This episode provides a good chance to talk about some of the minority characters in “Community.” While Jeff, Pierce, Britta, and Annie have been fleshed out nicely over the past two years, maybe this is the time for the primarily white writer’s room is finally confident enough to dive into the rest of the multicultural Greendale gang.
Community’s third episode of its third season follows the seven members of Greendale’s study group as they attempt to split into pairs of lab partners for their semester of Biology 101. The splits that seem the most intuitive result in tension, so when the group reconvenes in order to reevaluate the pairings, they end up getting into an argument that spans almost an entire twenty-four hours and seriously traumatizes one of their fellow classmates, the friendly-to-a-fault Todd. While the group ends the episode happily back in one another’s favor, it is somewhat unsettling, as none of the underlying emotional problems causing their argument have been addressed.
The episode heavily resembles an episode from the first season in that it takes place entirely on the Greendale campus, and most of that time is spent in the group’s study room in the library. The show has spent time outside of the school, and occasionally featured the homes of its characters, but for the purposes of this episode (as was true for the first season), the study room functions as the characters’ “home.” Rarely do they interact with anyone outside of their seven-person “second family” in this room – and the addition of Todd to the study room is a major point of contention in the episode. It is within the study room that the characters become vulnerable and share their true feelings. And given that most of the characters live alone (except for Shirley, Troy, and Abed, which is discussed later), this surrogate family provides most of their emotional support.
Shirley is primarily defined by her religion and her motherhood. She is never included in the romantic tensions that invade the group, and has addressed that head on as unfair. While she is married and has had other romantic affairs (even becoming pregnant over the course of the second season), she is still not seen as a romantic object. Shirley is also defensive about her age, frequently having to remind the others “I’m just about the same age as Jeff,” who is considered the “cool” member of the group. Despite these reminders, she does come across as older, not only because of her maternal nature, but also because she is actually more competent and stable within her family life. While the others (chiefly Britta, here) react with fatigue when she shares details of her family, it actually seems more stable and well-adjusted than any of the others’. Pierce, Jeff and Britta all live alone and are estranged from their extended families. Troy, Annie, and Abed, despite being in their 20’s, are in a state of suspended adolescence and have yet to take on adult responsibilities or qualities.
Shirley’s religious piousness, while often presented as the impetus for her kind, giving nature, is also embarrassingly worked into almost every conversation she has. It also makes her haughtily judgmental, as when she snidely refers to Britta’s “marijuana lighter” or mistakes her homeopath as a “gay friend.” When the tension in the group gets high, they vote on which members they do and don’t wish to work with. In this popularity contest, Shirley is ranked dead last. It is not because she has the lowest GPA (that would be Britta) or even has the thorniest personality (that would be Pierce). It is due to her religion. As Annie explains, “how are you going to do science experiments if you don’t even believe in science?” Shirley’s defense at first seems reasonable and rational: “Just because someone’s religious doesn’t mean they have a problem with science;” but she is undercut by the punchline – “but certainly, if an introductory biology course at a community college can refute 2,000 years of miracles...”
This popularity contest is interesting for what it says not only about the characters, but also how it reflects the opinions of the writers and audience. “Community” has always been a show that acknowledges its own existence onscreen. Usually this is done through Abed, but here all the characters participate. Showrunner Dan Harmon has said in interviews that Shirley’s perspective is the one he has the hardest time relating to, and that’s reflected in the writing. Shirley has only had one major A-story throughout the 50-odd episodes of the show, and it revolved around her religion. Troy, on the other hand, is voted among the most popular members of the group, coming in either second or third (the episode doesn’t specify), and has been in a central role many times, having paired off with every character except Shirley. In fact, Shirley and Troy rarely interact, and have nothing in common despite both being black.
Troy’s characterization is primarily defined by his relationship with Abed, his slowly developing crush on Britta, and the slow coming of age arc he’s had since the beginning of the series. His humor comes from the non-sequiturs the he’s spouted since his character solidified after the first few episodes. Most of his jokes are at the expense of his intellect, and usually are predicated on the character having only the most tenuous grasp on what is possible and what is not. This naiveté has often been explained as a desire to shed physical reality and literally become a cartoon character. Because of “Community’s” more self-referential elements, various permutations of this have actually been explored, but not in “Competitive Ecology.” What is planted is the seed that perhaps Troy and Abed’s friendship is not benefitting from cohabitation. While working on their project, they agree “We spend too much time together.” Troy is moving away from Abed’s more childish traits and looking to become a leading man, not a goofy supporting character. However, his increasing popularity is seen as a threat by Jeff.
Two black supporting characters also appear in “Competitive Ecology.” Michael K. Williams, a veteran of “The Wire,” is the study group’s hard-lined biology professor, Professor Kane. Kane has spent the majority of his life in prison, and in the beginning of the episode gives a speech about “Legos” that plays as a parody of a similar speech from “The Shawshank Redemption.” Kane is intellectual, driven, and quiet, but he is still defined primarily by his criminal past. The other is Magnitude, a character created as a walking joke, a one-man party who speaks only in the nonsensical phrase “Pop-pop!” He appears at the start of the show’s final scene, making his presentation to the biology class. When he shouts his catchphrase, the class reacts with cheers, but Professor Kane is quick to remark, “You know they’re laughing at you, right?” Magnitude’s embarrassed reaction shows that he is not aware of how foolish the other students find him.
There are also several other non-white characters on the show. Abed typically defies most tropes by commenting and disarming them, or consciously choosing to play into them. However, this aspect of the character is absent in “Competitive Ecology.”
Chang is the only other non-white member of the main cast. While his character’s Chinese heritage has been used for easy jokes before, especially when he was Greendale’s Spanish professor, it is unremarked upon here. Chang is a character defined by his delusions, hallucinations, and desperate cries for help. The B-plot he has in this episode plays off of what has been established about the character’s pathetic living situation (he is forced to live in a closet on campus) and mental problems. His story is told here in the style of a noir, where his delusions lead him to believe he is uncovering a grand conspiracy. “Community’s” background casting is diverse – there are people of various races in the study group’s biology class, in the halls at Greendale, and among the other members of the ensemble.
This episode exemplifies for me why "Community" is a great show, even if it is not funny or relatable to everyone. There is rarely a wasted second, and there's no limit to what the show can do.
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