The Eternal Darkness of Parks and Recreation

by Charity Erickson

My last On Pop Theology piece explored the newest addition to the McConaissance oeuvre, the seriously serious HBO show True Detective, and its struggle to say anything really meaningful about…anything. I received a small amount of (mostly warranted) pushback on social media, but there was one comment that simply went beyond the pale. One comment that bothered me to my very core. I was told that if I couldn’t handle the “weighty themes” of True Detective, that I should just go watch Parks and Recreation. 

This pisses me off. Not so much for the condescension (for which the commenter apologized), but for their gross misreading of Parks and Recreation. Because under the bucolic facade of Pawnee, Indiana and Leslie Knope’s fiercely optimistic pursuit of parks excellence, we find a desperate world of thwarted desire, corruption, the futile pursuit of hopeless causes--and Aubrey Plaza’s lifeless eyes. This show is some twisted, messed up shit.

If you dare to plunge into the dark and debauched world of Parks and Recreation, here are ten episodes to highlight the show’s nihilistic despair: 

1. Rock Show – Season 1, Episode 6

Hapless troubadour Andy expounds upon the ultimate brokenness of the human condition, setting the doctrine of original sin to music in his song “The Pit:” “The pit/I fell into the pit/You fell into the pit/We all fell into the pit.” Look upon this work ye mortals and despair! 

2. Pawnee Zoo – Season 2, Episode 1

Leslie Knope comes under fire for performing the wedding of two gay penguins and highlights the conspiracy of control surrounding institutionalized religion. How can a belief system based on love separate one penguin from the mate of his (and the zoo’s) choosing?

3. The Stakeout – Season 2, Episode 2

Has there ever been a greater miscarriage of justice than the racial profiling of Tom Haverford? And by a government employee no less. For shame! 

4. Sweetums – Season 2, Episode 15

As Leslie attempts to introduce healthy snacks to Pawnee concession stands, this episode focuses on the issue of theodicy by asking us: “If sugar is so bad for us, how come Jesus made it taste so good?” 

5. Galentines Day – Season 2, Episode 16

You will fall in love with Chris Pratt. You will develop an agonizing and unattainable crush, and it will be emotionally debilitating. If you have never before actualized the total experience of human suffering, this will do it for you.

Except for that, this episode affirms all that is true and beautiful in the world. Sorry. I really do try to be a hateful cynic but sometimes I just can’t deny the weepy feels that rise up from the very core of my soul. Oh god. *sniffle* I just hope he’s happy. *sob* 

6. The Fight – Season 3, Episode 14

This is where things get real. This episode is raw and risky; never before on television have we seen something so honest and viscerally disturbing as the hangover everyone suffers the morning after imbibing Tom Haverford’s Kahlua-style liqueur, Snake Juice.

This drunken, debased romp achieves its Sodomesque pinnacle when the manliest man of all, Ron Swanson, is shown strutting his stuff while wearing a woman’s hat--a hat extravagantly embroidered with gaudy, retro beading, no less. God will judge! 

7. Li’l Sebastian – Season 3, Episode 16

“Who are we? Where are we going in life? What is the meaning of all of this? These are questions that Li’l Sebastien never had to answer. Because he was a horse.” Enough said.

8. End of the World – Season 4, Episode 6

Armageddon is nigh! And how do the godless citizens of Pawnee respond? With lavish parties and the scandalous playing of flutes. Over the course of the episode, characters deal with regret, disappointment, and the cold and ever-near embrace of death.

It is my favorite episode of the series. 

9. Ben’s Parents – Season 5, Episode 6

The beautiful Rob Lowe cries for twenty-one minutes. For part of that time, he is also eating shrimp cocktail. What devilish monsters would do this to Rob Lowe?! 

10. Ann and Chris – Season 6, Episode 12

Nothing gold can stay, folks. Nothing gold can stay. *a single tear*

Charity Erickson and her husband live and work together in the north woods of Minnesota. Check out her blog for more of her writing and follow her on Twitter @CharityJill.

You can follow On Pop Theology on Twitter @OnPopTheology or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OnPopTheology. If you'd like to support what we do, you can donate via the button on the right of the screen.

Image Credits:
http://parksandrecgifs.tumblr.com

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bookishbelle/100-parks-and-recreation-gifs-to-celebrate-the-s-fm17

     

You might also like:

• On Being Too Serious (Or, Why True Detective Sucks)
• Les Revenants and the Christian Imagination
• The Things That Keep Us Apart: A Review of Disunity in Christ

Song of the Week: "All Will Be Well" by The Gabe Dixon Band

by Ben Howard

Happy Saturday everybody! This song of the week this week is "All Will Be Well" by The Gabe Dixon Band.

I originally ran into this song when it was used during an episode of Parks and Recreation and it gave me the warm fuzzies. I'm not sure of the direct influences for the song, but it reminded me of Julian of Norwich and the passage in Revelations of Divine Love where Jesus tells her that, "All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well." If you remind me of Julian, I will like your music very very much.

Anyways, enjoy "All Will Be Well" and check out the Gabe's site here if you want to learn more about him.

Peace,
Ben

You can follow Ben on Twitter @BenHoward87 or email him at benjamin.howard87 [at] gmail.com.

Ron Swanson is a Man

by Ben Howard

There is a man in this world.

A man who knows what he likes.

A man who likes dark haired women and breakfast foods.

A man who understands that fish is basically a vegetable.

That man is Ron Swanson.

In case you don’t know, and judging from the ratings you don’t, Ron Swanson is one of the main characters on the critically acclaimed sitcom Parks and Recreation.

Ron (played by Nick Offerman) is an incredibly interesting character in modern television because Ron is a successful male character who is neither a jerk nor an immature man-boy (think Barney from How I Met Your Mother or J.D. from Scrubs).

Instead, Ron is a dedicated libertarian who likes hunting and fishing and drinking whiskey. He has a wood shop where he makes harps and canoes. He likes meat served with a side of meat that you eat while watching a war movie. To borrow a quote from man-boy Nick on the rival sitcom New Girl, Ron Swanson probably smells like, “strong coffee and going to see a man about a horse.”

Recently, I’ve taken a special interest in depictions of masculinity in our culture. I’m 25 and find myself in that awkward transition from college-age quasi-adulthood to actual adulthood where I’m responsible, things matter, and I have to figure out where to buy a lamp or how to register a car with the DMV. One of the questions I've found myself asking during this transition is what exactly it means to be a "man" in my cultural context.

Is the definition of a man the stereotypical stoic father who knows how to fix cars and intimidate people with his stare? Is it a lawyer or a stockbroker? Is it a soldier? Warrior? Fighter? A new-age sensitive soul who knows when someone needs a hug?

Is it more important for a man to know how to shoot a gun or say, "I love you"? Do I need to know how to fix a water heater or plant a garden?

See, the fun of a character like Ron Swanson is that he lives by the code, "Be a man" as if it is really that simple. However, on closer inspection, it's a very specific definition of that gender role and one that is offset by all of the other "men" who are part of the cast. Are they less manly because they don't live up to Ron's lofty heights of manliness?

This is a topic I'm going to be exploring for awhile, and I'm open to any suggestions, conversations, advice, or anything else that might further the discussion. I really do want to know what you think about this issue, so comment, tweet to me, send me an email, call me, or just talk to me when you see me in person. I think this is an important conversation to have and I hope you'll join me.

Peace,
Ben

When he isn't trying to undercover the meaning of being a man, Ben likes to skip through meadows and feel the wind in his hair. Ahhh. You can follow him on Twitter @BenHoward87 or email him at benjamin.howard87 [at] gmail.com.