Stereotypes And Social Norms In Michael Scott's The Office

The quirky “The Office” show shadows office workers of “Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company”, a fictional paper distributor in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Occasional one v. one discussions with the employee's, “raw” footage, and many humorously bizarre yet relatable plots that have made this series enormously popular. The show portrays some of life’s most awkward situations and not only does it make the audience laugh, but also delivers small dosages of life lessons. A comedic satire such as the “The Office” reinforces and influences certain stereotypes and societal norms in a humorous manner.

Michael Scott is a regional manager at the fictional workplace. He is a white man with a good amount of power. He radiates a sense of dominance over the other

The most powerful of these images deals with the way that Michael Scott is seen by his workers and the people he interacts with on the show. Michael is seen by others as someone who is inappropriate, with very little self awareness. While in “The Office” there are many images that reinforce social norms and stereotypes, there are also images that counter them. Stereotypes towards women on The Office displays gender in a certain negative context. Females are shown/represented as lesser beings than males and the show displays that they should be treated as such. These representations may give the viewers a sense of what men should be like and what women should be like from watching the show. A character named Phyllis expresses her thoughts on Michael’s unfair advantages that men are given in the office over women. Dwight is then asked of his opinion on this statement made by Phyllis and references the NBA and WNBA. He describes the NBA as a sport and that the WNBA is a joke. This implies that the workplace has unequal opportunities for women. Phyllis’s statement is downplayed by Dwight’s statement and Michael

The stunned faces with wide opened mouths and eyes protruding from the employees give off a sense of “I-don’t-believe-that-he-just-said-that” kind of reaction. An audience's’ view of Michael’s employees can be described as being tolerant of his stupidity. 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. Let’s face it, whether you are laughing or crying at just one episode of this show, you’re learning