The Defense of Dwight Schrute: Ableism Inside The Office
In NBC's hit show The Office, the antagonist, Dwight Schrute, frequently exhibits irritating behavior that often provokes his coworkers to reprimand him in the form of public humiliation. The humiliation of Dwight, be it by Jim’s “pranks” or Michael’s belittling language, is a major source of humor within The Office. This humor reveals itself to be troubling as, throughout the series, the severely impaired emotional and social interaction skills that provoke Dwight's behavior are common indicators of autism spectrum disorder. Generally speaking, Dwight is unable to understand his social world. Between his difficulty understanding social cues, inability to restrain inappropriate thoughts, and highly specific areas of interest, Dwight's character consistently exhibits behavior that is associated with autism spectrum disorder. As the series unfolds, much of the way we understand the characters within The Office is dependent upon Dwight and his coworkers being portrayed as foils to one another. If we wield Edward Said’s theory of the other as a lens to view how Dwight becomes the “contrasting image” that shapes our understanding of other characters, The Office is revealed to teach its viewers how to interpret autism spectrum disorder as a sign of inferiority.
In Edward Said’s Orientalism, Said discusses how Western media portrays Eastern women as lacking a sense of agency, which creates a “contrasting image, idea, personality, [and] experience” that helps the West identify as superior (2). In The Office, we frequently observe how all of the characters become a “contrasting image” to Dwight, as Dwight becomes a tool to frame the other characters as socially normal. Consider the episode, “The Alliance,” where, in the opening scene, we watch Dwight hover outside of the bathroom, awaiting the emergence of his boss, Michael Scott (See Figure 1). Dwight’s inability to read his social world is on full display as his inappropriate proximity to the door startles Michael as he exits (See Figure 2). As Dwight pesters Michael with questions regarding rumored downsizing, Michael begins to treat Dwight like a child, as Dwight’s questions are met with a lack of eye contact and an uninterested tone (See Figure 3). This is the first sign of ableism in “The Alliance,” as it is Dwight’s contrasting personality, or, his autism spectrum disorder, which works to establish Michael as the socially superior character in the scene.
Further, Said describes how “the relationship between the Occident and the Orient is a relationship of power, domination, [and] varying degrees of complex hegemony” (5). In “The Alliance,” as Dwight becomes informed that his career is in jeopardy, he approaches Jim Halpert, The Office’s most competent and rational employee, for help in his quest to keep his job. Dwight’s social vulnerabilities are first displayed to Jim when he asks, “do you want to form an alliance?” Jim replies, “absolutely I do,” which contains a tone of sarcasm that Dwight is unable to detect. Upon the formation of this partnership, the viewer’s understanding of Jim becomes shaped by his apparent dominance over Dwight. For example, consider the scene in “The Alliance” where Jim pranks Dwight. First, Jim recruits a fellow employee, Pam Beasley, to participate in the prank, which simultaneously perpetuates his cultural hegemony over the office (See Figure 4). Next, Jim and Pam begin to frighten Dwight and convince him that his career is in grave danger by relaying him false insider information from the corporate head office. Finally, Jim, who is aware of Dwight's specific areas of interest, manipulates Dwight's love for secret missions to convince Dwight to lead a top-secret surveillance mission from the inside of a cardboard box. Jim then brings Dwight down to the warehouse, places him in a small cardboard box, and tapes it shut (See Figure 5). As we can see, the way in which the plot of “The Alliance” is based on Dwight being portrayed as a gullible and powerless man is yet another form of ableism within The Office. Through the lens of Said’s “contrasting image,” the domination Jim’s character has over Dwight is seen to provide Jim with a contrasting personality that, once again, portrays Dwight’s social disability as inferior.
However, before we conclude that the ableism in The Office is harmful, we should consider Lila Abu-Lughod’s Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving, and the important question she raises when dealing with cultural others:
How are we to deal with difference without accepting the passivity implied by the cultural relativism for which anthropologists are justly famous—a relativism that says it's their culture and it's not my business to judge or interfere, only to try to understand? (786)
This idea begs the question, might the very analysis of ableism in “The Alliance” be dehumanizing? Abu-Lughod’s question would suggest so, as she goes on to ponder if “emancipation, equality, and rights [are] parts of a universal language we must use” (788). If equality is not apart of our universal language, then it may be a fool’s errand to assume that Dwight and his co-workers desire the same happiness. Thus, we must consider how a difference in character may not connote inferiority, as different viewers may have different interpretations of Dwight’s character.
Abu-Lughod reminds us “to not fall into polarizations that place feminism,” or in this case ableism, “on the side of the west” (788). That is to say, we must consider that a proper viewing of The Office might not be an ableist viewing. Observe this opposing interpretation of “The Alliance.” Dwight’s passion for his career is what drives his aggressive questioning of Michael. Dwight’s success as a salesman is what got him the position of assistant to the regional manager. Dwight’s loyalty to the company is what motivates his willingness to conduct a secret mission. By removing ourselves from the ableist interpretation, we may simply conclude that Dwight depicts a successful salesman on The Office who just happens to struggle with autism spectrum disorder. Such an interpretation is important when we consider that Dwight’s condition makes him not only an outcast on The Office but more generally in the realm of broadcast television. Where We Are On TV 2011 reported that less than 1% of series-regular television characters are depicted as living with a disability, thus a positive interpretation of Dwight’s character may actually be benefiting a group that is underrepresented in broadcast-media (16). By viewing The Office through Abu-Lughod’s version of cultural relativism, Dwight is no longer seen as solely the victim of a hostile work environment. We can only conclude that our personal interpretation of Dwight does not dictate how all viewers of The Office should understand him.
As we continue to watch and analyze The Office, the most respectful approach to the interpretation of Dwight’s character must begin with a more open discussion of his autism spectrum disorder. Since The Office lacks a formal diagnosis of Dwight’s social disability, casual viewers of “The Alliance” may not be inclined to question the way Dwight is treated by his co-workers. However, by taking a closer look at Dwight’s social skills, one reveals unforeseen side effects for viewers of The Office. While there may be no one proper interpretation of Dwight Schrute, both Said and Abu-Lughod inspire viewings of “The Alliance” that have revealed the need to assess further how media influences our understanding of those with social disabilities.
Appendix
Works Cited
Abu-Lughod, Lila. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.” American Anthropologist, vol. 104, no. 3, 2002, pp. 783–790., doi:10.1525/aa.2002.104.3.783.
Graddick, Herndon, et al. “Where Are We On TV 2011.” Www.glaad.org, www.glaad.org/files/where_are_we_on_tv_2011.pdf.
“The Office.” The Alliance, season 1, episode 4, NBC, 12 Apr. 2005.
Said, Edward W. Orientalism: Edward W. Said. Vintage Books, 2003.