Things You Might Have Not Known About 'The Office'

Everyone loves 'The Office' for many of their own reasons, and some people may think that they know everything about the show. Even the biggest fans may claim that they possess every little fact about the show, but the truth is, not everyone knows everything about this show. Here are some things that might surprise you.

Bet you didn't know this either.

1.)  There are a bunch of Dunder Mifflin branches spread out among the northeast. Greg Daniels, writer for 'The Office' came up with a bunch of places that seemed to have a suitable environment with funny-named towns, somewhere among the size of the Scranton branch.

2.) 'Parks and Recreations' could have been an 'Office' spinoff! The producers of the show were considering this as an idea, but ultimately, 'Parks and Rec' would become it's own show. How were they thinking of accomplishing the idea? One of the executive producers brings up the copy machine in the show breaking, and a repairman tries to fix it. The broken machine is loaded in a truck and refurbished in a warehouse. Then, the copier is put on another truck and eventually shipped to Pawnee, Indiana.

3.) Dwight's backstory was inspired by Greg Daniel's grandparents, Rainn Wilson's family, and  'Amish in the City'. The idea of Dwight being very rural and white trashy came from a photograph that Wilson once brought in of his family. Daniel's grandparents used to grow beets, and that sparked the thought of Dwight owning a beet farm. If you know who Mose is (Dwight's cousin), then you would know that he helps Dwight run the farm. Then - executive producer, Michael Schur had been watching the 'Amish' show at the time, and he just thought that it was really funny and weird. That brought up Mose's potential character.

Jim, Dwight, and Mose on the beet farm.

These are a few things that you may have not known about 'The Office'!

~Alexis

Schneider, Michael. "10 Things You Didn't Know About." Tvguide.com. TVGUIDE, 9 May 2013. Web. 20 May 2016.

It's Great to Smile

In an earlier blog post, I discussed reasons for why people should laugh, and how the simple act benefits us. Following that would be a blog post dedicated to why it is good for us to smile. Smiling is a natural way of expressing, or showing our happiness.

Here are reasons for WHY YOU OR ANYONE SHOULD SMILE MORE OFTEN:

• SMILING IS CONTAGIOUS. Studies show that when you see a smiling face, whether it be your coworker, friend, loved one, or anybody else, that triggers a smile of your own. You smiling can make others smile too.

• Even when you aren't so cheerful, the act of smiling can change that for you. Smiling sends a message to your brain saying "I'm happy!" An article written in 1984 showed when people mimic emotional expressions, their bodies produce physiological effects that reflect the same emotion, like in breathing or heart rate.

• It may help with de-stressing. It can reduce symptoms of anxiety! A smile signals to your brain that you are happy, and that helps to slow breathing and heart rate. And reducing stress is goof for your body too - lowering blood pressure, improving digestion, and regulating blood sugar.

• It can lead to laughter. Laughing, as you may know, has it's many benefits, including lowering blood sugar levels, improving sleep, and reducing stress. These two are a powerful combination- smiling and laughing. They are like Batman and Robin.

SO GRIN, BEAM, SMIRK, SMILE, AND JUST BE FREE!






~Alexis

Walters, Jennipher. "7 Good Reasons to Smile." Sparkpeople.com. SPARKPEOPLE, n.d. Web. 17 May 2016. <http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=1529&page=3>.

Reasons to Learn Improv

Improv, more specifically known as improvisation, is a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters, and dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up in the moment. Steve Carell, lead actor of The Office and known as Michael Scott, used a lot of his own improvisations that worked with the T.V. show. The executive producer, Greg Daniels, wanted to ensure that the cast of The Office knew about improvisation and had a background in in it so that the show would "seem more natural." Now, the question is, why should I, or anybody learn improvisation? The first point is:

• It helps in creating more person-to-person interaction. Today, we live in a world where people are constantly looking down at their phones or technological devices, and it tends to drag you out of actual communication, which should be interacting with another human being in real life, not through random text messages or through social media. Improv is created by a group of people that work together to accomplish, as mentioned before, a game, scene or story, and so it helps in helping others to connect and communicate effectively with each other.

• It teaches you to be in the moment, and it helps you to react in a faster and more better way when facing surprises. If a group were to play a game of associating words and someone were to say 'cat', the next person to say 'dog', and the next person to say 'pig', you would assume that the group were stating pets, and you would try and think of a word related to the topic. But if the next person were to say 'a man', you would automatically have to transition from thinking of a word associated with pets, to a word associated with pigs.

• It disciplines you in becoming more patient and listening to what a person is saying. A lot of people, (I myself included) may start talking when someone else is talking, even before they could finish their sentence. This is a bad habit which could be seen as very rude to the speaker, but moreover, what the speaker was going to say may have had a change in direction in what they were saying before. It's important to wait until the end of a person's message, and what it has to get through.

• Many people are pressured into doing or saying the "right/perfect" thing, and it is a fear that many people share. In an improv class, you can fail without any fear. It is a place to grow and push boundaries into saying what you want to say, without being judged. This aids in building up courage and performing in a way that can help in different situations you may have in life.

These are all excellent example for why it is a good choice to join an improv class. It really gives you a new sort of perspective and a way of thinking, as well as expanding your creative imagination. It can be a fun way to interact with new people, and it could help in shaping the way you listen to other people (effective communication!) Happy improvising!

This is how Michael Scott got into improv:

https://youtu.be/XpuzzJxjzro

~Alexis

Asghar, Rob. "Four Reasons To Take An Improv Class." Forbes.com. Forbes, 12 Aug. 2015. Web. 13 May 2016. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/robasghar/2015/08/12/four-reasons-you-need-to-take-an-improv-class/#4991551f5664>.                         

What is Your Style of Humor?

If you have read my former blogs, you know that I am writing about all things 'The Office', or at least things that relate to the comedy television show. So in doing just that, I have decided upon myself to type up a blog on the different forms of humor! This post will be discussing cuatro types of the good-good, and they will enable you to see which type of comedy fits your humor.

So, let's get started.

The 1st type of humor..

1. Self-enhancing humor

This is a coping mechanism that involves being able to laugh at yourself, such as when you embarrass yourself, or to make fun of yourself in a good-natured way. It can help to relieve stress, in fact, it a known to be healthy way of coping with stress that can be overbearing sometimes. If you know Jon Stewart from the Daily Show, then you know of someone who uses this.

Jon Stewart, Daily Show

2. Self-defeating humor

Now, this is the total opposite of self-enhancing humor, and it is the same as self-deprecating humor. This belittles yourself in an aggressive manner, and in the world of psychology, it is known not to be a healthy form of humor. It's what some people use to put themselves down before others can pick jokes at them, and it is a way of self-bullying. The now deceased Rodney Dangerfield was known to use this form of comedy.

Yo, why???

3. Affiliative Humor

The one-and-only Jerry Seinfeld is an excellent practitioner of this comedic art. This involves humor that everybody can relate to - jokes made about the everyday lives of people. It is meant to be overall happy, and the jokes' purpose are to make everybody laugh.

Seinfeld, himself.

Lastly..

4. Aggressive Humor

This type of humor may make some laugh, and give others a feeling of discomfort. It is one used by bullies, and it targets the audience or individuals. It is negative and insulting to many people, so it may in turn harm others. Using this type of humor can leave a bad effect on you, as well as the people being effected by it.

The late Joan Rivers

These are 4 common types of funniness that are widely used in the world. What's great about humor is that it is universal, and it continues to give people joy in life. I want to know, what is your preferred type of humor? Comment down below :)

*In my next [post, I will be discussing how to be funny.

~Alexis


Martin, Rod; Patricia Puhlik-Doris; Gwen Larsen; Jeanette Gray; Kelly Weir (February 2003). "Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the Humor Styles Questionnaire". Journal of Research in Personality 37 (1): 48–75. doi:10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00534-2

Riggio, Ronald E. "The 4 Styles of Humor." Psychology Today. 14 April 2015. Web. 10 May 2016.

It's Great to Laugh

Laughter is one of life's best remedies it has to offer. This topic ties in with my blog because The Office is a show with content that promotes much giggling and guffawing, which in turn promotes health.

Laughter fights against pain and stress, and it helps in keeping you grounded.
This is a list of reasons why this medicine is so good for our health:
-It relaxes the whole body.
-Boosts the immune system.
-Triggers the release of endorphins (body's natural feel-good chemicals)
-It protects the heart.

There are countless ways that laughter can boost our health, and one interesting fact is that laughing with others is more powerful than laughing alone. This is a list from helpguide.org that shows what humor used in relationships helps with.

Be more spontaneous. Humor gets you out of your head and away from your troubles.

Let go of defensiveness. Laughter helps you forget judgments, criticisms, and doubts.

Release inhibitions. Your fear of holding back and holding on are set aside.

Express your true feelings. Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.

Some ways that you can become a happier and more laughable person is by going to the local shelter and adopting a furry pet, or hanging around children which are basically just free spirits who have an expertise in laughing without having a care in the world. The best way to really get a good laugh is by watching The Office.

Michael Scott's best funny face.

Making fun of yourself can also be a good way of expressing laughter, as long as the joke is not so self-deprecating to the point where it actually makes you feel bad. The point is trying to make yourself feel good, not put you in a bad place.




So carry on and crack a joke. Make yourself and others feel good. Roll on the ground and scream with everything that's left in you. Rip the hairs out of your head and make your eyes shed blood and tears - go on. Life is too short to be serious, and to make it last even longer, laugh!

~Alexis


Smith, Melinda, and Jeanne Segal. "Laughter is the Best Medicine." HelpGuide.org. 2016 April. Web. 6 May 2016.

A bit about Deadpan humor

The Office stems from a type of humor known as deadpan or dry humor. According to Wikipedia.com, the definition of dry humor is "a form of comedic delivery in which humor is presented without a change in emotion or body language to contrast with the ridiculousness of the subject matter." The Office is a widely popular show which is found to be so comedic because of the tactic the writers, directors, and essentially everyone on the show uses in order to make it the funny show that it is.

Some examples of deadpan humor are for one, Napoleon Dynamite. This is a classic and popular example of the genre that captured a lot of what makes up d.h.(By the way, 'd.h.' will be my abbreviated use of 'dry humor'.)



Steven Wright is known to be "The King" of d.h. comedy. Now, I'm not familiar with this comedian, but I'm sure that many people are. A quote by him goes: "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?"

Steven Wright

A lot of d.h. jokes are very clever, and they seem to leave people thinking "I've never thought of that before!" The jokes are typically meant to be witty, unlike that of slapstick which will literally leave the joke slapping you in the face. Dry humor can easily get confused with sarcasm, so sometimes the witty jokers have to go out of their way to make sure that the people they are joking with know that they don't mean to be rude, just funny.

If someone is not familiar with d.h., it can be hard for them to tell if the joker using dry humor is actually being serious or if they are just attempting to make the person laugh.

There are many different types of humor, and one that makes people laugh is deadpan, as shown in The Office.

Deadpan comedy in The Office
https://youtu.be/lG54HSGuidQ


Cossuto, Jenna."6 Signs You Have A Dry Sense of Humor." Lifedaily. 16 August 2015. Web. 3 May 2016.

Bromley, Patrick. "10 Deadpan Comedians." About. 30 August 2015. Web. 3 May 2016.

Elles, Brian. "Comedy 101: Deadpan Comedy." The Laugh Button. 1 March 2013. Web. 3 May 2016.

Gould, Rachel. "7 Struggles of Having A Dry Sense of Humor." theElizabethian. 18 June 2015. Web. 3 May 2016.

Wikipedia.com. "Deadpan." Wikipedia. 2 May 2016. Web. 3 May 2016.