There is a show from the recent television era that has had a productive life extremely tormented, a complicated success to define as such and which (perhaps) has not yet finished its path but which despite all this has had an enormous weight in shaping modern and possibly future entertainment. An ambitious premise with which we start today in this Why look at it. But after all Community it was an extremely ambitious series and continues to be so today. Let's find out why.
What exactly is Community about?
Everything starts when Jeff Winger he is found without a degree and is therefore forced to abandon his job as an unscrupulous lawyer. Enrolls in the Greendale Community College, a low-level university, in order to get the classic 'piece of paper' and return to its past life.
However, his plan is thwarted by Britta, Jeff's ex-activist classmate, whom the man decides he wants to conquer. To do this he invents that he has created a study group, which due to a domino effect becomes increasingly crowded. At this point then Jeff, Abed, Troy, Britta, Shirley, Pierce e Annie they will find themselves side by side to face all the difficulties of the school. And we don't just talk about study, group projects and exams ...
Now, it's quite typical that a show, having reached a certain number of seasons, will move away from your premise initial, at least in part. In a search for innovative and fresh ideas, special and bizarre episodes are born, sometimes with good results, others less so. Think of Scrubs, with its musical episode, the fantasy one or the one in which the characters of Sesame Street. Here, this also happens in Community, but already in the first season.
All that we have written a few lines above it's true. Community actually talks about Jeff Winger's return to college, the study group and so on. But that is it just the pretext, in order to build a TV series that wants to tell the whole world of entertainment in an original and captivating way, creating one of the most bizarre and anarchists that there are.
Seven people looking for an author
For years now we have been living in an era where the reflection on the media, on the narrative, on the barriers that separate our reality and that of the stories is a highly appreciated element, both by critics and the public. Breaking the fourth wall is no longer a term for insiders and more and more people recognize this gimmick and celebrate it. But Community does more than that, thanks to the character of Abed.
Passionate about television and pop culture, the boy (masterfully played by Danny Pudi) is convinced that he is in a TV series and often refers to this, talking about past episodes, seasons, unconvincing twists and so on. However, it should not be confused with a simple 'destroyer of the fourth wall' like Frank Underwood or Deadpool even more.
In fact, Abed is convinced (at some level) that he is in a TV series, but he is not aware. In this small nuance there is a very important meaning, which makes this character different from all the others. Above all it makes more concrete his adventures and those of the rest of the study group at Greendale Community College.
His friends indulge him partially, but in a concrete way and in this way (especially in the first seasons it must be admitted) they earn in humanity. The seven almost stereotypical figures at the center of Community pass from being characters to being people. Despite this, via Abed's comments, they indirectly reflect on their own narrative role, creating a deeper level of analysis on the medium than many other products in this vein.
Greendale Community College has its foundation on the fourth wall
Community has a relationship extremely refined with their audience. A continuous game made of references to fans, winks and quotes from the fandom. Even in one episode he integrates (and jokes) on a comment received on Twitter by the author of the show, which has gone viral among fans. All this, however, without ever really breaking the legendary fourth wall, on the contrary.
All the while, Community flirt with the very concept of the division between narration and real life, in an elegant and sinuous game. This series is a large castle built directly on the border, on that fourth wall that comes back a lot in modern works.
Hers has been set aside initial premise, Community dives fully into telling just that: the world of entertainment in all its facets. And so he collects every cliché, every narrative line, every custom and makes it his own, adapting it, deforming it, making it a parody but always remaining perfectly adherent to it. It is not a product that goes to destroy stereotypes in and of itself, but it is one mirror which shows them to us in a distilled and evident form, stimulating continuous reflection in the public and in the environment.
Every rule of narrative comes questioned, passing many different genres over the course of the different seasons. All this without ever disrespecting one's audience, but rather becoming more and more complex in its plots and in its articulated reflections.
Community has left its mark, despite everything
This curious approach (but also certain network choices) certainly paid off complicated the life of the show. Cancellations, last minute bailouts, author farewells and returns, cast changes, platform transfers and more have plagued Community history.
However, despite this and despite the fact that the public remained a niche of loyalists, has managed to make its mark. Many figures who have passed from Community have become central to modern entertainment. Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs e Alison brie they are established stars and even more so Danny Pudi, Ken Jeong and especially D, also thanks to his own musical career as Childish Gambino.
Not to mention Dan Harmon, which after creating Community gave life to Rick and Morty, or ai brothers Russo who were taking care of the raids through the corridors of Greendale when Marvel Studios called them to direct Captain America and then the Avengers in the final battle with Thanos.
In short, Community is a bit like The Velvet Underground & Nico. Legend has it that this album sold very few copies, but whoever bought one became a great musician or music critic. Here, the adventures of Jeff, Abed, Britta, Pierce, Shirley, Annie and Troy are a bit like that, but they are much, much more laugh. And for all these reasons then you should look at Community as soon as possible.
#andamovie (then you will understand ...)
Tagscommunity Series TV Community: Why watch it?
