Final Thoughts 

Michael Scott is clearly a complex character. While his tragic elements are often so sad that they are funny, he is still a tragic character within a comedic environment.  He tries so hard to be comedic relief for everyone at Dunder Mifflin, but he always falls short. His tragic elements tend to outshine the comedic ones. 

 

While Michael Scott was and still is a pop culture icon, it is clear that he uses ethnocentric messages in his attempt to be a comedic character. These messages can be dangerous to our society. His clear ignorance for other groups of people may be portrayed as a joke, but the messages are still being put out into society. 

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The Office may have ended in 2013, but it is still growing in popularity as people continuously watch it on Netflix. There are many people out there that watch and rewatch the show; those same people want nothing more than a reboot of their favorite mockumentarty. To some, a reboot would be the best thing to happen in their lives, but not for Steve Carell (actor who plays Michael Scott). While Carell loved portraying Michael for 7 seasons, he believes that he is too offensive for today's society because of Scott's clear use of offensive messages.

 

Carell's character spread ethnocentric messages throughout society while cracking jokes about different cultures. These messages are just continuing to spread throughout our society, without much though to it. It is important to think about Michael Scott critically while rewatching the series and to acknowledge his use of ethnocentric messages before watching the show. If we think critically about his character, it allows us to destabilize the messages and their typical impact on society. We can actively stop ourselves from spreading these offensive and stereotypical messages.