#IfIWorkedAtDunderMifflin trends as 'The Office' fans imagine work from home scenarios for the characters
The coronavirus pandemic and the resultant lockdowns have made “work from home” a kind of new normal. Perhaps reminiscing about workplaces, masses on Twitter joined to talk about NBC’s globally acclaimed mockumentary comedy series, ‘The Office’.
The show that featured Steve Carell, Mindy Kaling, B.J. Novak, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, and more, ran from 2005 to 2013 and focussed on the lives of the employees of the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
The trend #IfIWorkedAtDunderMifflin had thousands tweeting, each wondering what they would do differently if they too worked at the Scranton Branch under the nightmare of a boss like Michael Scott (Carell). Even here, the pandemic came into play. Group video calls have been a tiring routine now.
Many people, in that respect, wondered if Michael Scott would be able to really use Zoom without messing up. After all, he never really did get the hang of using PowerPoint or his Blackberry.
A fan of the show tweeted, “Michael would NOT understand zoom conference calls. It's a club called chatroom.” This was an obvious reference to episodes 5 and 6 of Season 4, ‘Launch Party’. In the episode, Michael is excited to go to the exclusive party in New York for the launch of the company’s new website.
Only after they reach halfway, does Jim (Krasinski) realize that Michael received an “invitation” to a chat room, not an actual physical party.
Plenty of fans of the show seemed to express the same desire: “I would be friends with Toby because the poor guy deserves a break!” Toby, played by Paul Lieberstein, was the office H.R. executive, and he could never catch a break.
He was hated by Michael, had to endure the annoying voice of Kelly’s (Kaling) non-spot chatter all day, and could never tell Pam (Jenna Fischer) how he felt about her. All in all, he was the only sensible person in the office that no one seemed to care for.
Most fans, however, were keen on implementing Dwight Schrute’s (Wilson) philosophies around. One wrote, “Bears would roam the parking lot, beets would be grown in the meeting room, and everyone would be required to own a DVD of Battlestar Galactica,” referring to the assistant to the manager’s obsession with all three.
Others stated that they would form an alliance with Dwight, but not in the way Jim did. And it’s a sensible decision. Dwight, without a doubt, is the only powerful friend anyone can have in that office.
But where there were Dwight supporters, there were also those who chose to pledge their allegiance to Creed (Creed Bratton), the aged quality assurance executive who was, for the lack of a better word, eccentric. Creed definitely was shady.
He sold fake IDs, had spent a majority of his life indulging in lawlessness (though probably never caught), and even at Dunder Mifflin, he was the guy who could get you things, no matter what you wanted.
Many, also going a little meta, said that they would wonder why all the camera crews were following them around in the office, questioning the mockumentary format altogether.
For a boring paper company in a small town, many seem to have an aspiration to work at Dunder Mifflin. Which only goes to show just how iconic the show remains.