Postmodernism & The Office

 The Office and Postmodernism

For this week’s blog post, I decided to watch the video titled, The Office & Postmodernism. The Office is a fly-on-the-wall mockumentary parody about modern American office culture. The Office (US Version) airs in March of 2005 and instantly became a massive hit. The office looks at the lives of the works at Dunder Mifflin, a paper supply company located in Scranton Pennsylvania. The show is centered around Regional Manager, Michael Scott, played by the Emmy award winner, Steve Carell, is a single, middle-aged man who serves as an extremely boastful tour guide for the mockumentary. While at first glance, one might not notice the similarities between postmodernism, and the Office – it quickly becomes apparent after taking a closer look. For example, The Office utilizes three different styles of postmodernism, the style of filming, the use of intertextual references, and its presence on the internet. This is formally known as re-articulation, which is defined as the bringing of elements of traditional documentaries, such as single camera set up, and the feeling that a real story is being told. A Mockumentary, which is the style in which The Office utilizes, takes these ideas and elements and provides ironic humor. This is done by the practice of hyperawareness, which is frequently utilized throughout the show in different forms. The Office's use of intertextual references is one of the key elements of its postmodernism. The Office frequently makes references to different popular culture references from other TV shows and films, such as Battlestar Galactica, The Apprentice, and Lord of The Rings. These references are used to provide humor, as well as to push the story forward. These intertextual references are emblematic of the hyper-consciousness of postmodern popular culture, and as such creates an ironic knowingness in the audience as the views know what they’re referring to. Finally, The Office's presence on the internet through their website is a perfect example of postmodernism. In addition to the content created on the TV show, the creators developed a website that provides additional content for the audience. On their website, they have blogs supposedly written by the characters on the show, as well as games, videos and episode guides. It also offers online-only videos such as web-episodes and music videos that add an additional layer of content for the show. As a fan of The Office, I never realized the use of postmodernism throughout the film. While this concept is widely popular nowadays, the idea of watching an episode, then going online to experience even more content is a prime example of postmodernism. Overall, the office illustrates postmodernism with its use of intertextual popular culture references, mockumentary style, and their vast variety of Office related content available online. 

Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lzrZtEedgw&t=0s&list=PL8YtsooGljrlPkr7Ija54C6TtpCElse9j&index=16

Dean Winchester- Modern Cowboy?

Throughout this week's assignments I couldn't stop trying to think of a perfect example of a modern cowboy, and my mind kept coming back to the first thought I had, Dean Winchester from the long-running television show from the CW network, Supernatural. Before I make my case, lets look at the definition of a cowboy that was provided in the mini-lecture:
1) Idealized Man/Romantic Notion
2) A man who brings order (to uncivilized places)
3) A man who escapes order (gets away from civilization)
And the types of cowboys mentioned are:
-Adventure seekers and Explorers
-Visitors and Wanderers

For those that have never heard of Supernatural, it is (at its base) a show about two brothers, Sam and Dean, that drive around the country and hunt monsters. To avoid making this blog post an explanation about the 11 season history of the show and talk about why everyone should watch it, I am going to leave the show at that description for now. Because I want to tell you all about Dean Winchester.

Dean Winchester has lived his whole life virtually off the grid and has drove around the country with his father since he was a child hunting monsters. His brother, Sam, doesn't fit the definition of a cowboy as much because he always craved normalcy, and went off to college as soon as he had the chance. Dean always accepted the way his life was and didn't see anything wrong with it. 

A Man Who Brings Order (to uncivilized places)
Dean's version of an uncivilized place could be found in someone's living room- he hunts monsters that intend on (and usually succeed in) hurting/killing people. Sometimes they are ghosts, sometimes demons, and sometimes a type of monster that only exists in storybooks. He is a protector of all humans, and he doesn't even get the recognition most of the time. 

A Man Who Escapes Order (gets away from civilization)
Dean has always lived off the grid, pretty much jumping between living in his car and living in run down motels in whatever town they find themselves hunting in all over the country. Dean doesn't have friends, just family and other hunters that he occasionally would communicate with, and he was basically always alone; hunting could be considered a lonely job, being the only ones that know the truth about whats out there. They live by their own rules, and often break the law in order to save people. 

So is he a cowboy? 
I absolutely consider him a cowboy! Particularly in the first few seasons, as things get rather complicated as the show goes on (as it is wont to do). Ignoring the technical definition, even just looking at him you would think of him as a cowboy. He is a rugged man from down south (Kansas) that even travels the country on his trusty steed: a 1967 Chevy Impala.

All he is missing is the hat, and he would be a full-blown cowboy. (which, incidentally, they played off of in an episode called "Frontierland" in season 6)

The Life of a Fangirl

What popular culture are you drawn to and why?  
 
The type of pop culture that I am most drawn to is the one that I have been living for around ten years, and that is fandom life, or the life of a fangirl. When I first started reading Harry Potter I started to live life dedicated to the Harry Potter fandom without even realizing it. I would go to events, I would read books about the books, go to websites, and start reading all about different ideas and thoughts online, and it started to become an obsession of mine. Around middle school I started to realize that there are so many other people out there that also dedicate a large portion of their lives to the series, and I inadvertently became a Harry Potter fangirl. Then I learned about other fandoms. And more and more fandoms as time went on. I started a couple of blogs about my interests, and I suddenly could communicate with fans from around the world that love the shows, books, and movies just as much as I do. In my junior year of high school (2010) I traveled to London by myself to go to the World Premiere of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1", and the experience was one of the best times of my life even though I stood outside for 18 hours in the cold and rain, because the feeling of togetherness that happened between the almost 1000 people standing around was amazing. There were random bursts of sing-alongs, lots of discussing about who is going to show up and what is going to happen and all sorts of Harry Potter discussions. To be a part of a fandom is to be a part of something bigger than yourself, and the feeling of togetherness between strangers is a feeling that can't really be described. 
 Why is it important to you and what value do you get from engaging in it?  

Fandoms are important to me because as someone that has dealt with a lot of personal problems, being a fan has always been something I can rely on, and no matter how alone I felt, there are always other fans to talk to about different aspects of fandom. I use fiction as a form of escapism in order to cope, and having places to go and people to talk to so that the magic doesn't have to end when the book or episode does has been a life-saver. I actually have a few fandom tattoos!
Fangirls get such a bad reputation, and I am determined to help improve that throughout this semester, because being a fangirl and part of a fandom is not just about loving a person or piece of fiction to the point of obsession, though that does play a part, but it is so much more than that.
What do you anticipate you will learn about that particular form of popular culture in this course?

I am excited to look at Fangirls and Fandom from an outsiders perspective! I have never not been a Fangirl, and it will be interesting to try and see things from the point of view of someone that psychoanalyzes every episode of a tv show and cosplaying at conventions!