PARKS AND RECREATION
Mockumentary can be defined as the fusion of fiction with reality styled delivery usually in a comedic way, building on this with a network life spanning from April 2009 until February 2015 Parks and Recreation was a cult favourite Mockumentary styled sitcom that utilises political satire as a cornerstone by which the narrative is based. The story surrounding protagonist Leslie Knope explores the workings of the American Parks Department, where audiences are presented with a stereotypical comprehension of government employees i.e. Tom Haverford and Ron Swanson who almost completely lack all enthusiasm for their work in comparison to Leslie’s over enthusiasm.
Through utilising of real life stereotypes in the narrative Leslie’s overall character trait is emphasised to audiences through which leading way for the constant progression point of the show as a whole, her character traits and overarching will to never to give up.
A political satire can be defined as crafting a humour that draws upon a political basis, fusing this effortlessly in a Mockumentary styled sitcom Parks and Rec was welcomed into homes of people globally, with a large consensus of viewers being drawn in from its premier in 2009 through to its finale in 2015.
What attributed to it cultivating to become a huge cult hit was the combination and utilisation of Mockumentary conventions through the effortless flow between voiceover narrations, talking head styled interviews, contextualising location shooting, that built toward an intimate and simultaneously engaging final series.
As the show grew more confidently throughout its progression, audiences globally felt as though they grew with it, due to the authentic nature of the reception of the overall footage.
Some of this image authenticity grows from the idea that “what we watch is spontaneous, not scripted” and as unveiled in the following interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqnI_zizaSI writers of Parks and Recreation attribute a lot of the shows humour and final products to the utilisation of improvisation, the show being vastly influenced by the improvising of its cast- For instance Andy Dwyer in original scripting’s wasn’t going to remain in the show past season one, however due to how well Chris Pratt fitted the role and how enthusiastically he played Andy the writers chose to include him, his improvisation skills attributing while complimenting the casts overall, going on to ensure the show remained organic and personal.
Improvisation is a huge element to ensuring a Mockumentary is able to be as hugely successful as Parks and Recreation was, an instance of this is seen a followed https://vimeo.com/41523729 where Pratt acts out a scene from Road House, all from the line “Pratt talks about Roadhouse”, the success becoming a product of what happens when a talented writing team and talented crew of improvising actors converge upon a series, and is perhaps what crafts the more successful shows within the Mockumentary genre.
Unlike shows such as Chris Lilley’s writing lovechildren, Summer Heights High and Jonah From Tonga (whom also sit within the same genre) Parks and Recreations fluid relationship between a huge crew of both writers and actors caused it to stand apart. As the show progressed a number of featured protagonists grew, featuring at times around 10 various main characters all played by different actors unlike in Lilley’s Mockumentary styling. However neither is better nor worse than one another I believe it’s important to highlight that it is perhaps from this density when combining with the well executed Mockumentary conventions of talking head styled cameos and establishing location shots Parks and Recreations success came from the documentation of the journey of 10 exceedingly different characters, each of which you grew with from series to series cementing only further its organic progression assisted heavily the acting skill and improvisation prowess of each cast member involved, all of which could only be presented within a Mockumentary styled show.
References
http://www.buzzfeed.com/annas31/21-important-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-942y