Right now, Kristian is watching The Office. I am listening to Pandora with my headphones jammed tight over my head. Why? Because Michael Scott makes my insides all twitchy. Seriously. The man is like nails on a blackboard for me. I can’t take more than about thirty seconds before I start to get all jumpy and antsy. It’s like a panic attack without the adrenaline.
Why exactly do I find Steve Carell’s character so annoying? I like Steve Carell. I laughed hysterically throughout the entirety of The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I still tell my friends how I know that they’re all gay (I’ll give you a hint, it’s related to their love of Coldplay). I chuckled through the previews for Get Smart. I even added it to my Netflix queue.
I just can’t stand the Office’s brand of awkward humor. It’s the same thing with the TV show Curb Your Enthusiasm, the movie Meet the Parents and all of the other shows and movies like them. I’ve pretty much always been like this. I distinctly remember hiding in the other room when we watched certain movies as a small child. Scary movies, I could just close my eyes, but any movie where the characters embarrassed themselves and didn’t realize it and I had to flee to the safety of the couch in my mom’s office.
I think that my college boyfriend is still mad at me for making him turn off Meet the Parents less than fifteen minutes into the movie. And we broke up like a billion years ago. In my defense, I had a legitimate concern that my mental anguish might have given me an aneurism.
I don’t consider myself to be a particularly squeamish person. But, there’s something about getting embarrassed on a character’s behalf that just makes me all neurotic. I can appreciate the Office, from the safe distance of Kristian’s recaps. I understand that, theoretically, it is a funny show. I just can’t sit there and watch it. It’s like an emotional train wreck. These characters are just so sad. And they don’t even know it. And, so, I feel sad on their behalves.
I’m ok with strong, happy confident people embarrassing themselves. That, I can take. I can even laugh at it. But when you can see that someone is a little weak, maybe a little vulnerable and that they’re just bumbling along not realizing what a mess they’re making of things…. well, that’s when I avert my eyes and Kristian laughs at me.
So, Kristian watches the Office and I find some new music on Pandora. And write up a filler blog entry about it.
What are some of the more bizarre things that make you feel all twitchy?
I got really uncomfortable watching Napoleon Dynamite. Stuff in that vein (hopelessly dorky guys) just strikes too close to home for me. 😛
Skewers. Seriously, food on skewers freaks me out. I’m afraid that I’m going to have some weird cooking accident and impale myself. Eating food off them makes me twitchy.
I am the same way, and have not made it through an episode of The Office. And don’t laugh, rabbits. Rabbits terrify me, their little twichy noses make them seem as if they are preparing to bite. I’m fine if they are in picture, but in person I tend to be that person on the chair screaming.
I do love The Office, but last night’s episode was particularly squirm-inducing. I can’t even watch the British version of the show – it’s just too awkward.
And I am TOTALLY with you on Meet the Parents. Oh my GOD, I wanted to die after 10 minutes of it. You’ve hit the nail on the head with watching weak or un-self-aware people embarrass themselves. It’s a kind of humor that’s rooted in schadenfreude, and it’s one that I personally can’t get behind. I’m all for self-deprecation — I love it, actually — but that’s just it – the person has to be AWARE that they’re making an ass out of themselves.