The Office Satire

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The television series that I had just finished binge watching on Netflix was, The Office that premiered in the United States on NBC on March 24, 2005, the show concluded on April 26, 2005. This program oddly enough is based on a spinoff of a British mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant in the United Kingdom. However, it was almost cancelled after the debut due to poor ratings but blossomed into one of the most successful British comedy exports. This inspired Greg Daniels to adapt this show for American audiences and became an even bigger success (IMDb). The Office is a comedy sitcom about a mockumentary of the daily work life at the office of a paper supply company Dunder Mifflin in the small town of Scranton, Pennsylvania. …show more content…

Even though the American Office was based off of the British Office it is still a different show all around. With a completely divergent storyline and approach to comedy. I have watched both and I am not a big fan of the original British version, it is too dumb for my taste. The American Office approach is to make the audience feel more comfortable about their everyday job life by viewing a more dramatic, comedic interpretation of the workplace. That they can partially relate too and get reassurance of how good they have it, or to fantasize about working a job like Dunder Mifflin where their boss cares more about his friendship with his employees than actually getting work done. An extremely similar show is Parks and Recreation, which I am also a huge fan and have seen every episode. They take the same approach as The Office except have a complete dissimilar environment and job description. “We need to remember what’s important in life: waffles, and work. Or Waffles, friends, work. But work has to come third” (Daniels). This quote speaks to me because I feel that it is important to excel in the job career everyone chooses in life but it shouldn’t be put over personal life. They are both important and a common ground should be found between them and make the best out of each. Both shows focus more on the social aspects in the work place than the actual work itself which is why I appreciate both

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