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Summary
- Working at the Parks Department would be boring. Leslie’s antics made it fun to watch, but most days were uneventful and dull.
- Jerry didn’t deserve all the hate. The crew bullied him unnecessarily, and he was always caring and helpful towards his coworkers.
- April and Andy would have been fired. They were slacking off and not doing their jobs, and Leslie was the one working the hardest.
Parks & Recreation is one of the most popular and beloved sitcoms of the 2000s/2010s, and while it’s still funny and entertaining, rewatching the series now brings out some hard realities about it. Parks & Recreation was originally planned as a spinoff of The Office, but it ended up being developed as its own thing. Although its first season wasn’t the best, Parks & Rec eventually found its tone and style and the rest of its seasons were a success, allowing the series to live on for a total of seven seasons. Parks & Rec took the audience to the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana, to meet Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and her friends and coworkers from the Parks Department.
Although Parks & Rec was led by Leslie, she shared the spotlight with some of her closest friends, allowing the audience to get to know them all quite well. Parks & Rec is regarded as one of the best sitcoms of the past decade, but that doesn’t mean it’s a flawless TV show. Rewatching Parks & Rec brings out some hard truths about Leslie and company’s lives in Pawnee, and while they don’t necessarily ruin the series, they do make some episodes uncomfortable to watch. Here are 10 harsh realities that come to light when rewatching Parks & Recreation.
10 Working At The Parks Department Would Be Really Boring
Leslie was what brought some liveliness to Pawnee’s Parks Department, but the truth is that working there would have been very boring. What made Leslie’s job fun to watch was the many problems and sometimes random situations she got herself into, such as the dog poop fight in season 1. However, any other day at the Parks Department was uneventful and not even Jerry’s (Jim O’Heir) clumsiness would have made working there a bit more bearable. Looking back, it’s understandable why Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) didn’t like working there, aside from his hatred for the government.
9 Jerry Didn’t Deserve All The Hate He Got During Parks & Rec
The Parks Department crew spent a lot of time bullying Jerry in and out of the office, and as the series progressed, the bullying got worse. Surely, Jerry was clumsy and often found himself in embarrassing situations, but even though his coworkers treated him badly, he was always open to helping them and truly cared about all of them. Parks & Rec’s treatment of Jerry went too far on many occasions, humiliating him to the point where it wasn’t funny, and Jerry was definitely undeserving of all that bullying and hate. Even though Parks & Rec tried to make up for all that by giving Jerry the perfect, happy family, it doesn’t excuse or justify how badly Jerry was treated for no real reason.
8 April And Andy Would Have Gotten Fired
Leslie was, by far, the one who worked the most and the hardest at the Parks Department, and while the rest did what they had to do, some of them wouldn’t have lasted long. Such is the case of April (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy (Chris Pratt), who were, arguably, the biggest slackers at City Hall. April was never afraid to admit that she hardly ever did what she was supposed to, and Andy used his position as a shoe shiner to hang out at City Hall rather than doing his job. Although both eventually matured (even if just a bit) and found jobs they actually liked, they shouldn’t have been around for that long at City Hall.
7 Tom Was A Terrible Friend
Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) stood out for his confidence and his crazy business ideas, but looking back at his history in Parks & Rec, Tom was actually a terrible friend. Tom often took advantage of his friends, especially Leslie, and every time he was supposedly helping his friends, he actually had plans of his own. An example of this is when Leslie asked Tom’s high-end entertainment company, Entertainment 720, to help her put on a Meet and Greet for Pawnee’s businesspeople, which Tom used to promote himself and the company, embarrassing Leslie.
6 Ann Perkins Needed To Get Help
Ann Perkins was kind, supportive, and fun, but unfortunately, most of her Parks & Rec story was focused on who she dated. To make it even worse, Ann tended to change her personality depending on who she was going out with, and she had a hard time being alone. Ann eventually settled down with Christ Traeger (Rob Lowe), but she never really addressed those problems. Ann needed to get help, but Parks & Rec didn’t care that much for her and instead continued accentuating those problems for the sake of the plot.
5 Leslie Caused Most Of Her Own Problems In Parks & Rec
Leslie often got herself involved in strange and ultimately funny situations, but looking back, it becomes clear that most of Leslie’s problems and awkward situations were caused by her. Most of the times when Pawnee’s citizens turned their backs on Leslie were because Leslie said something she shouldn’t have said or acted impulsively to get some sort of benefit or advantage over something or someone. Leslie was her biggest obstacle most of the time, but she also got herself out of most of those problems and uncomfortable situations.
4 Pawnee’s City Hall Was A Sexist Workplace
Although Leslie was always cheerful and spoke highly of her job at Pawnee’s City Hall, the truth is that City Hall wasn’t exactly a healthy workplace. Leslie often dealt with a lot of sexism at City Hall, especially when she became City Councilor. Surely, Leslie was strong enough to always stand up for herself and defend her ideas and her job, but that doesn’t make Pawnee and City Hall any less problematic.
3 Ron’s Relationships With Both Tammys Were Problematic
Ron Swanson had a deadpan personality and stereotypical masculine traits, and there were only two women who could bring out two very different and alarming sides of him: his ex-wives, Tammy 1 and Tammy 2. The first one to appear in Parks & Rec was Tammy 2, who turned Ron into what Leslie described as “a crazed sex demon” and didn’t let him focus on anything that wasn’t her and sex. Even more problematic than Tammy 2 and her influence on Ron was Tammy 1, who was a lot older than Ron and, according to the story of how they met, basically groomed Ron. Luckily, Ron was able to break free from both, but watching him lose himself when they were around is still painful to watch.
2 Leslie Wasn’t The Feminist She Claimed To Be
Leslie proudly waved her feminist flag throughout Parks & Recreation, and while she did have moments where she showed her feminism and support, she wasn’t really the feminist she claimed to be. One of the most criticized moments when it comes to Leslie’s feminism was when she went to a strip club with Tom, where she didn’t show respect for the women working there. Leslie even judged the dancers for supposedly not having other aspirations in life, which showed a completely different and unpleasant side of Leslie, who prided herself on standing for equality and empowering women.
1 Parks & Rec Used Mental Health For Laughs
Parks & Recreation saw its main characters go through many ups and downs, some more serious than others, and though it touched on the topic of mental health and therapy with Chris Traeger, it still used mental health for laughs. Chris was obsessive and unbelievably cheerful and positive all the time, which turned out to be rooted in deep trauma. Chris started going to a therapist, but even this was used for laughs. When Ben (Adam Scott) was unemployed, he was undeniably depressed, which again was used for comedy by having him try different, random hobbies.
As mentioned above, Ann needed help as she had a hard time being alone and always changed her personality depending on who she was dating, and Ron also needed help to treat all the trauma he had gone through with both Tammys. While Parks & Recreation was all about fun and comedy, there are some topics that should be treated with respect and not be used for laughs.
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