Postmodernism In The Office

After watching the video about postmodernism and reading about it, I have gathered some thoughts on what it means to be “postmodern” in terms of television. To me, the term describes a show that does not confine to every norm. Meaning, the show is not like every other show on television, it challenges the way we previously view television. Thus, after some thought, I would argue that the sit com, The Office, can be considered a postmodern television show. There are various reasons that I think this to be true. First, the cast of the office is considerably diverse and interesting. A few members of the cast are an indian woman, an old white man, and a young woman. It is as though this cast is made to be strange for a reason. I would even compare this cast to the cast of Modern Family, which is said to be a postmodern television theory. Although they do work together in the same space, they have unique stories and personalities that they contribute to the show. Different episodes are focused on different people in the office, and any issues or conflicts they are facing that day. Within these episodes, the cast is portrayed as being very dysfunctional and contradictory at times, as well. Sometimes what they are saying does not even make sense and can seem very

8) when they concluded that “the world we live in today has become postmodern through the rupture of modernism, and that we are in a totally new era that require theories, that there is no rupture with modernism, for there are continuities between the modern and the present time, and finally, there is an argument for a dialogue between continuity and discontinuity with theories to explain the breaks between them”. The world we are living in now is so complex with new technologies continuing to develop, and I definitely think this influences the television shows and the way that we view television as a