Posted On: Saturday - August 24th 2024 7:32PM MST
In Topics: TV, aka Gov't Media
Regular Peak Stupidity readers have likely seen more than one humorous clip from the very early 21st century 9-year-running TV show The Office on this site. I've got lots of praise for this best of TV shows ever, IMO - that'll appear at the end. Those years, '05-'13, were already well into my now 25-year long hiatus from the idiot plate.
Actually, hiatus is the wrong word - I ain't going back. I didn't miss it after 3 months even. Why the praise then, and how'd I watch The Office? It's like this: This young lady was ripping and burning DVDs on the streets of Canton, China about 15 years ago. My companion decided to buy about 1 1/2" of these disks (no thick covers there, just the very thin plastic ones) for me, well, with my money, 10 bucks, as I recall. Most of it was garbage, but I watched this particular show when I got home on my computer.
The 1st disk was the 1st season of the British show starring Ricky Gervais. It was funny enough, but then the rest were the American version with Steve Carell as the office manager Michael Scott. Sorry, but I have a hard time believing even a Brit would find the British version funnier that the latter.* No, I'm sure the young lady back in the Middle Kingdom making a living stealing Hollywood IP had no clue of the difference between the shows. They were all those same White people, so what's your problem?
No problem. Anyway, rather than this being a fairly frivolous post here, comparing 2 of the main characters of the American show, I do have a bigger point to make, one that will carry over to a couple of other posts I've been wanting to write. Kind of as with a Ginger v Mary Ann comparison, but no, not really like that at all, this is about, were this real life, who of the 2 characters, Jim Halpert or Dwight Schrute, is a better person, the one we'd rather emulate, and who would we rather have really in charge... of more than just the Scranton Branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
Jim Halpert is played by John Krasinsky, and Dwight Schrute is played by Rainn Wilson.
It's obvious, at least early on in the show, who the writers, directors, and such SEE as the better person. That'd be the more handsome, more easygoing, more quick-witted, capable salesman Jim Halpert. In contrast, Dwight Schrute is a kiss-ass to the boss Michael Scott (there's that running joke "Assistant Regional Manager, no, Assistant TO the Regional Manager), a non-cosmopolitan country boy, a weapon-crazy redneck and high-strung to boot. (He's also a good salesman though.). Though American politics outside Dunder Mifflin is not any part of The Office as opposed to in the old All in the Family, I can see a parallel with Dwight and old Archie Bunker. Each is a character that the show makers figured the viewer should dislike.
It doesn't always work that way. First, though, how could one, especially the woman viewers, not like Jim Halpert though? Yeah, he doesn't get ruffled. He does his job competently and snarkily or otherwise puts up with and often enjoys the antics of politically incorrect (though, of course, Jim isn't), time-wasting, goofy manager Michael Scott. Oh, and he plays clever tricks on socially Conservative but awkward annoying office mate Dwight and flirts with the nicest cute receptionist Pam Beasley. Jim goes along to get along, and is an overall nice guy.
Nobody admires a kiss ass as Dwight Schrute is, though only early on in the show, maybe through the 1st 3 or 4 seasons. However, whatever he does, as silly as it may be, he does his best. While Jim takes the whole office thing with a grain of salt, Dwight is gung ho about it all. The writers painted Dwight as a wanna-be authoritarian figure to be disliked, but I figure the actor told them he wanted to be less one-dimensional by some point. The character "grew" in later episodes, becoming better with the ladies, no longer in thrall to the whims of Michael Scott, and even funnier.
I like that Dwight is a self-reliant, prepper type, while I don't think Jim is ready for anything but the middle-class American life that he doesn't know might not last for long.
As usual, one has to suspend disbelief a bit for both these characters. Jim, for example, would likely get angry on occasion in real life and show it. Additionally, that niceness of his would probably have not gotten him the girl, Pam, in real life. As much as it would have been a mistake on her part, she'd have been gone. As for Dwight, nobody has the time to run a beet farm - mostly by himself, work his 8-5 sales job, and be a Sheriff's Deputy too. Maybe it's just that I don't have that much energy.
OK, Jim v Dwight, which is it?. It's not just a matter of taste as with liking Mary Ann better than Ginger (or vice versa). I see the difference in personalities as translating to people in real life. Because I'm still working up a post about Steve Sailer and the worth of his type of personality in the times to come, I think of the very last part of his interview with Tucker Carlson. Tucker noted that Steve is such a nice and reasonable guy. He's not a "hater", someone who rants and jumps up and down.
Regarding that last bit, Alex Jones comes to mind. How about this analogy? When it comes to pundits and existential political issues, as compared to office politics, can we say that Jim Halpert is to Dwight Schrute as Steve Sailer is to Alex Jones. Often you'd rather talk to, and rather be around, the civil, calm reasonable guy. He might not have strict principles, but he's generally right and, yeah, reasonable. Sometimes, however, things get to the point which require someone who DOES really hate the way things are going. He sticks to his principles, because getting away from them is what got us into the messes we're in. He knows how to handle real trouble. Yeah, he's angry, but when it's time to get loud and rowdy, he does, because it's necessary.
Well, that'll be that other post coming, with references to The Godfather. As for me, I admire the character Dwight more than I do Jim. I would rather BE Dwight Schrute than be Jim Halpert. Likely a big majority of The Office fans would disagree.
OK, have a great Sunday, Peakers. This was a weird post, but it IS leading to something I'll write about this coming week.
PS: I don't intend to write a review of The Office. "Watching TV" can have different meanings these days, with your streaming and such, but we sure don't encourage TV here at Peak Stupidity. However, I'll admit that The Office was great entertainment. The political incorrectness**, even when it was, in show reality, embarrassing to the characters, was great to see. It's just my kind of humor.
As the show went along, the writers eventually got off track - say season 6, about the time I quit watching (not even sure where I got seasons 5 and 6 from). For example, Ed Helm, the guy who played Andy Barnard, could sing well, one could tell. He must have pushed for that episode in which he was in a musical play. No, sorry, that's not The Office. Then, to keep the women viewers, besides the office romances, the show had to have complete wedding shows, I believe for all the main characters, after I'd quit watching.
PPS: There are plenty of video compilations of Jim funny scenes and Dwight funny scenes. I may paste them in tomorrow. However, I think if you aren't a fan of this show, you wouldn't get enough out of them, and if you are, you don't need that to know all I refer to here.
* That's not throwing any shade on Ricky Gervais there either. He's a funny guy. Check out the obscure '08 movie Ghost Town sometime.
** The show about Mexican accountant Oscar being "outed" as gay was a hilarious example of this. The kissing scene explains why the show is seen as cringeworthy on occasion. Yeah, I had a hard time watching that, but you just had to! "I don't celebrate Oscar's gayness - this is about his Mexicanity" or something like that is what Michael said at one point.
Comments:
Moderator
Monday - September 2nd 2024 3:52AM MST
PS: Loropetalum, Possumman? (I just suggest that because it's been really popular over the last 15 years.). It means "pretty petals", yet they have no flowers. These are fairly fast-growing plants whose leaves are a nice red color during the growing season.
Possumman
Tuesday - August 27th 2024 8:27AM MST
PS. Man its a bitch getting old--How can I remember Mose from a show I didn't even watch that often but cant remember the name of some bush I planted for my wife a few weeks ago --and I see it everyday in my front yard.
Moderator
Monday - August 26th 2024 5:20AM MST
PS: O/T, but since the previous post's comments got into bad driving practices, I forgot that I'd written this post 3 years ago, for Old Soldier particularly:
"Turn Signal Stupidity"
https://www.peakstupidity.com/index.php?post=1991
"Turn Signal Stupidity"
https://www.peakstupidity.com/index.php?post=1991
Moderator
Monday - August 26th 2024 5:12AM MST
PS: I'd like to see a comparison of bodies, Adam. That's where Amy Adams really stood out, if I may...
Yeah, I understand Mose did a bunch of work, Possumman. It's probably me, without that much energy, who can't imagine still running everything (and, haha, arranging for very specific types of weddings on the farm), and still being employed full time away from the place.
Yeah, I understand Mose did a bunch of work, Possumman. It's probably me, without that much energy, who can't imagine still running everything (and, haha, arranging for very specific types of weddings on the farm), and still being employed full time away from the place.
Possumman
Sunday - August 25th 2024 1:37PM MST
PS Dwight had Mose to help out on the farm--didn't run it by himself.
Adam Smith
Sunday - August 25th 2024 12:26PM MST
PS: Greetings, Gentlemen...
https://i.ibb.co/xFZ4b5W/Katy-Moore-and-Pam-Beesly.jpg
Happy Sunday! ☮️
https://i.ibb.co/xFZ4b5W/Katy-Moore-and-Pam-Beesly.jpg
Happy Sunday! ☮️
Moderator
Sunday - August 25th 2024 12:10PM MST
PS: Oh, yeah, I saw when she came in first to sell some handbags or something. Man, Michale and Dwight were embarrassing, were it real life.
Dwight was doing better with the chicks later on - I liked when his one girlfriend treated Angela to a little whack-a-mole!
Dwight was doing better with the chicks later on - I liked when his one girlfriend treated Angela to a little whack-a-mole!
The Alarmist
Sunday - August 25th 2024 11:44AM MST
PS
You make good points about Dwight, but with Jim you get Pam. Nuff said.
Did you see the episodes where Jim dated a character played by Amy Adams? As if Dwight ever had a chance. Ever notice the similarities between Jenna Fischer and Amy Adams? Curious.
🕉
You make good points about Dwight, but with Jim you get Pam. Nuff said.
Did you see the episodes where Jim dated a character played by Amy Adams? As if Dwight ever had a chance. Ever notice the similarities between Jenna Fischer and Amy Adams? Curious.
🕉