Comments | lianhanshee: Business is always personal. It's the most personal thing in the world.

lianhanshee

Business is always personal. It's the most personal thing in the world.

Feb 16, 2007 15:41

Oh, Joss, I love you, but every time TV makes me cry, somehow you're behind it.

I guess I got kinda excited about office_meta because I wrote a ton under the cut.
( Business School, or In Which Pam Has the Breakthrough She Was Looking for and Fancy New Beesly is Finally Born )

whedon owns me, the office, office meta

Comments 9

gyda_gwen February 16 2007, 22:39:31 UTC

I am slowly thinking that The Office is starting to jump the shark. I didn't find this episode funny at all, although I did appreciate the parallels which you did a great job dissecting ( ... )

lianhanshee February 22 2007, 20:54:36 UTC

There were definitely not as many laugh-out-loud moments for me in this ep, but like you, I really did appreciate the narrative structure, especially compared to some of the eps recently. Ben Franklin, for instance, was kind of boring from a structural point-of-view, not much to analyze or think about, because it was so straight-on. Even most, if not all, of the humor lacked the subtlty that I love so much about the show. I guess that's more Mindy Kaling's M.O. considering she's the one who wrote The Injury, which I loved for its laugh-out-loud storyline, but again, it wasn't exactly subtle or narratively rich. So for me, it's those kinds of eps where I fear the show might start to jump the shark, because it veers so far away from the original point of (both of) the series, which for me is about everyday life and the way they tell the story of everyday life (with subtlty in the narrative and the humor; the British version had the bonus of a POV that everyday life really is dreary and there's no reason to lighten it up, because ( ... )

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lianhanshee February 22 2007, 20:24:00 UTC

Wow, thank you! I'm really flattered!

I meant to go back and add to this and flesh it out a little bit as to why Pam was so touched by Michael for additional reasons -- I think she wants her art to touch people emotionally, so that it's meaningful to someone. Clearly Roy's feedback indicated to her that her art lacked emotional resonance for him. So Michael's reaction probably will help her decide it's worth it to plow ahead, that it will be worth it to become "honest and courageous," because the payoff is so great. I meant to talk a little more about that.

And hey! I love your fic. I really have no excuse, I have to get better at leaving feedback. Especially for This Is Not Helping which I love love loved. So if my posting a whole bunch of comments seems like I'm stalking you all of a sudden, I assure you -- it's been going on for much longer than that. ;)

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Re: impressionist lianhanshee February 22 2007, 20:10:20 UTC

Oh, thanks so much! I'm glad to hear you liked the episode as much as I did. I really thought it was brilliant, particularly narratively, because there was so much to it, on multiple levels. And I'm glad my ramblings helped you enjoy it even more! I'm so about spreading the Office love. So, yay!

Hee! Icon love!

And yes, your interp makes sense given Pam's blank look! I think Jenna's so perfectly subtly expressive, and I really hope she gets the recognition she deserves, especially considering how phenomenal she's been all season long. Blown. Me. Away!

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lianhanshee February 22 2007, 20:05:55 UTC

Oh, I really hope that happens, too! But I don't think it'll end up happening until Roy and Pam break up -- I think it really hurt Jim that she went back to Roy, even if it ends up only being for a couple of weeks (which I really hope!). So when he knows Pam's available, maybe that's when he'll move, if it happens. If it does happen, I'm not expecting it be in tonight's episode... I'm learning that the writers are training us to have patience!

anoel February 28 2007, 05:37:10 UTC

I'm sorry its taken me so long to reply to this but I LOVE this meta. You are so smart! Plus it makes me so happy to see meta on Michael who I find incredibly interesting AND on the relationship between Michael and Pam who I adore to pieces. The parallel between Michael and Dwight and Jim and Pam is a great point and so interesting. I think "confess his feelings, so as not to disrupt her wedding/life" may actually be a problem in the opposite way for Pam in the upcoming episodes as I can see her not wanting to be the *bad* one breaking Jim and Karen up. We'll see.

For them, it’s not just what they do as Regional Manager or as an artist. It’s who they are. YES! Exactly. I am so glad this episode made it clear that Michael IS Dunder-Mifflin and how he sees it as people. He can do the most cringeworthy and embarrassing thing imaginable and I would still love him, because everything he does comes from a place in his heart where what matters to him is PEOPLE. I COMPLETELY agree. He is a fundamentally good, caring person so I could not ( ... )

lianhanshee March 9 2007, 00:02:45 UTC

Aww, you're too kind! And I'm so glad to find others who are interested in Michael's growth and his true, deep-down relationship to the other characters. It would have been so easy for the writers and Steve Carell to make Michael one-dimensional, as funny as I'm sure they would have done so. But it's sooooo much better because Michael has layers, and he's relatable to regular folks and I love how they don't let us write Michael off. I couldn't agree MORE about Michael being similar to Pam and Jim in that they all care about people, especially their coworkers. It just keeps Michael so real. I have so much love for the writers and Steve!

And I'm so glad you loved Business School because I was really bummed and surprised that there were quite a few people who didn't seem to like it as much... It's one of my favorites this year, too. I love when they give us so much charactery goodness to enjoy. It's really amazing that it all happens in 20 minutes! Genius!