Flowers, Chocolate, and Jewelry

Valentine’s day is normally a day where you celebrate love. When I think of Valentine’s day, I think of flowers, jewelry, chocolate, stuffed animals, and balloons. I think of a romantic, candle-lite dinner. “The Office” has had many Valentine’s day episodes over the course of the series. “The Office”, which is a comedic mockumentary, takes everyday situations, or boring scenarios, and exaggerates them and uses funny characters to help make a “typical day in the office” hilarious. Each Valentine’s day episode of “The Office” somewhat fulfills the typical conventions of Valentine’s Day, but exaggerates the situations to add a comedic twist. On one Valentines episode, Phyllis Lapin is showered with gifts from her boyfriend Bob Vance. He sends her flowers and candy and a giant stuffed bear, all presents which conform to the expected conventions of gifts given on Valentine’s day. On another Valentine’s day episode, Michael Scott, a complete and total hopeless romantic, decides to throw a party for only single people, but the overall tone of the party is very sullen and somber. This also fulfills a general convention of Valentine’s day. If you’re not in a relationship, Valentine’s day is just a reminder of that fact. These different episodes fulfill the typical conventions of Valentine’s Day, but they don’t take them too seriously. They acknowledge how a typical Valentine’s Day goes, but they put a twist on it to make the situations comical.