do these realities of life go?  They do not disappear; they are replaced with useless trivia and quotes from our favorite shows.  This meaningless trivia can help us escape.  But they may also replace the information we used to talk about.

“The Office” centers around the lovable but incredibly daft Michael Scott.  Weekly, Michael insults African Americans, Latino Americans, homosexuals, and women.  Because he does it in a funny way (and because we are familiar with the stereotypes), we laugh.  It’s hilarious to see Michael talk about Oscar’s “Mexicanity” and ask Stanley, an African American employee, how to survive “on the streets.”  Yet, these jokes help to reinforce existing stereotypes. 

“The Office” does break some common African American tv stereotypes (for example, Stanley is a horrible basketball player, lives in suburbia, and is married to a white woman).  But at the end of the day, Michael Scott gets most of the laughs for blatantly believing and acting on pre-existing stereotypes.

It can be argued that Michael’s idiocy cancels out any stereotypes that are touched on in the “The Office.”  When Michael finds out that Oscar is gay, he approaches Oscar and says, “Maybe we can go out for a beer sometime and you could tell me how you do that to another dude.”  Later in the episode, Michael tries to show Oscar just how gay-friendly he is by kissing Oscar.  Oscar yells at Michael, saying, “You’re ignorant, and insulting, and small!”  Oscar 1, Michael 0. 

Though “The Office” does a lot to check Michael’s ignorant behavior, it still exists.  And at the end of the day, we still laugh.

The thing is, people have been complaining about the negative effects of movies and television for decades now.  A hundred years ago, parent organizations were exclaiming how the dark and inviting environment of movie theaters allowed teenagers too much freedom.  Young people held hands and kissed, much to their parents’ dismay.  More than this, sexuality in silent movies (which meant a woman’s sleeve falling sensually past her shoulder) was most definitely creating monster children who craved promiscuity and idleness.  However, most children didn’t grow up into monsters.  In fact, silent movies helped school “the greatest generation” of all time, those who grew up in the Great Depression and went on to fight in WWII.  Did movies corrupt them?

Then television came along.  Parents yelled about the corruption of young minds, forcing Lucy and Ricky Ricardo to sleep in separate beds as a married couple on “I Love Lucy” and Elvis to be censored on “The Ed Sullivan Show” (after his signature pelvic-swaying dance moves, he was only filmed from the waist up).  As television matured, so did its need for regulations.  Though television has been around for more than 50 years, people continue to think that maybe this time it will indeed harm the children.

In reality, maybe humans have a tendency to glorify the past;  to think that “back then, things weren’t so bad.”  But maybe, things never really change all that much.  Maybe we can finally begin to realize that television doesn’t destroy the minds of kids.

And as for “Gossip Girl”?  It ranked 104th in tv ratings last week.  Even if it continues to push the conventional limits, no one is watching.

Anita Dunn, White House Communications Director, said that Fox News is going to be treated “the way we would treat an opponent.” She went on to say, “As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don’t need to pretend that this is the way legitimate news organizations behave.” 

Just last year, MSNBC anchors Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews were removed as anchors of political events after appearing too supportive of Obama.  These anchors allowed their personal politics to get in the way of responsible news coverage, something that Fox News is accused of doing much more often.  Though these news channels are different, it does show a shift towards partisan-based news networks.  Whether this is a growing and lasting trend remains to be seen. 

More than this, in an age where popular culture shows like SNL and The Daily Show define young minds as much (or more) than the news, they are being largely ignored as shapers of public opinion. Last year during the presidential election, it was impossible to see that most of SNL’s writers and comedians found more humor from the McCain-Palin campaign than the Obama-Biden one (i.e. the infamous and hilarious Sarah Palin/Tina Fey skit).  As a college student, I know that other college students are also more likely to tune in to SNL or the Daily Show than CNN.  Therefore, public opinion is being shaped by entertainment more than ever before.  To say that entertainment-based shows (because of what they are) have no need for a commitment to accurate news portrayals is naive, especially in an era where commentary-based shows are how many Americans view the world. 

The bottom line is: biases exist everywhere.  Conservatives watching MSNBC will find biases that liberal viewers may not see.  Vice-versa, Liberals watching Fox News will see biases that Conservatives may not see.  Targeting Fox News isn’t the Obama Administration’s job.  Because if the Obama Administration wants to target Fox News based on its news legitimacy, it should also target any other news organizations that have failed to present accurate news coverage in the past or the present.  And that is a fight that is too big to be won.

The Office has resorted to plots so farfetched that not even American office workers can relate to them anymore.  What made the show so endearing to the public in the beginning was its relatability.  Viewers could watch the awkwardness of The Office moments and laugh, remembering similar bizarre occurrences at work.  The Office has now gone so far beyond the norm that people find it hard to relate.  For instance, when was the last time that your boss slept with your mom after hooking up with her at your wedding? Or your boss going after someone he thinks is in the mafia?  These things don’t typically happen at an office. Ever.

Now, the characters in The Office have become caricatures of themselves.  Put Michael in a difficult situation, and Michael will act the same way every single time. It’s like a chemical reaction. The show’s writers have had awesome opportunities to expand the lives and personalities of many of the show’s more interesting characters (Kelly Kapoor, for example), but instead she ends up as  a more extreme version of herself as the years go on.  

And Jim and Pam? The more attention they receive, the less enjoyable they become.  We are tired of your cuter than cute interactions.  As my cousin said recently, “[Jim's] ‘perfection’ kind of makes me want to punch him in the face.”  

One thing is for sure: the American public is fickle and The Office is into its sixth season.  That’s 117 in television years.  If The Office wants to last for more than the next couple of years, some serious changes need to be made.  And pronto.

 1.A Life without your parents—Teenagers on television are portrayed as independent adults who occasionally make mistakes, allowing for a wiser parent figure to step in and show them exactly what they did wrong and help clean up the mess.  Television shows like “Dawson’s Creek” portray parents as having separate lives from their children with the same amount of drama.  Kids deal with growing up by leaning on their peers, not their parents.

  In reality, I’ve learned that growing up is much messier.  When is it okay to start drinking in front of your parents? How often should you visit them while in college?  Unlike many television shows, I know now that most teenagers and twenty-somethings stay involved in their parents lives.  Sure, kids may go off to college, but the separation isn’t quick and it certainly isn’t painless.  Growing up IS hard to do.  Especially without the involvement of your parents.

 2. Love Ain’t Always So Easy—When I was little, I used to think that my “soulmate” would be as obvious as it was for tv power couples like Kelly Kapowski and Zach Morris, Corey and Topanga, and Ross and Rachel.  However, love isn’t always right in front of your nose.  Sure, some people find the “love of their life” in high school and never date anyone else (my aunt and uncle are a prime example), but most of us have to go through many significant others before we know what we want.  When I was twelve, I could picture my future life with the boy I had a crush on in my elementary school class.  Now I look back and realize that television had a major part in giving me this preconceived notion on love. 

3. People Change…and sometimes they don’t—I had this notion when I was younger that whoever I was in the future, it would in no way be anything like who I was at that moment.  I would look completely different, I would want different things, I would have a completely different personality.  Now I realize that people are nothing if not derivatives of their childhood selves.  I think back on memories from when I was younger and realize that I have always reacted the same way to certain situations.  Though I have grown up and matured, my core personality has not changed.  Though this may not be the case for everyone, it is certainly the case for me.  However, television portrays people as constantly changing.  Characters may have completely different personalities by the end of a tv series.  In “Boy Meets World,” Corey’s brother Eric began the show as a slightly oblivious teenage heartthrob.  He ended the series as a complete moron.  Eric’s dumb-ification is just one drastic character transformation out of many that has occurred during the life of a show. 

4. The Perils of High School—Overall, I had a memorable and enjoyable high school experience.  However, there are things that I won’t miss: getting up at 6:30 a.m. every morning, the crowded hallways, lockers, power-tripping teachers, arbitrary lunch room rules, finding your friends in the lunchroom, the no-sleeping rule in study hall, and six minute passing periods.  Those are just a few of the unfavorable memories of high school, and I didn’t even mention the social issues.  Where are all of these uncomfortable moments on television? Answer: they are almost always left out.  Usually, one or two episodes are dedicated to the perils of high school, but they usually portray these issues in a comical and fleeting way.  On television, students make lifetime friends with their principals, seem to always hang out at a burger joint during the day, and if they get in trouble, there are no real consequences.  High school seems like a breeze.  In reality, rules and regulations often oppress most students.  Though high school was not the “time of my life” (though I know many people who think the contrary), television portrays it as a time of minimal responsibilities and limitless freedoms.

In many ways, television does reflect the truth.  But in doing so, it may also create false  truths about the American experience.  So, what about you?  Have you seen any unrealistic expectations being promoted on television lately?

The SNL I grew up with no longer exists.  In its place is a miscast ensemble of comedians in slightly better skits than those of MADtv.  The last five or six years (ever since Will Ferrell left, I like to think) have been subpar.  Cast members like Kristen Wiig, Will Forte, and Andy Samberg are left to carry the show with minimal talent (atleast compared to former SNL greats).  Tina Fey’s interpretation of Sarah Palin Fall 2008 helped to bump SNL ratings, but it proved to be short lived.  Sarah Palin was only a glimmer of the former greatness of SNL.

Recently, however, I have caught myself laughing at SNL skits again.  Though SNL has changed, perhaps we need to embrace this change.  The classic, yet revolutionary comedy of SNL‘s glory days are gone.  Digital shorts have become the new norm, and Kristen Wiig skits dominate the show.  

Here is a Will Forte digital short from the Fall 2009 season premiere.  Although the humor is slightly obscure, I laughed until I cried.  SNL has changed, but don’t all good things have to evolve with the times?  

Maybe there will never be another Roseanna Roseannadanna or Wayne’s World, or maybe there will.  Time will only tell.

This jealousy brings me to my next point: why is it that television provokes this territorial side of us?  We are convinced that we know our shows the most, that we know the characters better than anyone.  When “The Office” took off at the beginning of Season 3, a weird, knee-jerk reaction of mine became common whenever talking about “The Office” with “new” fans of the show.  These newbies would talk about the latest episode, perhaps about how Dwight’s Halloween costume was so “Dwight-y,” and I would immediately ask when they started watching the show.  If it was after me, I felt superior; like I knew more and was therefore more deserving.  

This is a weird side-effect of television.  Like Mildred from Fahrenheit 451, we are easily sucked into thinking that we possess intimate relationships with the characters.  When I run into another Jim fan, I experience a similar (albeit smaller-scale) reaction to meeting the new girlfriend.  Although my love for Jim has waned in recent years, I still possess the daily planner from high school that contains pages covered with my scrawl that read, “I Love Jim Halpert.”  One of my guy friends, a fellow “Office” fan, took my planner one day and commented on my doodles, saying, “Jim isn’t real.”  I know that.  Just don’t rub it in.

So as Jim and Pam walk down the aisle this Thursday, and as I sit in the audience (along with the other 10 million “Office” viewers), I want everyone to know: I was there from the beginning.