The Office–or why I love Fictional Characters
Its here, the day is finally here. The Office begins again at 9pm on NBC, and we get to catch up with our friends from Dundler-Mifflin and see what has come of last season.
If there is something wrong with you and you aren’t aware of the drama, its not hard to catch up. The Office follows an office, a plain, boring office in Scranton, PA where the company makes and sells paper products. The people in the office are ordinary people, with frequent glances to the clock during a regular day. Except there not, because each character has been refined and portrayed to the point where they are real, they are people that populate the offices of the world, they could be in the cubicles next to you, annoying you or making you laugh. They are all endearing.
But the most endearing is Jim. Jim Halpert is a salesperson in the office who, for the first two seasons, nurtured a big crush on the receptionist Pam, who was, alas, engaged to a brute in the warehouse. After two seasons of flirting, laughing, and generally convincing the entire world that they were perfect for each other, “the secret we were all in on,” it culminated in a perfect moment of understanding, confession–and a kiss.
It took another season to get the repurcussions of that sorted out. But after a year of growth and honesty Jim was finally in a place to lean into the conference room where Pam was reassuring the camera that she’d be fine, because she and Jim were friends no matter what and casually and clearly ask Pam if she was available for dinner. When she agreed, he said, perfectly, “It’s a date, then,” with a characteristic tilt of his head. And people around the country were given something to feel good about for months.
Tonight, we get to see what happened on that date. I’m curious about why I care so much, or why it affects me the way it does. Why do these people that aren’t real, these people who are portrayed by actors who make BAD movies (License to Wed, anyone?) get under my skin so much that I think about them? I have an interesting life, I get to do cool stuff and make my own memories, so why is the saga of Pam and Jim something I pay attention to, and, more so, why is it something I care so much about?
To answer my own question, it’s the writing. It has to be the writing. The writing is good, smart and crafted to make you care. The circumstances surrounding them and their growth is designed to focus on the good in the world and emphasize that even in the most mundane of offices, amazing, beautiful things can happen.
Consider Jim. He’s the good guy, the guy you desperately want to get the girl. But more than that, he is incredibly likeable. He’s funny, self-deprecating and very laid-back. He can handle Dwight, he can handle Michael, he can handle all of the annoying quirks of the people he works with because he is endowed with the gift of being able to see the humor in things–and that makes his day better. More than that, he has low expectations. He didn’t mean to fall for Pam, it happened against his judgment. He couldn’t help but fall for her, because something in her spoke to him in a way he couldn’t suppress. And the idea that love is like that, that it happens outside of our control and rational thinking is pretty intoxicating. It speaks to greater, wider things in the world than most daily life would allow you to accept.
Another likable characteristic of these characters is how they change. When we first meet Pam, she is defined by her fiance and by all of the things that she hasn’t done. It’s hard to understand what Jim is drawn too, what he finds so appealing. (Which is another thing that makes Jim so attractive, in a round about way.) But through Him at first, and then of her own accord, she becomes the person Jim always knew she was. She undergoes a graceful transformation, propelled by her own, inert desire to be a different person. It starts when Jim kisses her and she begins to realize what she does and doesn’t want. It takes her awhile, though, and when Jim asks her, “You’re going to marry him, aren’t you?” she says “Yes,” because up until that point she didn’t know she had other options.
And Jim leaves but he’s already done his damage. Even if he never sees Pam again, she’s been changed by him. She calls off her wedding and begins a season of self-improvement, culminating in her walk across coals and her outburst at the fireside. What this means for Jim, he has to figure out for himself. And we love him because it does mean something to him, and that evan after a year of dating Karen his heart still beats a little faster for Pam. Pam has done the work and she is where she wants to be–and with her eyes shining she will take whatever is offered.
And that’s why I love these people, even though they aren’t real.