Defining the essence of Community
Den här texten skrev jag som del av en tenta när jag pluggade Filmvetenskap, kursen handlade om Television och dess historia. Den är tyvärr på engelska. Jag övervägde att översätta den, men ska jag vara ärlig så är den för lång och jag orkar faktiskt inte. Jag gör därför ett grovt antagande att alla ni som läser är smarta nog att förstå ändå. Texten i talan är en djupanalys om ett televisionsavsnitts struktur och varför jag tycker att detta avsnitt representerar Community så bra. För bäst effekt rekommenderar jag att ni ser det första avsnittet av säsong tre innan ni läser, det är mycket jag förkortar i antagandet att läsaren är påläst. Jag varnar dessutom för att den är lite torr på grund av dess akademiska upphov.
The television series Community (Sony Pictures Television, 2009-2015) is a strange anomaly when it comes to network television. A series steeped in meta pop-culture references and a serialized narrative structure, that on the surface looks like episodic, makes it a show that by all accounts should have been canceled quite early on. Yet it survived five whole seasons on NBC and a sixth one on Yahoo. Reaching polysemy (that John Fiske writes about[1]) with a series filled with these many callbacks, inside and meta jokes is not easy. And it is by all means the reason why the show did not reach the full-blown success it probably deserved. An ordinary viewer who only tunes in every once in a while, would understandably find it difficult to deal with these jokes as on the surface they might seem like incoherent nonsense. If this is a failure on the shows part or a stroke of brilliance is a question of personal taste. Similar series, like Arrested Development (20th Television, 2003-?), have dealt with likeminded criticisms. But said show is regardless considered one of the best sitcoms of all time despite its initial criticisms. It is placed on number 43 of Empire magazines best television series of all time.[2]
When analyzing a single episode of the show the temptation of choosing one of its many themed episode is strong. “Epidemiology” (Episode #2.06, 2010), “Remedial Chaos Theory” (Episode #3.04, 2011), “Geothermal Escapism” (Episode #5.05, 2014), a zombie outbreak, multiple timeline and disaster movie themed episodes respectively. Why not though? The argument that these themed and undeniably very fun episodes are what make Community great could be made, with some very strong points. But is that really the core of said show? I would argue against that.
The majority of the 110 episodes are not straight up homages to other intellectual properties. Most contain a couple of strong references as in the Season 3 opener “Biology 101” (Episode 3.01, 2011), but they are not spoof episodes through and through. So, to really find the essence of the show, said episode is actually a really good example of what and why Community works. In its standard sitcom 21-minute running time it contains one main plotline, four subplots, 12 characters of importance, two movie references, three television references and as icing on the cake one big opening song and dance number. All this in just 11 beats (Not counting the mentioned musical number, opening credits, end tag and the one cutaway joke). It even sets up at least 4 overarching plots that will bleed throughout the whole season. This kind of structured mess is both the essence and brilliance of Community. When analyzing the mentioned beats as done below, one really comes to marvel at the concise and brilliant writing.
Beat 1. The episode opens with a very true to form meta song and dance number where the main cast sings to the audience that everything is going to be completely normal this year. With self-referential lyrics like-
“We’re gonna get more calm and normal”,
“We’re gonna seem like a mainstream dream, and be appealing to all mankind”
“We’re gonna have more fun and be less weird than the first two years combined. We’re gonna finally be fine”
This of course turning out to be a dream of Jeff’s (Joel McHale) as he wakes up in the study room and the beat transitions into a more traditional and really effective cold open that sets up 3 out of the 5 plots of the episode.
The main plot being the return of Chevy Chase’s Pierce who left at the end of season 2, and Jeff’s reluctance of letting him back in the group since he was largely portrayed as an antagonist in the prior season. A season long arch is also slightly set up as Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) mention that they are moving in together. This only being mentioned here as it will take a much larger roll later on in the season. The Dean (Jim Rash) then enters and declares that this year will be different and that he will whip the school into shape. And lastly Senõr Chang (Ken Jeong) enters at the very end and sets up his subplot of living in the vents of the school after he was kicked out by his wife the season before. This is a really effective opening since it sets up a lot to come. Perhaps most importantly it sets up the importance of inclusivity in the group. The group study-table is “magic” as Pierce says, to be away from it drives you crazy.
Beat 2. After the short 30 second opening credits we enter beat 2 in the titular class Biology 101. Since this is the first episode of the season it carries the burden of setting up the guest stars of the year, with the role of biology teacher being filled by Michael K Williams. Even though he is mostly set up for the rest of the season, he does have a nice subplot here with Jeff as he kicks him out of class (furthering the main plot) for not letting down his walls. The wall in this case being his phone. “You have to let life in” he says, he uses the metaphor of a single blade of grass growing through the wall of his prison cell. The second subplot set up here is Abed’s search for a new television show since his favorite, Cougar Town (Disney–ABC Domestic Television, 2009-2015), has been moved to midseason. Yet another meta-element enters here as the threat of the midseason-move was constant to Community itself. His nervousness for the shows cancelation makes him call out “Six seasons and a Movie”, Community’s own meta rallying cry.
Beat 3. The Deans goal to whip the school into shape is furthered here as he orders the security guards of the school to put his zero-tolerance policy on monkeys into motion. The reason being because Chang is not living alone in the vents (Why would he be?), there is also a monkey living in there. So the security guards are ordered to gas the vents with a monkey knockout-gas called Chimpan-ZZZ. Another of the season’s guest stars is set up here as the Vice Dean (John Goodman) enters. Vice Deans role is largely superfluous in this episode as his role plays that of more importance later on in the season.
Beat 4. The concept of adaptation is brought up as Britta (Gillian Jacobs) urges Abed to start watching the show that Cougar Town is based on, the British Cougarton Abbey. This is the first television reference of the episode, Cougarton Abbey of course being an homage to Downton Abbey (NBC Universal Television Distribution, 2010-2015). A show that was hugely popular at the time. Abed is pleased and starts watching. Jeff’s plot is also slightly furthered as he enters the realization that he is now in the place that Pierce was last season, as he is now the only one not studying Biology since he was kicked out of class.
First Commercial Break. This is where the first commercial break happens, almost halfway through the episode. 9 minutes in to be precise. Again, since this was the season opener a lot had to be set up that might not have been if this was a midseason episode. Quite a bit was accomplished in these 9 minutes though, the main plot, the four subplots and three seasonal arch plots have been set up here. A minute was even “wasted” on what was undoubtedly a very funny musical number, but all in all a somewhat unnecessary waste of what could have been valuable screen time.
Beat 5. Act 2 enters with Jeff sitting alone in the cafeteria, signaling effectively to newly entered viewers where he is at emotionally. The fact that he is alone is even pointed out by one of the show most beloved side characters, Leonard, who snidely exclaims “All hail Sir EatsAlone”. Again setting up the current state of Jeff brilliantly with a joke. The rest of the group enters and Abed also immediately reminds the newly entered viewer of his plot as he excuses himself because he wants to watch Cougerton Abbey. The fact that the rest of the group is studying something without Jeff is also immediately set up as he tries to act cool with his trademark wit. All this set up in a mere 30 seconds. The attention is then drawn to Abed as Cougarton Abbey ends its run at only 6 episodes with all the characters dying while the British studio audience is laughing. Britta proclaims; “That’s the brilliant thing about British TV, they give you closure”, a fact that Abed cannot handle and he shuts down.
Beat 6. This is the first beat where three of the plots start converging with each other. Jeff meets Chang in the hallway, and the security guards have started to gas the vents. Chang freaks Jeff out, this propels Jeff to suck up to the Biology teacher so he can get back to his study group. A 29 second short beat just to introduce the fact that these three plots are going to collide.
Beat 7. The last appearance of Vice Dean as Dean enters his office to ask him to keep costs down. In the context of the episode itself this is largely unimportant, but the Vice Dean will play a much larger roll later on in the season, so it nicely sets up things to come for regular viewers.
Beat 8. Jeff enters the Biology teacher’s office to ask if bygones could be bygones, a request that is denied since he still thinks that Jeff’s “walls are up”. Again; “Not even a blade of grass could get through”. Jeff’s paranoia of not being in the group is growing deeper and deeper, as he sees a picture of Pierce and (someone who Jeff assumes is) the biology teacher on the desk. This is the only beat of the episode which spans multiple locations as Jeff then takes the picture and again runs into Chang, who realizes the leverage he would get with the group if he had the picture. So he takes it and runs into the vents, Jeff follows. While wrestling inside the vent, a big cloud of Chimpan-ZZZ comes flashing towards the two. Chang knowing the vents runs of to safety, but Jeff is knocked out entering the first of two Kubrick homages. A 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)- styled sequence is used, where the Study table is a replacement of the monolith and Jeff realizes that he is more like Pierce than he would like to admit. This is a major beat in the episode as it really combines 4 of the 5 plots. It is also of major importance since it is the first one to feature multiple locations. The office, Corridor, Vents and a remodeled study room. And of course, it is the first major movie reference which is a staple of Community.
Beat 9. Abed’s issue of finding a show has found its conclusion here as Britta yet again introduces him to a new British show. This time a Doctor Who (BBC, 1963-?) knockoff called Inspector Space-time. Abed is pleased and his subplot is oddly enough already solved here in act 2. A bit strange since the second commercial break has not occurred yet, but since this episode is so packed with plot threads it is understandable. Jeff storms the room in a Jack Torrence-esque frenzy, axe in hand, hair powdered with Chimpan-ZZZ. The group is horrified as he chops into the study table with an axe.
Second Commercial Break. With only 4 minutes left, all the plots have escalated and reached a tipping point. What is interesting is that Abed’s subplot has already concluded, though it does set up a multi-seasonal love that he keeps until the last season.
Beat 10. A quick resolution is reached as Chang’s and Dean’s plots merge, Dean gets a free employee as long as Chang gets room and board.
Beat 11. The main plotline is solved in the final beat, Pierce takes a figurative bullet for Jeff. And a newfound respect is found between the two as Jeff now knows how Pierce felt last season.
Cutaway. The biology professor gets a gift from Jeff which contains his cellphone with a blade of grass growing through it. Closing the circle as all the plots now have reached a conclusion.
End Tag. Another seasonal arch is introduced as Britta declares what she wants to major in, psychology. Chang’s seasonal arch is also introduced as we now see that he is the new security guard.
Community is generally a show that is strong in its inclusivity and diversity. Though, the women in this episode do fall a bit on the wayside. None of the three really have anything of importance to do. The episode after this one generally does a much better job as they take center stage, this one though lacks in that area. The show often plays with such concepts like the male gaze, often parodying it. The character of Annie (Alison Brie) for example is often the subject this. But this episode’s lack of gender representation is not really depictive of the overall inclusivity of the show, in general post feminism Is very much part of Community´s ideology as it transcends the usual gender norms.
In typical Community fashion this episode is jam-packed, not only with jokes and references, but also with plots and the setting up of overarching plots. That “Biology 101” set up all of this without feeling overcrowded is something to admire, truly. The way every plot strand bleeds in to each other is really subtly done. The only one of the five that really stands out is Abed’s quest for a new show. While it brings some arguably funny references, it is undeniable that it’s the most superfluous storyline that does not really have anything to do with the rest of the overall narative. What the storyline does do however is some interesting meta-commentary on American television and adaptation. A fun concept that it does not really have the time to delve in to. For a show that generally tries to avoid clichés often transcending them, it does however follow the generally expected happy ending. Following the ideological structure of narrative theory. The ending is there so the viewer does not leave the show with a sense of dread. All must be well in the world even though the world really is a drab place.[3] This is in many ways the quintessential episode of the beloved show, jam-packed and tight, but not overly so. A perfect combination of comedic mania and heart that is not all references to pop culture.
[1] John Fiske, “Television: Polysemy and Popularity,” Critical Studies in Mass Communication 3.4 (1986): 400.
[2] Empire, 17/3-2017, http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-tv-shows-ever/
[3] Glen Creeber, “Decoding Television: Issues of Ideology and Discourse,” in Tele-visions: An Introduction to Studying Television, ed. Glen Creeber(London: BFI Publishing, 2006), 47.