Here's How Every 'Office' Role Is Canceled Today
That's what she said - canceled.
The Office is one of the most revered, loved and biggest (that's what she says) sitcoms of all time. The Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company Scranton branch's antics made us cringe, make us laugh, and sometimes even bring us to tears during the season 9 show. We look forward to the latest prank that Jim (John Krasinski) will pull on Dwight Schluter (Rainn Wilson), or the crazy tangent that Michael Scott (Steve Carell) will continue. However, the world has changed since The Office aired its season 9 "finale" in May 2013. It's been almost 10 years now, and we've matured considerably as a global community since then. We become more tolerant of others. Well, unless they disagree with us. We have bravely faced a global pandemic and overcome it by strictly following the advice of professionals. Or sound like a celebrity who knows what they're talking about. Our technology has advanced so much that NASA plans to send humans to the Moon between 1969 and 2024. The point is, we don't suffer from those mischiefs that are spread around the office, God forbid, if it is Airing today, it's literally guaranteed that these Scranton villains will be canceled. Just look at these sins worth undoing.
'The Office': Sexual (Un)Favors
One of the issues with the TODAY show was its treatment of workplace sex. Meredith (played by Kate Flannery) is often topless, and even once, in the episode "Casual Fridays," she wore a very short dress that showed off her chassis. Not only inappropriate, but demeaning to the character. Angela's (Angela Kinsey) homophobia will never be tolerated, and neither will the hypocrisy of her conservative Christianity, given her deception of Andy (Ed Helms). And Dwight. And the Senator (Jack Coleman). For that matter, the way she and Kelly (Mindy Kaling) openly and almost creepily ingratiate themselves with new Vice President Charles Miner (Idris Elba)? Call them Cancel and Gretel... Jan (Melora Hardin) dates Michael from a position of power and develops an intimate relationship with Michael in "The Client", which is a big no-no. When Michael brings Oscar Nunez to the office for crossing a line for being gay, then forcefully kisses him to show "he's okay with it," it's almost putting that line in the rearview mirror on the side. The #MeToo movement proposes a The spotlight is - rightly - on sexual harassment, so even if it's a joke, the behavior is viewed very differently now. That's it, canceled.
The Office: (Dis)Respectfully Yours
Respectful relationships exist in The Office, but are rare. In fact, most characters would be fired in the real world, and their fictional counterparts would certainly face cancellation. Take Stanley (Leslie David Baker), for example. He hated, hated, hated Michael, but the intense disrespect he showed in the episode "Do I stutter?" asking Michael to leave him and saying "Do I stutter?" Revenge to the extent of Season 5's "Stress Relief," lashing out at Stanley with "You crush your wife during sex, your heart sucks." The same could be said for Michael's hateful treatment of Toby (Paul Lieberstein), and there doesn't seem to be any excuse for why. no. For the record, there was no attempt to frame Toby for drug possession either.
The relationship that existed between Jim and Dwight was a complicated one, but it was undeniably largely disrespectful. That's not bad in itself - respect should be earned after all - but it's the level They destroy each other. Dwight actively sabotages Jim's promotion, as in "The Devil's Project," while Jim makes Dwight look stupid through elaborate pranks. Actually, starting with the last one - the stapler in the jelly, the gift-wrapped table with no table underneath, and more shenanigans - was appreciated for the ingenuity behind it. Disrespect is something that the public sees everywhere and has only intensified divisions in recent years, so extreme levels of disrespect are less likely to be accepted now. Le canceled.
The Office: No Good (Mis)Deeds Go Unpunished
Then there is a real cornucopia of other inappropriate behavior that would prompt cancellation. Let's start with Dwight, whose treatment for Angela's sick cat involves a one-way trip to Friezeville. And beets? Who Grows Beets? Canceled by animal lovers and veggie-hating kids. Michael, the vote is most likely to be canceled in office. Promising a bunch of 3rd graders that he'll pay for their college tuition if they graduate high school, only he simply can't keep the promise, in "Scott's Kids" (he does offer free laptop batteries). He fakes firing people, takes a pizza delivery driver hostage, dates Pam's (Jenna Fischer) mom, and when he finds out that an employee is in jail, Michael Created the character of Prison Mike, an extremely inappropriate caricature of prison life, to show how bad prison can be (apparently, the worst part is the dementors).
Michael's socially awkward and powerless nature drives much of the show's humor, but it would be foolish to assume some repercussions wouldn't arise in today's society. The whole office has done things worth canceling in itself, but the most worth canceling has to be The Prince's Family, where the whole office is debating whether actress Hilary Swank is hot. Not what she does to improve society off-screen, or her award-winning acting. Just attractive, or unattractive. In a world that increasingly values people's worth over their looks, such judgments -- especially on widely broadcast TV -- can be dismantled faster than you can say million dollar baby.
The Office: The Final Word
The Office may very well be the definitive example of lightning in a bottle, a perfect storm of actors, writers and stories, released when society was more tolerant, or when naysayers and cancelers were not The same forum that we have today. It's going to be successful in today's world, well, it's not going to be. In order for the show's characters to avoid the pitfalls of cancel culture, the full storyline that sparked the controversy won't air. Most character traits are toned down if they still exist. Aside from the cancellations, even the idea of the office itself has been turned upside down as the pandemic opened the doors to working from home, so it has to do with the show environment. So think of The Office as a product of its time - which sounds odd for a show that really ended only 10 years ago - and enjoy its forbidden fruit, and watch a movie you can easily bypass Cancel Culture Shows: Family Guy.
