A supercut of every cultural reference in 'The Office'
This is incredible. The Office Time Machine is a website that lets you type in any year (up until the series finale of 'The Office') to see all of the cultural references mentioned in the show.
This project was created to show how culture enriches comedy. The Office is relatable and funny because it borrows so much from culture, and people get the references. Culture is society’s collected knowledge, art, and customs. It’s what surrounds us and unites us, and it allows us to collectively laugh at a joke in The Office about Ben Franklin or M. Night Shyamalan. Culture, simply put, is the seasoning in a meal.
With tons of annotations and the occasional arrow pointing to cultural artifacts, The Office Time Machine is one of the clearest ways to connect the real world to the world created on television. I love this to death!