Media Meditation #1: The Office is back!

The Office is back! This first episode of season 7 premiered September 23, and shows a lot of potential for a great season. This opening scene reminds us all how much we love each and every one of these characters.

PLOT SUMMARY

Everyone at Dunder Mifflin talks to the camera about their summer. Michael tells us that he had West Nile Virus, and is happy that he lost a lot of weight as a result. In the picture below, Andy finds out that Gabe is now dating Erin but he claims not to be jealous.

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Over the summer, Dwight made an investment by purchasing Dunder Mifflin's building.

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As expected from last season, Kelly participated in the Minority Executive Training Program and now thinks she is a smart business woman. Michael hires a new assistant, Luke, who does not complete tasks on time and messes up coffee orders.

(www.nbc.com)

In response to the office's disapproval of the new assistant, Michael calls a meeting where he admits that he hired Luke because he was his nephew.

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Angela calls the staff to the parking lot, where they notice several packages in the back of Luke's car that he was supposed to send to corporate. Meredith breaks in to the car, unlocks the trunk, and the workers take back their paperwork.

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Pam decides to prank Dwight by having Kevin wire the elevator so that it will only go to the third floor. Pam gets Dwight in the elevator and the elevator gets stuck. Don't worry though, Dwight knows the perfect emergency procedure.

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At a staff meeting, Luke does not listen to Michael and he is asked to leave. Michael follows to have a talk with him, and Luke still refuses to listen. Michael bends him over and spanks him in front of the whole office!

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Gabe tells Michael that he will probably loose his job should he not attend 6 sessions of counseling with Toby!

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After watching this episode several times, I began to take a closer look at how this episode serves as a form of MEDIA...

This episode stimulates the entire brain.

• Neocortex because of thinking and analyzing the plot
• Limbic because of the song at the beginning and the images we see on the TV
• Reptilian because there continues to be times when our instincts tell us to fight a certain character because of how they are acting or mate with them.

The Office continues to use very unique production techniques. The show is set up such that the actors are workers in an office and being recorded by a camera crew. By traditional production techniques, the characters would act as if they did not notice the presence of recording equipment in the office. Instead, the characters routinely make direct eye contact with the camera, talk directly to the camera in private, and sometimes ignore/recognize the camera-man. This all adds for a very humorous, entertaining, and unique show.

Personally, I have watched all of the previous 6 seasons and continue to be shocked by the show's use of emotional transfer. The viewer develops such a close relationship to the characters. At different times I have loved, hated, been disappointed with, and been happy for each and every one of the characters. Although it is just a TV show, the viewer creates a bond with the characters very different from traditional TV shows.

TV runs at 30 frames per second, and we consciously process only 8. This means that we miss a lot of information the first time we watch a show. This is very true with this episode. Especially in the first musical clip; the more times you watch it, the more things you notice and laugh at.

Humor. Humor is what powers this show. The everyday office life is livened up to produce a hilarious and action packed story.

"The Office feels like a hybrid program, located somewhere between the more traditional comedy and a reality program....We seem to be in the midst of a cultural shift in our taste and interest in storytelling."

If you haven't been hooked yet, then I suggest giving The Office a try!