The Office and "The Look"

You know the look. Someone (usually Michael) says something cringeworthy and someone else (most often Jim) glances at the camera, slightly widens his eyes, and imperceptibly grimaces. That was weird, his face says, for all of us.

That look was the central gag of The Office, NBC’s reimagining of a British television sitcom about life amidst corporate inanity. The joke never got old over nine seasons. Part of the show’s conceit is that a documentary camera crew is on hand capturing all this footage, allowing the characters to break the fourth wall with a running, reaction-shot commentary. A textbook example can be found in “Koi Pond,” from Season 6, when Jim (John Krasinski) finds the camera after Michael (Steve Carell) makes yet another inappropriate analogy during corporate sensitivity training. Don’t even try to count the number of times throughout The Office that eyebrows are alarmingly raised.

There is theology at play here. The camera in The Office isn’t the eye of God (a crew member is revealed in Season 9’s “Customer Loyalty”). Yet the technique reminds me of the way God’s presence is always breaking the fourth wall of our lives. He is always with us, he hears our innermost thoughts, he sees our cringeworthiness, and he loves us anyway. In our most honest moments—of discomfort, of uncertainty, of shame—we can look him directly in the eye.

The omnipresent camera of The Office isn’t solely condemning, simply there to capture reactions to a wrong that has occurred. It’s also confessional. This is especially true of the talking-head sequences where a character directly addresses the camera behind closed doors. In “Classy Christmas,” sequestered in his office after realizing that his romantic plans for Holly (Amy Ryan) are once again likely to be thwarted, Michael offers one of the series’ more meme-able moments: “I am dead inside.” And then there is Michael’s rare confession in Season 5’s “Casual Friday,” after he has betrayed his sales team: “No matter how I look at this, I am in the wrong. And I have looked at this thing, like, 100 different ways. From my point of view . . . from their point of view . . . 98 others. Bottom line: I’m in the wrong. I’m the bad guy.”

On a happier note, The Office’s ubiquitous camera also captures instances of joy—say, when Jim or Pam (Jenna Fischer) glance at the camera after flirting with each other. Every once in a while, someone in The Office looks into the lens and shares a shy little smile, communicating something less like condemnation and more like grace. Now that's a look we all long for.

This article was originally published as part of our free Theology of The Office ebook.

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At Think Christian, we encourage careful cultural discernment. We recognize and respect that many Christians choose not to engage with pop culture that contains particular content, such as abuse, sex, violence, alcohol or drug use, or that employs the use of coarse language. To that end, we suggest visiting Common Sense Media for detailed information regarding the content of the particular pieces of pop culture discussed in this article.