Aftersix long and hilarious years, NBC’s hit show “Parks and Recreation” is sadly coming to an end. Following a brief seventh season airing this winter, one of the most beloved sitcoms of the past decade will cease to exist outside of syndicated re-runs and Netflix binge-watching. To explain to those who aren’t familiar, the show focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of ridiculous characters that work for the Parks Department of the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. The show is essentially a bureaucratic version of the workplace comedy that “The Office” made so popular. For fans of the absurd and charming sitcom, the show will be dearly missed. “Parks and Rec” brought a special type of joy that not many other programs are able to deliver. However, there might be something even more special about this show than how much it’s made audiences laugh over the past six years. Following the lives of government employees has created a platform through which civil service and government jobs can be portrayed to a national TV audience, and “Parks and Rec” has used this platform to positively display bureaucratic work, which is a remarkable feat.
The Pawnee Parks Department seems to have endless enthusiasm for what they do, with even the least passionate employees enjoying using their government jobs to help others. In this way, modern stereotypes of bureaucratic employment tend to conflict with the characters of “Parks and Rec.” When people think of civil service, they likely associate it with paperwork, inefficiency, and boredom. However this couldn’t be further from the truth in “Parks and Rec.”
Take for example the show’s main character, Leslie Knope, who is played by Amy Poehler. Leslie receives endless satisfaction from the work she does; her favorite thing in the world is using the government to help people, and she is always actively and happily pursuing new ways to improve her town. In fact, much of the show’s conflict comes from Leslie valuing her work over her personal life. Specifically, an episode from last season had her skip her husband’s birthday party in order to filibuster a city council motion.
Poehler is by no means the only character who portrays government work positively. Although her enthusiasm for civil service is not matched by any of her coworkers, this contrast actually works to portray bureaucracy in an even better light. The other members of the Pawnee Parks Department begin as selfish and careless people who are uninterested in going above and beyond what is required of them. Tom Haverford, played by comedian Aziz Ansari, starts off as a wannabe playboy whose only real concern is (unsuccessfully) hitting on almost every girl he meets. However, by the end of season six, Tom is a vigilant bureaucratic worker who brings many new businesses to Pawnee’s parks. He cools down his sex drive a little, begins to care about others, and, ultimately, open his own business because of opportunities presented to him through his government job. April Ludgate, played by Aubrey Plaza, is another example of a character transformed by their job. April quickly changes from an immature girl who thinks that caring is lame to a responsible employee who runs an entire animal shelter. This transition from selfishness to selflessness can be seen in most of “Parks and Rec’s” characters, and actually presents the idea that civil service can help someone figure out what they want out of their lives.
There are of course some moments in which the show isn’t as positive in its outlook. Corrupt city officials and ignorant townspeople constantly hinder Leslie and her coworkers from improving Pawnee. The result is a recurring theme in which the Parks Department isn’t actually given credit for what they have done, which almost gives their work a sort of humble heroism. In this way, the image of the civil service wins even when Leslie and her friends do not.
There are probably bureaucrats out there who deserve the stereotype; people who slow the wheels of government because they just don’t care and elections aren’t a threat. However, there are employees who are more like the workers of the fictional Pawnee Parks Department, who decided to work in civil service because they actually want to create change without having to fight for reelection ever few years. Because of those people, the way that “Parks and Rec” portrays government, however exaggeratedly, is a positive thing for civil service. While unrealistically optimistic, it’s nice to be able to believe in a small Indiana town where civil servants truly want to help their city while shows like “House of Cards” make the government seem like a corrupt game. Just as importantly, it’s nice to see this happen in a way that makes people laugh. Fans of “Parks and Recreation” will surely miss the show once its final episode has aired, but when they are done laughing at least they can remember the show for its political legacy.
– By Dillon Thompson/Photo Credit: HitFix
