Media Literacy, Culture, and Critical Research Proposal

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Undoubtedly, viewers who have seen his burly frame in Miller's Crossing (1990) and Goodfellas (1990) are naturally inclined toward the perception that his "Angelo Grotti" character in the Office is a mobster and not an ordinary insurance salesman.

Had a less stereotypical portrayal of the character been used for the role, the central premise of the episode would have remained largely unaffected, except perhaps highlighting the silliness of any nefarious assumptions jumped to by Michael and his inept "backups" Dwight and Andrew. If anything, the fact that the Grotti character does seem to closely mirror so many of the mannerisms, behaviors, and speech patterns typically portrayed by the contemporary genre of mob images draws in the viewer. It reminds all of us who are viewers that we may be guilty of some of the same types of prejudices or assumptions parodied through their exaggeration by Michael.

The scene between Kevin and Oscar actually portrays a very common cultural assumption that heterosexual males makes about homosexuals: namely, that they are much more interested in sex than heterosexuals. In truth, sexual assault and rape are no more likely to be enjoyable to a homosexual male than to any heterosexual male (or female, for that matter). While Kevin's persona is highly exaggerated, his assumption is not necessarily.

Finally, the subplot involving Kevin's ineptitude and his accidentally causing Jim's credit card to be cancelled raises another interesting issue of human behavior. Once Kevin realizes the effect of his mistake, he immediately telephones Jim and Pam again in Mexico. However, instead of doing so for the understandable purpose of telling Jim what happened to enable Jim to rectify the situation as easily as possible, it becomes clear that Kevin's only concern is whether or not Jim has figured out who was responsible for cancelling his credit card. After Pam's response indicates that she is irritated at being bothered again during her honeymoon but that the couple are totally unaware of Kevin's role in the credit card problem, Kevin reclines back in Jim's office chair completely relaxed by the knowledge that his mistake is still unknown.

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He shows absolutely no concern or interest in helping Jim fix the problem that he created. Certainly, Kevin's character's entire persona is as over-the-top as is Grotti's; however, the moral issues raised by Kevin's response to Jim and Pam's crisis may remind many viewers of their own capacity for selfishness and is not necessarily overplayed in principle.

Engagement of the Audience

One of the reasons that the episode is engaging is that it also touches so effectively on the dichotomous relationship that many Americans (especially males) sometimes have when it comes to criminally thuggish behavior. Specifically, Michael (who routinely incorporates the characteristics he finds admirable in others into his own purposeful outward behavior) immediately begins emulating Grotti's tough attitude and assertive persona.

After Grotti repeatedly instructs a waitress that if any aspect of his order is not followed "I send it back," Michael begins using the same phrase in every possible context, first bossing around the same waitress and later, his employees once back at work. Much like many other American males, Michael is simultaneously fearful of and admiring of the mafia "wise guy" persona as it is portrayed in popular American culture.

The last cultural message used as a mechanism to engage the viewer is the obvious reference to the Godfather by Andrew who warns Michael that, "Not only that, but if they find out that snitched, you get a dead horse's chopped-off head in your bed." That line is engaging both in its recall of a horrific scene in the 1972 mob epic as well as in the confused inaccuracy of the context and meaning of the bloody message sent in the form of the horse head in the Godfather. Likewise, Dwight returns from "checking out the bathroom" in the restaurant and specifically assures Michael that he checked the back of the toilet, another obvious reference to a scene in the Godfather where Michael Corleone retrieves a pistol previously hidden for his use behind a toilet tank in the bathroom of a Bronx Italian restaurant and uses it to murder a mob rival….....

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"Media Literacy Culture And Critical" (2009, October 20) Retrieved May 5, 2024, from
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https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/media-literacy-culture-critical-18457
   

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