How studying what we like can show us who we are

The cultural juggernaut aired on NBC for seven seasons, amassing a loyal fanbase and living on in pop culture fandom. The show spawned countless memes, inspired young girls to go big, launched Galentine’s Day into the national lexicon and continues to live on in rerun glory.  

Dr. Holly Holladay, associate professor in the department of communication, media, journalism and film at Missouri State University, knows all about the cultural “treat ‘yo self” movement, who “Mouse Rat” is and why March 31 is significant. Holladay is the author of the book “TV Milestones: Parks and Recreation.” The political satire sitcom follows the antics of public officials in the Parks and Recreation department of Pawnee, Indiana. 

“This show is reflective of a culture in transition, both in terms of the television landscape, media and what media do. There’s no better time capsule for understanding that period between 2009 and 2015 than Parks and Rec.” 

Why Parks and Rec

“Great job, everyone. The reception will be held in each of our individual houses alone.” – Ron Swanson

Holladay researches popular culture – specifically popular media, more specifically television, most specifically user engagement. She earned her master’s degree at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. The irony is not lost on her. Parks and Rec’s fictional Pawnee, Indiana, is based on Muncie.  

Parks & Rec debuted right as streaming threatened to limit the wide fan appeal of traditional broadcast. Sitcoms had to adjust. Preceding shows, such as “The Office,” began to break the sitcom mold by forgoing the laugh track and using single camera mockumentary style shooting. Holladay said Parks & Rec hit at the right time and blew it out of the water. And in so doing, not only changed the sitcom landscape, but helped Americans through a time of transition. 

“It created verisimilitude, which basically just means a sort of realism, a sense of being true.” 

Parks was also serialized. Holladay said yes, you can watch a one-off episode and laugh, but to fully understand you must watch them all. And fans did — in droves. In 2019, “Parks and Recreation” was ranked 54th on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.  

Holladay said another shift away from the traditional sitcom was marketing and production focus on engaging fans beyond the weekly episode. 

“You’re thinking about how to build hype before, you’re thinking about how to engage people during and you’re thinking about how to keep them coming back after,” she said.  

This all translates into auxiliary content produced by NBC and adds to the fervor of shows. For Parks specifically, she points to a fully fleshed out Pawnee government website filled with show Easter eggs as a prime example. Because a successful TV show can cover more ground than even the longest film, fans often feel that the characters become family.  

“Each week, you sit down with Leslie and Ron and Andy. You laugh with them, and you cry with them. That means something to people.” 

Why pop culture

“I have no idea what I’m doing, but I know I’m doing it well.” – Andy Dwyer

Holladay describes pop culture as an accessible reflection of our society.  

“Sitcoms have historically been sort of denigrated, sort of lowbrow,” she said. “But Parks was us. It was ripped from the headlines.” 

The series run is contained entirely within Barack Obama’s presidency. Holladay argues protagonist Leslie Knope is a bit of a proxy for Obama–era optimism. 

“She is a relentless public servant. She believes in that,” Holladay said. “If you match that up with, especially Barack Obama’s early presidential rhetoric and campaign in 2008, it’s all about hope and change.” 

As the series progresses, the challenges Knope faces run parallel with Obama’s presidency. 

“There’s a gay penguin wedding in the second season that is super reflective of the Defense of Marriage Act debate when it was being waged in the Supreme Court,” she said. “And a famous bailout episode, where a local video store is going under and gets help — indicative of the corporate and automotive bailouts of the time.” 

Holladay devotes much of her work to studying fan reaction. Character leads Knope and Ron Swanson are diametrically opposed. Holladay said it’s an ideological complexity that echoes society — you view that episode very differently depending on the person you identify with. 

“I think that’s part of what makes it, the way that it works itself into everyday life,” she said. “It’s fun and it’s a joke we can understand. That makes us think, even if we don’t realize it’s happening.”

“You can use popular culture as a mechanism to understand so much about what’s going on in our world.” 

Why it matters

“Hey Leslie. It’s Leslie. Hang in there. I love you. Bye.”         – Leslie Knope

Holladay’s book is part of a series at Wayne State University Press called TV Milestones — including the likes of such shows as “Mad Men,” “The Good Place,” and “Breaking Bad.” While Parks & Rec is her largest project to date, Holladay’s research into a number of titles has led to numerous publications.  

Chandler Classen, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has written multiple works with his former professor.  

“Our first article together was about ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and audience engagement with the show. I was a very young scholar then and [Holladay] guided,” he said. “Right now, we are working on an edited book collection called ‘Television Sitcoms and Cultural Crisis.’ It kind of started with a shared love of the TV show ‘The Last Man on Earth.’” 

For Classen, Holladay is more than just a writing partner, she helped him process the realities of graduate school and further his own research.  

“A lot of teachers expect their students not to care and organize their classes and material around trying to convince their students to care,” he said. “Holly gets students to care simply by the fact that she cares so much.” 

Holladay understands exactly where Classen is coming from. 

“I wanted my research to do something important. I would argue people do not perceive popular culture as important. It’s just entertainment. It’s just fluff. It does not matter. I come at it from the perspective is that it matters profoundly because there is nothing we engage with more. Sometimes mindlessly, sometimes actively, but definitely every single day.”