Satire in "The Office"

“The Office” is one of the most iconic shows of modern television; it is sarcastic and at times, a little ridiculous, which works in its favor to make it a hilarious show with a cast of eccentric characters. Often the jokes are inappropriate and play off of gender inequalities and stereotypes, but the way the jokes are presented satirically frames the comedy in a new funny way. In order to understand the humor in “The Office”, one must have prior knowledge of Western gender norms and stereotypes as well as the workings and issues of corporate office life (Birthisel).

Satirical humor is the basis for this documentary style television series. Satirical humor is a method defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. The office uses satire to play on issues that exist in actual corporate offices in the United States such as, sexism, gender, race and other stereotypes through humor and different storylines. From the sexual harassment episode, where the boundaries are pushed for humor purposes but also to bring attention to this subject in actual corporate environments to the issue of homosexuality in the workplace in the episode with Oscar.

The Office represents a diverse cast, but the show still reinforces gender and class stereotypes for the sake of humor. However, this has been more successful than other sitcoms because of its production techniques. The show doesn’t use a laugh track, and its “mockumentary” style allows for the success of satire when touching on exaggerated ideas reflective of actual societal issues (Birthisel). Women were not commonly accepted in the workplace until after second wave feminism in the 70s into the 80s, so their roles in corporate office life in America are less developed than their male co-workers; they have also faced more barriers and discrimination, and “The Office” pokes fun at these various problems through satirical humor.

One episode that clearly touches on gender differences in the office place is “Boys and Girls.” In this episode, Jan takes the women aside for a women’s seminar titled “Women in the Workplace.” This meeting is to discuss issues that women face in the corporate setting, but Michael gets upset because he is being left out, so he forms a seminar for the men to talk about “men things” (“Boys and Girls”).

 

One reference that Michael makes when talking to the women is that they are “The Ally McBeal women”, this could be interpreted as referencing the fact that in that show Ally McBeal is a driven career woman, but she also wants a family and part of the show is dealing with that conflict as a woman (Can a woman have it all?). Michael also mentions how a break room was once made into a lactation room, which he finds disgusting and hopes that is not their plan. The show uses humor to touch on the issue of breast feeding in the workplace and how that is viewed specifically by men; also, it can be interpreted that men are still not yet comfortable with “child-bearing” women encroaching on their work environment.

Michael centers his seminar on the idea that it is a “guy’s gripe session” where they can use the time to discuss their issues with women where he uses such phrases as, “what bothers you as guys?” and “what is your beef as…human men?” (“Boys and Girls”). The whole idea of pitting women against men plays into gender differences and how men and women are still pitted against one another in the corporate environment of Western cultures.

Later in the show, Michael says two of my favorite lines during this episode: “The problem is the chicks” and “Part of my job is knowing how to talk to women” (“Boys and Girls”). These lines were effectively used because they illustrate Michael’s lack of understanding of women because Jan takes his rhetoric and turns it back on him in a historically “masculine” way. I interpreted her “masculine” tone as a reflection on how women in roles of power are expected to act, which often in corporate settings draws the label of “bitch” from her male peers below her; this was illustrated when Michael called her a bitch shortly after her departure in order to relate and fit in with the other guys, reflective of how strong successful women are often label bitches in society.

“The Office” successfully mirrors actual societal views and issues that are present in society and carry over into the work environment. This episode, “Boys and Girls” does an excellent job of humoring actual gender differences that exist in society and different work places. The episode ends with yet another hilarious line by Michael where he says that you need both men and women in the office because the purpose of women is to create that crazy sexual tension to keep things interesting. This line was hilarious to me because while exaggerated (plus almost everything Michael says is pretty funny), sexual harassment in the workplace is often fueled by this ideology; that women are sexual objects present in the workplace for the pleasure of men to view.

Years from now, I hope that people are still watching “The Office.” Part of my hope is that it is being critiqued for gender representations that used to hold true in society. This show was progressive in its aesthetic aspects and its use of satire in relating its issues to the nearly 60 percent of Americans who spend their time in cubicles (Birthisel). The gender representations while exaggerated for humor carry an important message of how inequalities still exist in office environments across America.

Work Cited

·         Birthisel, 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

·         "Boys and Girls." The Office. NBC. N.d. Television.