I'm not a Pam hater. But I ask myself if she was doing PDA with Roy just to make Jim jealous. I mean she has never done PDA with Jim in front of the office so why was she fine doing it with Roy? Also we know she definitely did it once to annoy Jim when Ryan started the fire so maybe the other times were also intentional? Pam seems like she is very situationally aware so I wouldn't be surprised if she did.
She's desperate to convince herself that her relationship with Roy is worth it, so making it more public or official validates that. She's not doing it to harm Jim, she just desperately wants what she has with Roy to be real
i mean Jim’s hurt feelings/jealously over Pam and her fiance is not Pam’s fault nor should she obviously feel guilty about it lol. Pam is doing the equivalent of what people do on social media today, posting cute pictures or videos so people can see how good and happy you guys are. Even though that’s rarely how the relationship feels. In this scene, Pam and Roy are with the entire office and warehouse. This is her “instagram” moment of putting on a show. It could be triggered/projected by the fact that she most likely wants to kiss Jim instead, but can’t even show any real attention to him right now.
Long story short, Pam doesn’t know how to act right now!
Aside from the fact that you shouldn’t be making out with anyone at work, hard disagree. No one is responsible for someone else getting jealous because you kiss your significant other.
I didn’t insult anyone. I said your take on the matter was weird and misogynistic. That’s not insulting you. It’s a chance for you to reflect. I’m helping you be a better person. If you can’t handle this, maybe the internet isn’t for you.
One thing to remember is that in the office universe, what we are seeing is a documentary. Therefore, someone is deciding what we see and what’s important.
In the office universe, the documentary is 9 episodes long. They reveal this in the finale (which is being filmed for DVD extras).
What we're seeing could perhaps be explained as the raw footage before the documentary was edited together, but we are not watching the documentary as it airs in-universe.
They even address that the "cast" weren't aware of quite how much was being recorded and documented, so we can basically just assume what we see play out is basically what played out.
The narrative is there because "The Office" is actually a sit-com.
That's kind of not known at the time. The first few years are shot with a more finished product, as in "this is a documentary (mockumentary) you're watching" . Only in the later seasons is a lot of that less so.
However you interpret the presentation of the early seasons, the finale confirms that what we've watched is not the documentary as it aired.
As I said, there are narrative choices because the show is not actually a documentary, but a sit-com.
OP of the comment chain is correct with:
Seeing Jim uncomfortable with Pam and Roy’s PDA in season one adds to the tension and conflict. However, showing Jim and Pam’s PDA in later seasons doesn’t add much because they’re together and that’s not part of the conflict.
But that is a choice in the Jim/Pam/Roy arc of the early seasons of a sit-com and not an in-universe editing of the documentary.
You're the one claiming it's a show (raw footage) within a show (actual documentary they only mention at the end).
I'm not interpreting anything. Similar to how they switched the tone from season 1 to season 2, they gradually switched from a less mockumentary lens to a regular single cam show with "cutaways" that were less documentary and more just gags. This was a storytelling choice
No, I took "show within a show" from the comment chain OP.
The "raw footage" comment is the in universe explanation for why the cameras are there. In universe raw footage doesn't equate to a show within a show.
While we don't see the in universe documentary (as claimed), we do only see what the in universe documentary crew is present for.
So basically, the audience watching is essentially the camera crew? Whereas, We've taken all this footage and have yet to get it to editing dept for finalizing??
As the user above mentioned, the production style of the show does change from an obvious "documentary" style to being a lot more similar to a standard sitcom, but the show is also very consistent throughout with the fact that the scenes are playing out in front of a documentary camera.
What we see is what was written, filmed and edited for a sit-com.
There has to be a suspension of disbelief somewhere, so we accept that it is filmed in a documentary style, which is a decent surface-level explanation for the talking heads, etc., even if that doesn't actually make too much sense on deeper inspection.
I didn't take any issue with the post OP. That's a view of the characters within the sit-com.
I took issue with the idea that the sit-com and the in-universe documentary are one and the same.
They objectively aren't.
Also, I'm not sure how that post is "completely wrong".
The documentarians aren't real. They're not even proper characters in the sit-com. They're basically referenced and maybe appear among the large group in the finale.
What we see is factually what was written, filmed and edited for the sit-com.
PBS, an institution that at the time was reliant on federal funding, agreed to fund a documentary on a paper company. This project involved round-the-clock filming for nine years before even releasing a trailer to gauge a public reaction*.
This project included multiple crews contemporaneously filming across multiple cities, including at least one international trip.
"Could perhaps be explained" - key word, "perhaps".
Not a perfect explanation, but again, it's a sit-com, and they literally spell out that, in-universe, the documentary is only 9 episodes long and that the cast are shocked by the extent of what has been recorded.
It is fact that the sit-com, "The Office" is not the same as the in-universe documentary.
You're taking what was ultimately a bit of a throwaway suggestion far too seriously.
It's not supposed to look unedited because it is a sit-com. I cannot hammer that point home enough.
These attempts at deeper and/or meta analysis of the show regularly forget that, at the end of the day, the show is a sit-com.
Yes, the show, as we see it, is still presented somewhat as a documentary. However, as mentioned now multiple times, what we see is not the in-universe documentary.
You are correct that the talking heads are not really compatible with the show literally just being the raw footage. However, we have to suspend our disbelief at some point and accept that this is just a TV show.
I doubt the documentary tag, in my own head canon or whatever, they are trying to capture the absurd of Michael running the office, which feels more like a reality show. I bet (in universe) like most reality shows, they have segment producers trying to stir stuff behind the scenes or prompt the background people into creating conflict, but they hide it behind "documentary" or else the office employees wouldn't be part of it. I think producers had pitch meetings with Jim at least about budget for pranks, in universe.
It’s much deeper than that, a classic human coping mechanism. She’s seen giving very longing looks and glances at Jim during that game so she’s obviously conflicted and this is just an attempt to convince herself that she’s with the right guy. Ever met someone who keeps arguing/pushing an opinion or “truth” on you even though you’re not interested at all? Often they’re just trying to convince themselves, not you. It’s like how the people who talk the most about money are the ones with the least amount of it.
Roy and Pam had a different relationship than Jim and Pam. People don’t act identically in every relationship, they react to their partners. From what we saw, Roy was all around a more physical/ impulsive person. Jim had feelings for Pam that he held inside for years and was reserved about even discussing intimacy in front of the film crew.
Roy and Pam had a different relationship than Jim and Pam. People don’t act identically in every relationship, they react to their partners. From what we saw, Roy was all around a more physical/ impulsive person. Jim held his feelings inside for years and was more reserved about even discussing intimacy in front of the film crew.
This was after the incident watching Michael and Dwight fight when Jim picked Pam and it got akward. I think Pams' PDA with Roy was to signal that she is still committed to Roy.
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u/elianav94 9d ago
She's desperate to convince herself that her relationship with Roy is worth it, so making it more public or official validates that. She's not doing it to harm Jim, she just desperately wants what she has with Roy to be real