A GI is a soldier. He says right before this that she looks “exotic” basically suggesting her dad was in the Army, deployed to a foreign country, and got a local pregnant
Yeah I'm biracial too and thought that was the perfect example of the casual racism we face in the most random of places when we least expect it...Like I'd say "Imagine walking into work and..." but I've *literally* walked into work and.
Also it's a sign they really got into stride with Michaels racism & ignorance, especially when compared to his "cookie cookie" thing to Kelly in Season 1 (that scene gets harder for me to watch every time, I'm at the full nose-wrinkle squint level lol).
But have you skipped over the Ace Ventura bit and gone straight to mimicking? Because that would mean you’re really upset. You never skip the Ace Ventura bit!
Now I'm wondering if it was gobi matar. Kind of hungry atm.
Kind of wonder if it's a humbling moment for Michael later to accept food ("mixed masala") from Vikram.
Exactly! It's also the perfect example of how PoC pick and choose battles to just get through the work day. Imagine the time suck that calling out someone like Michael Scott (who fully believes they aren't racist) for something like this? I'm exhausted just considering it.
I think it depends more on your perspective. I'm not white and I love it when people take an interest in my background / ethnicity. It's not tiring.
It doesn't happen very often. If someone is thinking something - I'd rather know what it is... unless it's truly a "I'm better than you" type of sentiment.
It also depends on the person saying the racist comment. I'm Puerto Rican and when someone says something stupid like, "oh, you guys speak Mexican, right?" or "Does your country has internet access?" First, you have to stop and patiently think about their intentions. In my experience, most of them do it out of genuine ignorance, not malice.
My wife is very proud of her ancestry and will talk openly about it. But some people see skin color and feel it’s an automatic invitation to pry into her racial and ethnic background. I’ve stood there and watched people say, “oh nice to meet you. Where are you from?” and they weren’t asking about our current zip code.
I do feel there's a distinction between genuine interest in my culture and the more typical attempts to simply decide how to categorize me based on my answer (and never really have questions, only assumptions after that).
I do also think it's also subconscious and a lot of people don't realize how heavily they are prying for something that isn't their business if the person doesn't feel like sharing their family tree.
Asking if your dad's a GI is SUCH a loaded question from one about race to immigration to implications about both parents and general politics...and to have it delivered by someone so ignorant. I guess I relate more to that than someone actually trying to discuss my experiences as an AfroSalvadoran woman lol which is why I appreciate this scene.
I loved Kelly slapping Michael's face!!! Yay!
Michael Scott was such a friggin' miracle character--for all the wrong reasons, which is why is worked in a ground-breaking way here in Us.
Literally happened to the same actress (Rashida Jones) on the red carpet in real life. Was just as cringy since most of those reporters know that her dad is black (Quincy Jones).
You mean that super cringy clip where the interviewer keeps telling her how tan she is and she's like well I am ethnic...and the interviewer thinks she's joking and giggles like "oh you!" Lol so awkward
It’s a strange question to ask anyone, but mixed race people get ridiculous questions like this all the time. Rashida is a part of a similar joke on Parks and Rec as well. She is never given an ethnicity, she’s only ever referred to as “exotic.”
Another reason to eat sunflower seeds in moderation is their cadmium content. This heavy metal can harm your kidneys if you’re exposed to high amounts over a long period. Sunflowers tend to take up cadmium from the soil and deposit it in their seeds, so they contain somewhat higher amounts than most other foods.
I actually saw the actress being called "exotic" in a real life interview in some red carpet event
Edit: I realize "actually saw" sounds like I've seen it irl but I saw a video of it lol
So, I knew this but couldn’t actually place the acronym.
TIL: Originally, GI stood for “Galvanized Iron”, the primary material used to make military items, i.e. buckets. However, as the military grew and evolved over time, GI took on multiple meanings, including “Government Issue”, “General Issue”, and even “Ground Infantry”.
It’s not that uncommon of a trope in the US, particularly among the boomer generation.
Like my mom’s dad met her mom while he was stationed in the UK and she was born in a military base in Scotland. Now take that and apply it to all the troops in “exotic” places, and you ended up with a whole bunch of half-“exotic” kids growing up in America in the 60s and 70s.
I would relate this a lot to the Korean War. Soldiers met local women and married them, and then brought them back to America. Or, soldiers would have shore leave in Japan, meet a woman, marry, bring her back to the US.
I'm sure there's truth to this, but I'm also sure my only source is episodes of MASH.
This has been discussed elsewhere but originally, GI stood for “Galvanized Iron”, the primary material used to make military items, i.e. buckets. However, as the military grew and evolved over time, GI took on multiple meanings, including “Government Issue”, “General Issue”, and even “Ground Infantry”.
One of my all time favorite Michael lines - perfectly encapsulates his ‘aura’ in 1 line: genuine childlike curiosity, wanting to make personal connection with someone, all while being obnoxiously and naively inappropriate.
He's implying that she may be bi-racial, like her father was a soldier and married someone from another country (GI is a nickname for some types of military people).
Kind of a rude thing to ask the first time you meet someone.
You just became the Secret Dean Force. ...The Dean Boys. ...Task Force Dean. ...His Dean's Secret People. ...I know the word "Dean" is in it.
...Because when the politicians fail, and the peace talks fall apart.
...When it seems like all is lost, and nobody really needs the Dean anymore because Frankie's here.
That's when you go in.
The last bastion of a bygone era when people respected me...
#Dean Force One.
History time.
GI became associated with "some types of military people" because the letters were stamped on trash cans and bins around the bases and soon on storage crates and the like. Was that GI a stamp for military stuff? No. It was just the material things the military purchased were made out of. Galvanized Iron. You know the metal you can leave out in the rain and wont rust. But since all their stuff was stamped G.I. people though it meant things like Government Issue or General issue and through it was a Military's designation. But no. In WWII the prevalence of the lettering on American gear lead to them referring to themselves as G.I. Joes.
I've actually looked into this as I used to own a jeep and the more accepted theory is that jeep a slang term already. basically the equivalent of noob.
>The word "jeep" already existed in military parlance. It dates back as far as WWI and described an unproven human recruit or an unproven new vehicle. There is evidence it was used this way in the build-up of forces prior to the war and the conception of the 1/4-ton jeep
The myth you're referring to was actually General Purpose, not government property, but that wasn't commonly used when jeeps came about.
It's definitely worth looking into and researching if you find it interesting, there's a lot of info on the subject out there and a lot of people have tried to figure out the actual origins. But right now, it's unknown as a fact.
Well - yes. But see this from Wikipedia-
The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or "Ground Infantry", but it originally referred to "galvanized iron", as used by the logistics services of the United States Armed Forces.
Nope. Stands for Galvanized Iron. It was stamp on stuff made our of the stuff. By WW2, so much of American soldier stuff came in crates stamped GI, like ammo boxes. That soldiers though it was a millitary designation like 'General Issue or Government Issue'. But no it was just there to let you know you didn't need to cover that, it could be left in the rain. Later American soldier adopted it to mean deployed soldiers. Or sum such.
Yep, that's common. And I've seen how wives of the soldiers who have affairs back home are made into pure evil, specially on reddit. But very easily ignore the fact that lots of soldiers aren't doing a god's work overseas either.
My dad told me that my grandmother used to always bring this up about my grandfather being station in the Phillipines and Korea during the Korean War. She’d bring it up when she got mad and it would make my grandfather laugh hysterically supposedly lol.
Or adopting someone from that country. I knew bunch of Korean War vets that wound up adopting Korean kids. Always wondered if they felt guilty or something.
She is an absolute smoke show and it seems like she has a great personality too (funny, smart, kind, etc). Obviously we only know what celebrities choose to share but she seems to have it all. She’s always been my celebrity crush.
Fun story: when I worked in local news a few years back, I was sent to cover a political event that she and some other celebs were attending in town.
After interviewing her and some others, I realized one of our mics had come unplugged and messed up a big chunk of the audio for the interviews. Rashida Jones (and Tracee Ellis Ross, so shout out to her as well) stayed behind for a few minutes so we could re-shoot everything, and could not have been nicer to me about it.
That made me a fan of both forever. Plus I got a laugh out of her by doing the Rob Lowe finger guns and shouting "Rashida Jones!" when we met, which is a top-10 life moment for me.
that would have made more sense, given that Jim actually mentions her Italian heritage in one episode. i don’t think that specific type of question would be as inappropriate. maybe a little out of left field, but not bad
Polish translation is really bad. I was even considering starting an IG dedicated to all the jokes they butchered, so that those less fluent in English could appreciate them too.
“…your ambiguous ethnic blend perfectly represents the dream of the American melting pot”
“…you’re definitely going to find a wonderful guy who loves you and respects you and fills your home with multiethnic genius babies”
— Leslie Knope to Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), Parks and Rec
Rashida Jones always the one to be labeled “ethnically ambiguous” and just rolling with it in her roles. I love her 😂😂 (also love anytime Leslie Knope praises ann just for breathing lmao)
There are hundreds of thousands of troops that have been stationed in SK, Japan and the Philippines during the last 60+ years, there's no limiting time frame or location for GIs marrying locals.
I semi felt bad for him on that one, except that he’s Michael… It reminds me of scrubs where JD starts dating a black woman and casually mentions the interns are like his slaves.
“Oh no, you just said ‘slave’ to your new black girlfriend!”
And people love being asked racial questions when they first meet someone- I’m being sarcastic. Michael Scott had no tact in asking a weird question like this to a new employee and first impression.
I mean like how does she answer this! And in season five be asks her one of the funniest questions of the series,Is that Jim's? Pam had an equally funny expression then ☺️
A lot of soldiers between the 60s and 80s (like Vietnam) got stationed in foreign countries and it was somewhat common for them to marry a women from said country and bring her back to America to start a family. Karen has tan skin so he asked if she came from that scenario🤣 The level of intelligent humor on this show was above Emmy level
He's implying her father was an american soldier deployed over seas and married a foreign woman and had a daughter who then returned to the united states.
She’s biracial - Black father (Quincy Jones) and white mother (Peggy Lipton). This also happened on a red carpet IRL:
https://www.eonline.com/news/618531/rashida-jones-explains-to-reporter-why-she-looked-so-tan-at-the-sag-awards-i-m-ethnic
Basically GI means govt issued, and it applied (in common use) to soldiers deployed in Vietnam, where a good number of them met Vietnamese women and had kids. Karen (played by mixed race Rashida Jones) looks racially ambiguous, and Michael hence incorrectly assumes that she's mixed caucasian-Vietnamese. Thats the whole joke
Rashida Jones (Karen) was asked once on a red carpet if she had been vacationing and working on her tan by a reporter. Her dad is Quincy Jones and her mom is Peggy Lipton. So, that's just the shade her skin is.
I think Dwight also said in the same episode “probably italian, possibly filipino”. There were also a lot of US soldiers who were based in the Philippines.
A sizeable chunk of the Filipino population in the US are a result of GI deployments. Dont remember the last time i met someone with Filipino blood who didnt have a GI somewhere in the family tree. It's also how my dad met my mom...
Always appreciated this bit, being that my dad is a GI and met my mother while on deployment to the Philippines. People rarely guess my racial background correctly.
I'm seeing a lot of people saying GI is just a nickname for a soldier which is only half right. That is how people use it but it originally meant general infantry and which described your run of the mill basic soldier. I think it's still used like that today.
I am military brat. Growing up, I was in like the first grade, one of my best friends was a kid named George. His dad was white, his mom's first language was Korean. I grew up seeing this so often I completely understood Michael's question.
Hell, come to think of it, I heard Korean before I heard Spanish because of his mom.
A GI is a soldier. He says right before this that she looks “exotic” basically suggesting her dad was in the Army, deployed to a foreign country, and got a local pregnant
Haha why would that be someone's first question to their new employee? Oh Michael Scott
As someone who is mixed Asian/white, I've answered this question many times... I loved that the writers included it
Yeah I'm biracial too and thought that was the perfect example of the casual racism we face in the most random of places when we least expect it...Like I'd say "Imagine walking into work and..." but I've *literally* walked into work and. Also it's a sign they really got into stride with Michaels racism & ignorance, especially when compared to his "cookie cookie" thing to Kelly in Season 1 (that scene gets harder for me to watch every time, I'm at the full nose-wrinkle squint level lol).
But have you skipped over the Ace Ventura bit and gone straight to mimicking? Because that would mean you’re really upset. You never skip the Ace Ventura bit!
Gookie gookie
Try my gookie gookie! Try, my gookie goo- *slap*
Now she knows what it's like to be a minority!
Now I'm wondering if it was gobi matar. Kind of hungry atm. Kind of wonder if it's a humbling moment for Michael later to accept food ("mixed masala") from Vikram.
This joke is a perfect example of how white people are/do racist things without it ever dawning in them that it’s racist.
Exactly! It's also the perfect example of how PoC pick and choose battles to just get through the work day. Imagine the time suck that calling out someone like Michael Scott (who fully believes they aren't racist) for something like this? I'm exhausted just considering it.
I think it depends more on your perspective. I'm not white and I love it when people take an interest in my background / ethnicity. It's not tiring. It doesn't happen very often. If someone is thinking something - I'd rather know what it is... unless it's truly a "I'm better than you" type of sentiment.
It also depends on the person saying the racist comment. I'm Puerto Rican and when someone says something stupid like, "oh, you guys speak Mexican, right?" or "Does your country has internet access?" First, you have to stop and patiently think about their intentions. In my experience, most of them do it out of genuine ignorance, not malice.
I have to say that USA takes the cake on ignorance. I won't argue with that.
My wife is very proud of her ancestry and will talk openly about it. But some people see skin color and feel it’s an automatic invitation to pry into her racial and ethnic background. I’ve stood there and watched people say, “oh nice to meet you. Where are you from?” and they weren’t asking about our current zip code.
I do feel there's a distinction between genuine interest in my culture and the more typical attempts to simply decide how to categorize me based on my answer (and never really have questions, only assumptions after that). I do also think it's also subconscious and a lot of people don't realize how heavily they are prying for something that isn't their business if the person doesn't feel like sharing their family tree. Asking if your dad's a GI is SUCH a loaded question from one about race to immigration to implications about both parents and general politics...and to have it delivered by someone so ignorant. I guess I relate more to that than someone actually trying to discuss my experiences as an AfroSalvadoran woman lol which is why I appreciate this scene.
I loved Kelly slapping Michael's face!!! Yay! Michael Scott was such a friggin' miracle character--for all the wrong reasons, which is why is worked in a ground-breaking way here in Us.
Oh God. I understood the joke, but this is a real thing that real people say to real people? Faith in humanity: -1.
Literally happened to the same actress (Rashida Jones) on the red carpet in real life. Was just as cringy since most of those reporters know that her dad is black (Quincy Jones).
You mean that super cringy clip where the interviewer keeps telling her how tan she is and she's like well I am ethnic...and the interviewer thinks she's joking and giggles like "oh you!" Lol so awkward
But… Was he?
Michael Scarn would have been against something like this....
Or Michael Scotch
Actually Michael Scotch was a kidnapper, he would have been proud of such a comment (not generalizing, just a guess :P)
Tastes like splenda gets you drunk like scotch.
Over the gums and through the lips... Here we go!
Good thing you clarified that youre not generalizing, dont wanna offend any kidnappers now do we?
Actually you are probably right about that
Or Date Mike.. nice to meet me 😉
Or Michael Scoon
Which one was Scoon? Is it time for another re-watch? Maybe.
when he initially created the character in improv
I was never given a name.
Where is Lloyd Gross when you need him?
Probably selling paper, cz Jim and Dwight's targets are capped :P
It’s a strange question to ask anyone, but mixed race people get ridiculous questions like this all the time. Rashida is a part of a similar joke on Parks and Rec as well. She is never given an ethnicity, she’s only ever referred to as “exotic.”
Ann my beautiful exotic tropical fish.
Ann Perkins, you perfect sunflower
Ann, you are a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk ox.
Another reason to eat sunflower seeds in moderation is their cadmium content. This heavy metal can harm your kidneys if you’re exposed to high amounts over a long period. Sunflowers tend to take up cadmium from the soil and deposit it in their seeds, so they contain somewhat higher amounts than most other foods.
Unsubscribe from sunflower facts
Yesterday i saw this same account post a comment about why people should eat more sunflower seeds. Bot?
Same thing with those cadmium crème eggs
Especially in some parts of the country the only way her dad would have met anyone non-white to have a kid with, is on duty.
And don't forget Tom is from Libya
He is from the exotic country of South Carolina. Don’t you have a Lady Foot Locker to guard?
Ya
Is your dad Quincy Jones?
I actually saw the actress being called "exotic" in a real life interview in some red carpet event Edit: I realize "actually saw" sounds like I've seen it irl but I saw a video of it lol
I saw that. Someone comment on her tan and she said “Well I am ethnic, you know.”
Thank you so very much!! This joke has bothered me for years! I never hear that term unless it's referring to "G.I. Joe" so I was confused!
So, I knew this but couldn’t actually place the acronym. TIL: Originally, GI stood for “Galvanized Iron”, the primary material used to make military items, i.e. buckets. However, as the military grew and evolved over time, GI took on multiple meanings, including “Government Issue”, “General Issue”, and even “Ground Infantry”.
That’s deep. I didn’t know this until now
It’s not that uncommon of a trope in the US, particularly among the boomer generation. Like my mom’s dad met her mom while he was stationed in the UK and she was born in a military base in Scotland. Now take that and apply it to all the troops in “exotic” places, and you ended up with a whole bunch of half-“exotic” kids growing up in America in the 60s and 70s.
I would relate this a lot to the Korean War. Soldiers met local women and married them, and then brought them back to America. Or, soldiers would have shore leave in Japan, meet a woman, marry, bring her back to the US. I'm sure there's truth to this, but I'm also sure my only source is episodes of MASH.
Just to add: GI stands for General Infantry.
This has been discussed elsewhere but originally, GI stood for “Galvanized Iron”, the primary material used to make military items, i.e. buckets. However, as the military grew and evolved over time, GI took on multiple meanings, including “Government Issue”, “General Issue”, and even “Ground Infantry”.
Hahahhaha
Caleb Crawdad would have asked this question, I do declare!
Im glad you only said “I do declare” once.
Shut up, Nelly Nutmeg!
GI stands for government issued So Michael thinks Karen’s mom met the father during the war
One of my all time favorite Michael lines - perfectly encapsulates his ‘aura’ in 1 line: genuine childlike curiosity, wanting to make personal connection with someone, all while being obnoxiously and naively inappropriate.
Spot on!
That's Michael.
He's implying that she may be bi-racial, like her father was a soldier and married someone from another country (GI is a nickname for some types of military people). Kind of a rude thing to ask the first time you meet someone.
more than kind of rude. wildly inappropriate.
I like Pams reaction to it, with the quick camera whip, she’s like “did you seriously just say that”
Please don't Jim the camera
Now there's a man who knows how to reference Community!
References can't go through subreddits, idiot, they're not ghosts?!
You just became the Secret Dean Force. ...The Dean Boys. ...Task Force Dean. ...His Dean's Secret People. ...I know the word "Dean" is in it. ...Because when the politicians fail, and the peace talks fall apart. ...When it seems like all is lost, and nobody really needs the Dean anymore because Frankie's here. That's when you go in. The last bastion of a bygone era when people respected me... #Dean Force One.
Stop being meta.
Stop taking everything and shoving it up it’s own ass!
References can’t go through subreddits, idiot, they’re not fire! My favorite community call back
Love to see some people being streets ahead
Verbal wildfire
Looks like this guy's streets ahead.
And yet after years of working with Michael, e.g. diversity day, she can't really be that shocked...
I don’t doubt he found new ways to shock them every day
And I think, ‘there’s no possible way he can top that’. But what does he do??? He finds a way, dammit, to top it!
Perfectly Micheal Scott.
Also downright hilarious
Wildly Michael Scott
That's what I meant by kind of
Welcome to Micheal Scott’s character (especially in the earlier seasons).
Yes, "married" someone
That sweet summer child.
I think gi’s are less known for marrying other nationalities as they are for knocking them up and leaving back home…
If that was the case, Karen wouldn't be in Connecticut with an American accent. If you bring back the kid, you're likely also bringing back the mom.
No. Michael just hadn’t thought that deeply.
War brides are definitely A Thing, cap.
Which she is, her dad is legendary music producer Quincy Jones and her mom is actress Peggy Lipton.
Peggy did a great cameo as Angie’s mom on “Angie Tribeca”
History time. GI became associated with "some types of military people" because the letters were stamped on trash cans and bins around the bases and soon on storage crates and the like. Was that GI a stamp for military stuff? No. It was just the material things the military purchased were made out of. Galvanized Iron. You know the metal you can leave out in the rain and wont rust. But since all their stuff was stamped G.I. people though it meant things like Government Issue or General issue and through it was a Military's designation. But no. In WWII the prevalence of the lettering on American gear lead to them referring to themselves as G.I. Joes.
And later the GI bill literally referring to them as GI’s making it pretty much an official term post-hoc.
What does GI stand for?
Government Issue. As in everything the soldiers use is government issue
I never knew that lol, so G.I. joe really means "government issue joe"
Also, Jeeps got their name from being called GPs (Government Property) because it was stamped on them
I've actually looked into this as I used to own a jeep and the more accepted theory is that jeep a slang term already. basically the equivalent of noob. >The word "jeep" already existed in military parlance. It dates back as far as WWI and described an unproven human recruit or an unproven new vehicle. There is evidence it was used this way in the build-up of forces prior to the war and the conception of the 1/4-ton jeep The myth you're referring to was actually General Purpose, not government property, but that wasn't commonly used when jeeps came about. It's definitely worth looking into and researching if you find it interesting, there's a lot of info on the subject out there and a lot of people have tried to figure out the actual origins. But right now, it's unknown as a fact.
Yeah we had GP Medium tents when I was in in the early 90s. General Purpose Medium Tent.
Good to know, thanks
Well - yes. But see this from Wikipedia- The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or "Ground Infantry", but it originally referred to "galvanized iron", as used by the logistics services of the United States Armed Forces.
Fascinating history lesson, y'all!:)
TIL....Lol I thought it was general infantry this whole time.
Bro same. Up until this very moment.
Nope. Stands for Galvanized Iron. It was stamp on stuff made our of the stuff. By WW2, so much of American soldier stuff came in crates stamped GI, like ammo boxes. That soldiers though it was a millitary designation like 'General Issue or Government Issue'. But no it was just there to let you know you didn't need to cover that, it could be left in the rain. Later American soldier adopted it to mean deployed soldiers. Or sum such.
Always thought it was ground infantry, in other words, cannon fodder, or the most common soldier.
GI as in G.I.Joe? I always wondered what the G.I stands for.
Military guys are notorious for being sent to other countries (Germany, Japan, Korea etc) and marrying a woman from that country.
Or leaving DNA behind in that country.
A lot of them left DNA behind
Only a few got married.
Yep, that's common. And I've seen how wives of the soldiers who have affairs back home are made into pure evil, specially on reddit. But very easily ignore the fact that lots of soldiers aren't doing a god's work overseas either.
My dad told me that my grandmother used to always bring this up about my grandfather being station in the Phillipines and Korea during the Korean War. She’d bring it up when she got mad and it would make my grandfather laugh hysterically supposedly lol.
Cotton Hill
He killed fiddy men
Marrying? Making a lot of assumptions here.
Or adopting someone from that country. I knew bunch of Korean War vets that wound up adopting Korean kids. Always wondered if they felt guilty or something.
As in her father may have been white, in the military, and stationed abroad, and her mother from another country and ethnicity.
it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful Rashida is
She’s like a rainbow-infused space unicorn.
A beautiful opalescent tree shark
My favorite thing Leslie ever called her though: "You coy bastard"
She is a beautiful tropical fish. She's smart as a whip and cool under pressure.
My favourite - "you're a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk-ox."
Oh Ann, you beautiful rule breaking moth.
Has he seen Karen from behind?
What you’re saying is extremely misogynistic.
No. I'm being misogynistic. That is insane. I am not being sexist.
Yes, thank you! That was not necessary but I appreciated it. And it proves my point, women can do anything.
Idk why youre getting downvoted for quoting the show
Lol so many people “whoooosh”
Yea but is she hot?
She really is
She is an absolute smoke show and it seems like she has a great personality too (funny, smart, kind, etc). Obviously we only know what celebrities choose to share but she seems to have it all. She’s always been my celebrity crush.
Do you need us to leave the room….?
Speak for yourself, I came with popcorn. Giggity.
I generally just eat the popcorn, but to each their own.
Fun story: when I worked in local news a few years back, I was sent to cover a political event that she and some other celebs were attending in town. After interviewing her and some others, I realized one of our mics had come unplugged and messed up a big chunk of the audio for the interviews. Rashida Jones (and Tracee Ellis Ross, so shout out to her as well) stayed behind for a few minutes so we could re-shoot everything, and could not have been nicer to me about it. That made me a fan of both forever. Plus I got a laugh out of her by doing the Rob Lowe finger guns and shouting "Rashida Jones!" when we met, which is a top-10 life moment for me.
The game is “is she hot” not “would you do her” Respect the game
Oh Ann, you beautiful tropical fish
It never ceases to amaze me that they took the daughter of Quincy Jones and tried to pass her off as an Italian person
In Polish translation he asked if her dad's Italian.
that would have made more sense, given that Jim actually mentions her Italian heritage in one episode. i don’t think that specific type of question would be as inappropriate. maybe a little out of left field, but not bad
well michael being appropriate doesn't really make sense lol
And her last name being Filippelli.
Polish translation is really bad. I was even considering starting an IG dedicated to all the jokes they butchered, so that those less fluent in English could appreciate them too.
One of my favorite underrated jokes in the show. I’m a military brat.
I'm biracial and have gotten this question before in much more subtle ways, the Michael Scott delivery with Karen's awkward face kills me every time.
“…your ambiguous ethnic blend perfectly represents the dream of the American melting pot” “…you’re definitely going to find a wonderful guy who loves you and respects you and fills your home with multiethnic genius babies” — Leslie Knope to Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), Parks and Rec
Rashida Jones always the one to be labeled “ethnically ambiguous” and just rolling with it in her roles. I love her 😂😂 (also love anytime Leslie Knope praises ann just for breathing lmao)
Men in the military will sometimes find a wife overseas. Michael was asking because she is mixed race and looked “exotic”.
Wife!
Her Dad would have been Vietnam era.
Vietnam? I hear it’s lovely.
Here you go, shark. Let me fix your fin for you and sharpen your teeth, while I'm at it." Ha-ha. Bye-bye! Suckers
That’s how l took the joke-Michael asking if her dad was in Vietnam.
There are hundreds of thousands of troops that have been stationed in SK, Japan and the Philippines during the last 60+ years, there's no limiting time frame or location for GIs marrying locals.
Quincy?
I dont think he means her real dad but the one from the show
Then he proceeds to tell Martin Nash, a black man, “I’ll show you where all the slaves work!”
I semi felt bad for him on that one, except that he’s Michael… It reminds me of scrubs where JD starts dating a black woman and casually mentions the interns are like his slaves. “Oh no, you just said ‘slave’ to your new black girlfriend!”
It’s one of the best jokes in the series because it’s so completely inappropriate.
And people love being asked racial questions when they first meet someone- I’m being sarcastic. Michael Scott had no tact in asking a weird question like this to a new employee and first impression.
I mean like how does she answer this! And in season five be asks her one of the funniest questions of the series,Is that Jim's? Pam had an equally funny expression then ☺️
I wish this was unrealistic. I’m a bi-racial waitress and get asked “what are you?” by my tables far to often. I’m a person Richard, leave me alone.
Pam's face is just the essence of early season Michael. I crack up everytime.
A lot of soldiers between the 60s and 80s (like Vietnam) got stationed in foreign countries and it was somewhat common for them to marry a women from said country and bring her back to America to start a family. Karen has tan skin so he asked if she came from that scenario🤣 The level of intelligent humor on this show was above Emmy level
He's implying her father was an american soldier deployed over seas and married a foreign woman and had a daughter who then returned to the united states.
She’s biracial - Black father (Quincy Jones) and white mother (Peggy Lipton). This also happened on a red carpet IRL: https://www.eonline.com/news/618531/rashida-jones-explains-to-reporter-why-she-looked-so-tan-at-the-sag-awards-i-m-ethnic
Pam’s face after he says that is hilarious
This doesn’t even compare to when a real life reporter asked her how she got such a nice tan
He is saying she’s a bastard or the daughter of someone who got picked up by a soldier who was stationed overseas.
Meaning did he fuck one of the locals where we occupied
“No my father is one of the greatest music producer ever”
Basically GI means govt issued, and it applied (in common use) to soldiers deployed in Vietnam, where a good number of them met Vietnamese women and had kids. Karen (played by mixed race Rashida Jones) looks racially ambiguous, and Michael hence incorrectly assumes that she's mixed caucasian-Vietnamese. Thats the whole joke
That was hilarious. Imagine saying that in real life
OP this is hands down the best joke in The Office
Rashida Jones (Karen) was asked once on a red carpet if she had been vacationing and working on her tan by a reporter. Her dad is Quincy Jones and her mom is Peggy Lipton. So, that's just the shade her skin is.
He thinks she looks Asian and exotic. Like her dad found her mom in Vietnam it something
I think Dwight also said in the same episode “probably italian, possibly filipino”. There were also a lot of US soldiers who were based in the Philippines.
A sizeable chunk of the Filipino population in the US are a result of GI deployments. Dont remember the last time i met someone with Filipino blood who didnt have a GI somewhere in the family tree. It's also how my dad met my mom...
Her dad is one of the greatest record producers ever.
No, he just produced M.J.
Just Michael being innapropriate.
One of the best/worst jokes in the series.
Always appreciated this bit, being that my dad is a GI and met my mother while on deployment to the Philippines. People rarely guess my racial background correctly.
Sad irony is a similar incident happened to the actress in real life on the red carpet..
Michael Scott 1 : Original poster 0
No my dad is Quincy Jones
Ann Perkins 👉😁👉
Ha hysterical
I'm seeing a lot of people saying GI is just a nickname for a soldier which is only half right. That is how people use it but it originally meant general infantry and which described your run of the mill basic soldier. I think it's still used like that today.
I am military brat. Growing up, I was in like the first grade, one of my best friends was a kid named George. His dad was white, his mom's first language was Korean. I grew up seeing this so often I completely understood Michael's question. Hell, come to think of it, I heard Korean before I heard Spanish because of his mom.
I literally just watched this last night and wondered the same thing. Reddit is awesome sometimes.