Response to Sonali's Post


            The Office is without a doubt, one of the best shows of all time.  It presents humor along with the everyday lives of average people in such a way that almost everyone can relate to the show in some capacity.  There are very few shows that can bring people together so well.  There are even fewer shows that have so many iconic quotes that we can all remember.  Sonali references some of the best quotes that the show has to offer, such as Kevin’s infamous “why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?” or Dwight’s theory about a new plague.  Michael Scott is far and away the most quotable character in the show.  From “I. DECLARE. BANRUPTCY!!!” to “oh how the turntables…”, Steve Carrell’s classic character is the main glue that held the show together.  I definitely agree with Sonali that the incongruity theory plays a large role in why the show is so funny.  I would also add that the superiority and relief theory also explain a large amount of the humor in the show.  The most classic example of relief in The Office is Michael’s classic “that’s what she said.”  Relief theory is all about breaking some sort of tension and Michael’s one-liner makes an appearance in some of the tensest moments of the show.  Some of the best examples of superiority that come to mind are Michael’s misuse of well-known words or phrases like “catch twenty-two.”  He hears these phrases usually early in an episode and is later bound to use them in a way that makes no sense or is just flat wrong, much like a small child that just learned a new vocabulary word in school.  Incongruity is present here too in Michael’s ridiculous statements.  In conclusion, I would say that while incongruity is instrumental to the success of The Office, the theories of superiority and relief are also present in a very visible way.

Comments

  1. Shane HerronSeptember 19, 2018 at 10:29 AM

    Michael is a perfect example of the "malapropism"--a hilarious misuse of a phrase. Catch-22 is one of my favorite novels and one with many similar traits to the office, so I love that example in particular. One of my favorite memes is about July 4, featuring a similar dialogue between Britain and Thomas Jefferson. Britain says, you can't just say you are independent. And Jefferson retorts, I didn't say it, I declared it!

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  2. UnknownSeptember 20, 2018 at 10:27 AM

    I completely agree with you when you addressed that Michael held the show together. Once his character left I didn't find the show as entertaining or exciting as before. I really like how terrible Michael Scott is at using words the right way. An example of this would be when Jim tells Michael it smells like up dog, and Michael then replies whats up dog, and realizes the funny joke. Michael then for the next 10 minutes tries and fails miserably to use the lame joke on everyone in the office building.

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  3. William WagnerSeptember 21, 2018 at 7:28 AM

    The Office did such a great job at creating specific characters and then building on them as the seasons went on. All of these running jokes like "that's what she said" or Kevin's ridiculous phrases gives the viewer a sense of belonging to the office. In a way you're sharing these inside jokes with the characters. This is also what makes the Office so quotable because you can take the exact inside joke from the show and use it in your actual friend group.

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