Terrible digital estate throw away art by me for attention
Today is my 41st birthday. I’ve spent the last two months with an injured back, mostly in bed. Between getting to doctors appointments, figuring out financials, and spending copious amounts of time pondering the purpose of existence, I can essentially only be on my phone, watch TV, or read.
This has me analyzing what I’m consuming on a deeper level than I ever have before. It has led me to this conclusion:
Community is one of the greatest pieces of human art ever created.
Human beings aren’t perfect. I could sit here and go through each character’s story arc and explain how they represent little pieces of our own personalities personified. Chances are, if you’re on this sub, you already know this.
To me, the show gives us a small, working example of how we should be treating each other. Always understanding that no one is perfect, but as long as we’re picking each other up when we’re at our lowest, we can not only function, but actually enjoy ourselves in the process.
And I think the best example of how the show expresses this is Pierce. Both the character and Chevy Chase.
For too long, we’ve excused away or simply accepted the behavior of people like Pierce/Chase. I think, to an extent, that’s part of how we wound up with today’s USA.
Community shows the distinction between accepting someone’s flaws and endlessly tolerating their shitty behavior remarkably well.
Pierce has some genuinely redeeming moments. He wins the paintball game and gives the $100,000 prize to Greendale, despite being rich and having absolutely no need for the money himself. There are moments where you can see the person underneath all of his bullshit. But, for the most part, he refuses to grow.
That’s what separates him from the rest of the group. They’re all deeply flawed people. They all hurt each other. They’re selfish, manipulative, judgmental, controlling, immature. The show never asks us to pretend otherwise.
But they keep coming back. They keep trying. They keep picking each other up. Pierce keeps getting opportunities to do the same, and eventually there has to be a line.
Which makes what happened outside the show almost too perfect.
Pierce gets killed off because he dehydrated himself by masturbating too much.
Chevy loses the role.
There’s something strangely fitting about a show called Community demonstrating, both on screen and off, that community doesn’t mean accepting everyone’s behavior forever.
People deserve grace. People deserve forgiveness. People deserve the opportunity to be better. But being part of a community also means making an effort to be someone the community can continue to embrace.
Thanks for reading!