Alec Monafis Week 1 Analysis

Show: The Office
Episode: Gay Witch Hunt

I decided to take an approach dealing with sexuality. Today, how you label and identify yourself to the world is your business, and there are laws in place to make sure you are treated fairly and not differently to the "mainstream identity". Ever since the turn of the century, more and more people have come out, revealing their true sexual orientation or identity. In "The Office", although Oscar is treated harshly in the beginning for being gay, the laws and social standards of being gay were tolerated a lot more than they would have been 30 years ago. I decided to put a time period twist on the episode by saying it was in the 80s. More or less near this time, many people believed that being gay was a choice or a disease. With that in mind, LGBQT people were treated so poorly that men and women were so scared to say a word that they married people of the opposite sex, to not break the mainstream marriage standard, even if they didn't love that person. When applied to the episode, Oscar is clearly discriminated against, and given zero aid in helping stand up for himself. And when he stands up for himself, he is mocked and treated differently compared to other workers. Even if he threatens to sue, Michael Scott would not mind because anything is better than a gay worker in the office. And when Oscar is fired, he isn't given any compensation for the experienced sexual harassment. The office carries on just like how it would anyway, with just one less person.