Community: 10 Most Cringeworthy Moments
Move over, The Office. Community is the real king of cringe humour.
In the landscape of television there have been countless South Park, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Friends (and pretty much every other successful comedic sitcom under the sun) rip offs. Only once in a blue moon do we tend to get something as refreshing as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Arrested Development, and today's topic of choice: Community - a show that discards previous tropes and tribulations that have plagued the sitcom genre for years.
Community contains no laugh track, but does have capricious stories that can change in nature or even bend reality on a whim with a cast of characters that are probably the most diverse you will ever see in one of these shows.
It also has an obsession with callously making the audience feel extremely uncomfortable from time to time, which, if you're at all familiar with any of Dan Harmon's writing, you'll understand that this is a method that he masterfully imbues into any piece of fiction he pens, and Community might just be the best example so far.
Speaking of definitive examples, you won't find any better than the ones listed here to unnerve the captive audience, making them feel rather unwelcome, disgusted, incensed, or even desensitized once the experience has passed. Luckily though, the majority of times the show makes the viewer uncomfortable through cringe-fuelled escapades that are unique to this series is rather limited, but just how many could you wholeheartedly say you were, or would be, able to sit through!?
10. Britta Tells Jeff How She Feels - Pascal's Triangle Revisited
Community is a show that sincerely strives to unhinge its audience, if not outright alienate them from the outset. The translation of this comes in that of a rather innocuous cringeworthy moment, and yes, it will be the only time you cringe at something whose whole reason of being isn't to perpetuate teeth-gritting embarrassment.
Just regular old embarrassment in this case.
The cringe-induced moment here comes in Pascal's Triangle Revisited, occurring when Britta remarks "I love you" to Jeff across a severely crowded college dance, leaving the guy who's more handsome than the guy who's famous for being handsome (which isn't a bad title to have) feeling singled out as he is unmoved by the declaration of love.
The embarrassment felt for Britta in this scene comes from a very real place for most of us, as almost everybody has had that feeling of love which was not reciprocated by those that we've become attached to. The moment feels veraciously earth-shattering for Britta while subverting our expectations ingeniously.