The Office: Valentine's Day

This week I choose to blog about another episode of The Office. This week the episode was about Valentine’s Day at in the office. The show started with a scene with Michael (the boss) and another of the male works riding in the elevator complaining about being alone on Valentine’s Day. This was sending the message that it was strange for these two men to be talking about being so upset and sad because men are not suppose to hangout and talk about their feelings. It was apparent in this episode that it was inappropriate for men, who should be emotionless, to spend time together talk about how they feel.

Another gender message of this episode was that men are the dominant one in relationships. Pam and Jim are engaged and both work in the office. In one of the first scenes in the show Pam is sitting at the front desk when someone walks in and requests to speak to Michael. The man is a sales representative from a phone company trying to sell Michael a new phone system that will allow all the phones in the office to be connected to directly by the caller pushing a number. Pam doesn’t want Michael to buy it because she says it will replace her job.

First of all, this shows that woman do not belong in the work place because they are dispensable. This idea is also supported by the other members of the office staff. All of the higher or more important jobs in the office are done by the male workers. For example the boss, Michael, and all of the sales people are men. There are also more men in the office than woman. The women that do work there do administrative jobs for the man. For examples, Pam is the receptionist.

As Pam is trying to make the salesman leave before Michael comes over, Jim comes up to the desk and pretends to be Michael and asks the man to leave. This says that Pam needed Jim to come rescue her. Jim saved Pam from a situation she did not want to be. This scene defends the damsel in distress stereotype of woman.

Another example that reinforces the damsel in distress stereotype is when Michael is giving blood in a blood drive. Michael meets a woman while they are both giving blood and then when she leaves to go to back to work, she leaves her glove behind. Michael decided that he will try and return it to her and they will fall magically in love- like Cinderella. This is saying that women need a man to come to the rescue and that a woman will fall in love with a man if he does save her. Michael believes that he will be her prince charming and they will live happily ever after.