Victoria Martin
LA101H
Rhetorical Analysis Essay
03/13/10
One of the most popular and successful television series around today is the acclaimed,
“mock-umentary,” The Office. A “mock-umentary,” is a little invented name for a comedy that is
scripted so that it looks like a documentary is being filmed. The show is full of sarcastic, dry
humor and develops every character and the intertwining relationships between them extensively
over the course of each episode. In the first episode of the fourth season, entitled Fun Run, many
of these reoccurring characterizations can easily be seen as Michael Scott, the boss of the
Scranton branch, hits Meredith, the office drunk, with his car. When Meredith is taken to the
hospital, she is found by coincidence to have rabies. Michael in turn feels as if he’s done a good
deed, for in his mind, if he didn’t hit her with his car and crack her pelvis, she wouldn’t have
been taken to the hospital and thus would have been consumed by the disease. Always wanting
to be liked, but never using common sense, Michael holds a 5K called, “Celebrity Rabies
Awareness - Race for the Cure.” The episode is riddled with subplots as the office romances of
Jim and Pam and Dwight and Angela are further developed as well. The Office, and particularly
the episode Fun Run, takes a very light and sarcastic approach in depicting every day, relatable
issues such as boss to employee relationships and romances in the workplace, and gives off the
message that people shouldn’t take the bothers of everyday life so seriously, but look for humor
in them.
Michael Scott, manager of the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company,
portrays the boss that everyone loves to hate. Making crude jokes, blurting out statements at
inappropriate times, instigating his workers, and having an immense desire to be liked and
admired are just a few of his many fine attributes. However, despite these characteristics, he is so
ignorant and more or less good-intentioned, that it makes him a hilarious and likeable character.
The way in which Michael deals with his employees is seen in Fun Run. After hitting Meredith
with his car he feels incredibly guilty, and he visits her in the hospital along with the other
members of the office. Michael smothers Meredith with awkward hugs on the hospital bed and
nudges for her forgiveness with the false, odd statement, “In the Bible it states: forgiveness is
next to godliness.”
Later in the episode, having heard that Angela’s cat Sprinkles has died, Scott gets the
notion in his head that the office must be cursed due to the accumulation of bad things happening
that day. He calls for a meeting, always using every little excuse to give one, starts talking about
superstitions, and intrusively asks his employees what their religious beliefs are. When Toby, an
employee in the department of human resources whom Michael hates, says that talking about
religion is inappropriate, Michael calls him Satan.
Scott’s mood completely flips around when it is brought to his attention that Meredith has
rabies. He looks at himself as a savior for putting her in the hospital and organizes a race to raise
money for a cure for rabies, not realizing or caring that rabies already has a cure. When the event
is being planned, he obnoxiously spends money on items such as a giant check to make the race
look better, more glamorous, and legitimate. The Office tries to get the point across that bosses
are often full of bad and irritating qualities. Being a comedy, it uses sarcasm to make light of this
boss to employee relationship that is often very stressful and frustrating out in the real world.
Having a romance in the workplace is typically a tough situation in real life. Both
partners usually try to keep it under wraps and hide their relationship from the other employees.
The Office definitely has its fair share romantic, and sometimes dramatic, relationships as well.
Pam Beesly, the kind-hearted office receptionist, and Jim Halpert, a charismatic young sales
representative, show signs of interest for each other from the very first episode on. It is made
clear that they are perfect for each other as they continually joke and subtly express their love.
However, for the longest time Pam is made to be engaged to another man who works in the
warehouse. Their feelings for each other are suppressed but still perfectly portrayed and very
easy to see when watching the show.
In Fun Run, the drama of Pam’s engagement and Jim’s little fling with someone else has
past, and they are finally revealed to be dating. They try to hide their relationship from the other
office members who never fail to be intrusive and curious. Successfully, they lay low despite
much gossip and rumors around them. They’re busted when the camera crew, the show being a
“mock-umentary,” catches footage of Jim and Pam going home together and kissing. They play
it back for them, and Pam happily blurts out a confession.
Dwight Schrute, a particularly difficult to describe, nerdy employee, and Angela Martin,
an uptight stickler for the rules with an intense obsession for cats, go through a blossoming
relationship as well. They secretly meet in the stock room and call each other endearing pet
names such as, “Monkey.” Fun Run shows troubles within their relationship as Dwight
unintentionally kills one of Angela’s cats when he is supposed to be taking care of it and tries to
pass off the notion that it died from natural causes.
Fun Run, and The Office in general, expresses that romances in the workplace are
difficult since they are typically frowned upon in everyday life. The problems of these hushed
relationships are comically portrayed through employee banter and sticky situations. The Office
also takes a stance on the trueness of love as it gradually and brilliantly develops the perfect,
quirky relationship between Jim and Pam. It is made to be one of the central aspects of the show,
and it is just about the only issue that is shown dramatically, without any humor, from time to
time. Their love is certainly envious and can be seen as a statement of what people today feel
like love ideally is.
Today’s society certainly can get serious and uptight excessively quickly. The Office
offers a release from the drudgery of the real world and makes light of those very issues that
keep so many people sufficiently high-strung. It displays the message that many troubles in life
can be dealt with much more easily if even the slightest bit of humor is seen in them. The show’s
portrayal of these problems is surprisingly realistic as many of the character’s oddities and
predicaments are typically seen all around us every day. On the other hand, exaggerations of
these comical behaviors and problems are abundant since it is a television show looking to
entertain.
The Office, though just a sitcom, helps people get through many troubles by way of
comic release as it puts forth a hilarious, yet realistic display of common situations and
predicaments. This particular episode addresses the issues of bumbling bosses and secretive
relationships head on. It displays Michael’s stupidity as he holds a race for a disease that already
has a cure, reveals that Pam and Jim are finally, officially dating, and delves into the strange
hardships that Dwight and Angela endure. Fun Run can easily make any audience laugh while
subtlety pulling at their heart strings and shows the importance of laughter and light-heartedness
in everyday life.