—The Scranton School of Public Performance.
Concerning the Curious Relationship Between The Office and the Past President.
IN our post-modern media age, where the line between reality and fantasy—and the metaverse and the universe—are fading, we now introduce an occasional column which will study, or just point out, the relationship between politics and show business.
For our inaugural opening piece, we will study the mirror world of Joe Biden and the character Michael Scott from that analgesic hit comedy series, THE OFFICE.
We discovered the anesthetic qualities of comedy by chance once while recovering from a broken kneecap. The distracting throb would subside minutes into the episode, only to return at the end. Another serendipitous event occurred when we received a multimedia email from our physical therapist revealing the relationship between pain and the mind. We considered the attempt a bit self-serving until we recalled the absence of the severe discomfort while watching the show. As we didn’t handle the prescribed painkillers well, there were many seasons of episodes that eased our recovery.
Perhaps the entry of comedians and show-biz types into politics is a compensation from the gods for the dark times we are going through. We are not laughing at the Jewish comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, who is causing both Russians and Ukrainians to suffer through his routine. The sooner he skedaddles off to Israel and allows the region to come to a settlement, the better.
Before he became President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a comedian who played the President of Ukraine on television in Servant of the People. Then, in 2019, life dispensed with the middleman and elected him to the actual job. Politics or show biz? Sometimes even reality seems unsure.
Michael Scott and Joe Biden both came from Scranton, something that may reveal the psychogeography of that region. As with the coal strip mines, they are both very shallow when you get to the bottom of them. Michael Scott even resembles Joe Biden, with undistinguished facial characteristics. Both are company men, able to pivot on a dime to align themselves with corporate policy. One outdoes the other in ridiculousness.
It is our conjecture that the character that Steve Carell played was modeled on the Senator of the Credit Card Company State of Delaware.
Now take the test below that further proves our point :
—Ray Pierre-DeWitt, Chaos Coordinator
Read more from Ray Pierre-DeWitt: HERE
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