From the Electric City: The Office Fandom

 The Office Fandom

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Definition of the Fandom

    According to the wide web full of The Office fans, the name of them is highly debated. Some refer to themselves as "The Officers," "Dunder Mifflinites," or even "Dunderheads." In the same Reddit thread, they referred fans of the show as plainly as "fans of The Office" (2). The show, as unorthodox as it is, seems fitting for it to have such an undecisive and opinionated fanbase.

A Bit About the Show

    The Office, created by Greg Daniels in 2005, is a mockumentary style show depicting every day life at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The show ran for 9 chaotically beautiful seasons until 2013, following many storylines within the series (3). Not only was this show comical, but also extremely emotional. It is almost impossible to not form attachments to the characters as you learn about their lives and follow their emotional journeys throughout the 9 season run. You laugh, you cry, you learn lessons, and most importantly, you learn the value of friendship in the workplace. 

About the Fans

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        Meeting an "Office" fan is something that is strikingly recognizable. One of our favorite things to do is to insert references and quotes into conversations when the opportunity presents itself, regardless of the setting. From memes, to Halloween costumes, to traditions, to Buzzfeed quizzes, the culture exists everywhere among us. My friends and I, back in high school, tried to match the characters with people we knew in real life. Fans also tend to label themselves. People say it takes a certain kind of humor to appreciate the show, and I personally believe this is why lovers of The Office resort to making references so much. It represents a common ground in their personality; I've made new friends purely based on our love for the show and went on to realize we had much more in common.

        Fans also love to speculate about popular theories revolving the show. One of the most popular is the theory of the "Scranton Strangler." Videos of this nature exist by fans about a plethora of small details surrounding the show. Most who have seen The Office once have also seen it at least one other time through to the point where noticing such miniscule details can contribute greatly to the show's overall meaning. 

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Fan Writing

        As fans of The office love to talk about The Office, writer Elaina Chastain had her work posted to The Article on how the show is actually loaded with many life lessons as I had previously mentioned. In her article, she states, "Audience members can sense that he is actually very uncomfortable with the situation. Again, this relates back to the idea of not changing yourself (or in this case, what you do) to meet other people’s expectations" (6). Due to the style of the show being somewhat of a documentary, audience members are able to relate deeply to the characters and what they are going through. I believe this is what ties fans so closely is that they see themselves in what the show represents and that offers a level of comfort not too commonly seen in television nowadays.

Works Cited

1. Sampada, Sharma. Photo of The Office. August 5, 2020. New Delhi. The Indian             Express, https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/television/top-10-the-office-episodes-    6397126/.

2. @u/[deleted]. "Are fans of The Office called Officers?" July 9, 2019.                                                 Reddit, https://www.reddit.com/r/DunderMifflin/comments/cb1vf6/are_fans_of_the_office_called_th    e_officers/

3. The Office Wiki. "The Office." Dunderpedia, https://theoffice.fandom.com/wiki/The_Office. 

4.@comestayawhile. "The Office Themed Halloween Costumes." Instagram,         https://www.pinterest.com/pin/106116134955970461/?d=t&mt=login. Accessed April 5, 2020. 

5.QDodger Vlogger. "Toby is the Scranton Strangler | The Office (CONSPIRACY THEORY)     Explained and PROVEN | *MUST WATCH*". Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?    v=_BO5dIAgmEo.

6.Chastain, Elaina. "How ‘The Office’ Uses Characters and Comedy to Impart Life Lessons." The Article, https://the-artifice.com/the-office-characters-comedy-life-lessons/. Accessed April 5, 2020.