Occupy Pawnee: Parks and Recreation has an opportunity to look at the role corporations play in government, but will they?
Let me start by saying that I may be overthinking a comedy show. I may be looking for meaning where none exists, but yet when a show like Parks and Recreation delves into the inner workings of a local government I think it invites people that are fascinated by politics, such as myself, to look for those meanings.
I find that the beauty of Parks and Recreation is that it invites us to look at national issues in a very boiled down view. Take for instance the Season 2 premiere “Pawnee Zoo”, in which the main character, Leslie Knope, marries two penguins as a way to generate publicity for the Pawnee Zoo, only it turns out both penguins are male. This leads to her being labeled as someone championing gay rights and the controversy that surrounds the issue comes to Pawnee. Yes, it comes in an almost absurd fashion. It was the marriage of two penguins. But, yet you could ask yourself at the end of the episode, do I side with Leslie Knope and say “its not a big deal, because it was penguins”, do I side with Marcia Langman, a representative of a family advocacy group that says it is a big deal because gay marraige immoral and this was a way of advocating it, or do you side with the patrons of the “Bulge”, Pawnee’s gay bar, who think it’s a big deal because someone was standing up for their rights? For those that haven’t seen the show, in the episode, Knope says repeatedly that she wasn’t making a stand, but takes the penguins to a zoo in Iowa.
Parks and Recreation is no stranger to taking on the politics of the day. In the midst of the national debt crisis, the show sent two state employees to Pawnee to fix their budget mess. This led to one of the most (and, in my view, few) openly political discussions the show has ever had. Leslie Knope fighting for the Parks Department, while her very libertarian boss, Ron Swanson is openly cheering for cuts.
Leslie: Ron, they're state auditors. They're not gonna come and pat us on the back. They're here to slash and burn.
Ron: Well, I'd be fine with that. This government is diseased. It's like a big, fat, angry slob spending money it doesn't have on crap it doesn't need. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Me want more pointless social programs. Yummy, yummy, yum.
Leslie: That's what government does, Ron. It provides services. They're gonna try to eliminate everything we do. We gotta fight these guys.
It should be noted that, as much as he dislikes government, Ron is the most politically charged character on the show. He’s the only one open about it. You can gleam some other political viewpoints. I think Leslie would run as a Democrat (she doesn’t say, and her office is adorned with pictures of women politicians of both parties) based on the above quote. This is, I think, one of the beauties of Parks and Recreation. It doesn’t say “this character, a Democrat thinks the city should do this, while this Republican character says they should do this.” Even the few glimpses of the city council are void of political discourse. The show has its characters fight for what they believe is right without putting a label on who says it. You, the viewer, can decide for yourself who is right, or even if you can see their point. (I’m not a Libertarian, but at least in terms of the show, I can see Ron Swanson’s point on many things, and not just the allure of a bacon-wrapped turkey leg.) I believe that the show avoid labeling is one of its strong points, as it forces the viewer to think about an issue, and not just siding with whichever character has an R or a D attatched to them.
So now we are to Season 4 and Leslie Knope is running for the city council. And really, for the first time, the show may have to give Leslie a political platform. But even if they can somehow avoid her giving stump speeches and doing talking points on her campaign, there is an issue that the show could look at: the role corporations play in government and elections.
In Pawnee, its candy maker Sweetums that has its hand in a lot of things. Even Leslie’s crowning achievement, the Harvest Festival, was more or less made possible by Sweetums. The corporation chips in to build a roller coaster, the corporation donates extra cotton candy machines. Without Sweetums, the festival probably doesn’t happen and the Parks Department is eliminated. Having recently re-watched those episodes, it is amazing how often Sweetums is dropped into the conversation. I don’t think it was an accident the writers made an emphasis of how big of a role Sweetums plays.
If corporations are people, then Sweetums is a character, and it’s a minor character, but one that pops up every now and again just so we’re reminded of it. Sweetums owns the Pawnee Journal, preventing negative press about the party for the former CEO. Sweetums uses the parks’ concession stands to sell its supposedly healthy snack bars, which are later revealed to be just pure sugar (the corporation convinces the town to go along with it though more or less through a slick advertising campaign and product giveaway, something Knope and the government could not do). Sweetums is in the background of the show, but obviously plays a large role in how Pawnee goes about its business.
Now, Knope is running for city council. No doubt, her candidacy would benefit greatly from the support of Sweetums. The corporation could fund her, allowing her to get more media time, create better ads, and hire consultants to refine her message. Conversely, the corporation could favor her opponent and spend its money on taking Leslie Knope down. Given the role that Sweetums plays in Pawnee (and given how its been mentioned more and more) it doesn’t seem likely that the corporation will be absent from the upcoming Pawnee elections.
This opens the door to a lot of possibilities. The show could look at which candidates want to give Sweetums a tax break or something similar for creating jobs in Pawnee or have a candidate decry the lack of taxes paid by Sweetums given the city’s fiscal crunch. The show could have characters wonder about how much influence a corporation is allowed to have over an election. The show could look at the concept of how a candidate is “bought”.
Parks and Recreation has never shied away from political issues, but its never really taken them straight on either. Now, with its main character running for office, the show could take a look at one of the biggest issues of the day and tackle the question of how large of a roll corporations should play in government. I don’t think the show will say what is right and what is wrong. Nor do I want it to. I want the show to bring up the issue and have, as it has in the past, have viewers decide for themselves what they think is right. While I doubt we’ll see any “Occupy Pawnee” signs on NBC anytime soon, the issue is there to be discussed. If Parks and Recreation decides its worth it is a whole different question.