Sunday, January 07, 2007

The Anti-Office

By the grace of all that is holy it looks like I passed all my courses for last semester. It appears I'll be hanging around law school for a while longer afterall. As the winter break ended I'm back at work, back at the "office," so to speak. I actually feel rejuvenated and even somewhat excited for this semester. We'll see how long this aberration lasts.

Speaking of The Office:



While I can understand why this show is doing well with the viewing audience, I've decided that I'll no longer watch it due to its indelible streak of sadness. In short, the characters' lives are pathetic. There is a self-aggrandazing boss whose pride is buttressed only by his delusions of greatness. All of his employees are stuck in deadend jobs devoid of hope for a better future (up to the second season). Of course, there's Jim, unable to express his secret admiration for Pam, or tear himself away from her for almost two years. Please, be a man, make a move, whether it ends success or failure. Then move on!

This setup could've been hilarious if the script wasn't so sympathetic towards its characters that the audience is made to identify with them. They aren't stock characters like the ones in Seinfeld, or objects of spoof in Saturday Night Live. I simply cannot laugh at the sufferings of characters whom I like. Behind every joke there is an underlying element of pain. I suppose I lack a strong sense of schadenfreude (such a great word), and would like to keep it that way.

3 comments:

Krish said...

That's an interesting perspective on the show. There is definitely something tragic about it. At the same time, there have been a lot of new developments this season, and I have to know what happens next.

Anonymous said...

schadenfreude, indeed a good word, I dont know what it means.

Krish, u watch the office? You "have to know what happens next"? Dude how old are you man?

-Daren

Krish said...

Haha... when it comes to TV, I can't say my instincts are all that refined. What do you think will happen next, DZ?