By TeeJay Small | Published
If you grew up in the 2000s and 2010s, there's a good chance you modeled part of your personality on your favorite sitcom characters. Whether you meant to or not, you've probably picked up a few phrases and mannerisms from the likes of Michael Scott or Dennis Reynolds, and maybe even internalized some of the more rational sitcoms when making everyday decisions. In most cases, this is completely normal for the mind. However, media literacy seems to be at an all-time low, so there may be strange consequences when the opinions and actions of these fictional characters are applied to real life.
Take Nick Offerman, for example. Offerman famously portrayed grouchy libertarian Ron Swanson in the Parks and Recreation seven seasons. Over the course of the show, Ron experiences growth and change, and undergoes a transformation from a violent divorcee who hates the government to a loving husband and father, who, however, still hates the government, but enjoys having more people elected to public office. For years now, Nick Offerman has had to deal with fans who use his likeness as some kind of paragon of hard-right conservatism, even though that's never been what the man or the actor represents.
Offerman vented his frustrations during a recent profile in Variety. While discussing the odd talk about toxic masculinity months ago, he explained “My masculinity, as it is, started to get a lot of attention and everything else about Ron Swanson and Parks and Recreation. I was surprised to be part of the conversation, but because so many wrong-headed viewers see Ron the wrong way.”
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I Death by Lightning The actor went on to reveal that “Ron is a smart and passionate hunter, so [some viewers] he thought he must be a man who does not respect women. They do a lot of wrong thinking, hoping to find an avatar of their ideas. So that drew me in; I thought, 'No, if you pay attention, you'll see that Ron is a feminist … He's the best man at a gay wedding.' But it has to do with this strange new obsession with masculinity.”
This situation is clearly not limited to Nick Offerman. Many actors have had trouble separating themselves from their actors over the years, at least in the eyes of their die-hard fans. However, Offerman was instrumental in shaping Ron Swanson over the years to the extent that many of the character's main traits, beliefs, and interests are taken from real life. As a result, Offerman often takes to social media to stand up for marginalized communities, especially when bullies use GIFs or Ron Swanson video editing to attack them.
As he explains elsewhere in the interview, some of these social networks have led to him being called a porter, or accused of “eating children.” To that end, Offerman concludes that “You can't navigate life with trolls on Twitter, the sadness of Elon Musk and his fans … Despite his ability to combine the disappointment of fame, it seems clear that Offerman is frustrated by the lack of news for some fans. Parks & Rec.
I think it's your right to be a misogynist if that's what you're into, but using Ron Swanson as a bully is not going to work. What is read in the character is wrong. In fact, you may have more luck identifying the Parks & Rec actor Jeremy Jamm, whom Ron punched directly in the face at one point in the show. One thing is for sure: don't expect actor Nick Offerman to extend an olive branch if your goal is to imitate Ron by engaging in regressive, regressive politics that harm women and minorities. You'll walk away with a cool Twitter beef and a Swanson frown.
