I find it fascinating how Tom Gunning outlines a particular field of humor in the form of the Mischief Gag, the comedic format in which a prankster or “rascal” as Gunning puts it, puts into motion through preparatory action, a mischievous act with the intent of pranking their “victim”, typically through a harmless (but sometimes quite consequential) well thought out motion of tomfoolery which results in the victim’s suffering as the butt of the joke. As I read Gunning’s account I couldn’t help but think about cold opens to episodes in NBC’s The Office, more often than not exemplified between the characters Jim and Dwight.
These exchanges between Dwight and Jim are proficient in embodying the soul of the mischievous gag, following the few outlines Gunning claims are integral to a joke being categorized as a Mischief Gag. One such example is in the opening few minutes to season 5, episode 11, where Dwight enters the office to see his desk and all of its accessories wrapped in festive Christmas wrapping paper. At first he is confused but instantly blames Jim, who takes full responsibility simply saying “Merry Christmas Dwight”. Dwight scoffs it off, asking Jim how long he took with Jim replying he’s a “black belt in gift wrapping”. Dwight then claims he’ll have it gone in 5 minutes but as he drops his suitcase on the desk so he can sit down, the whole apparatus falls apart and Dwight with it quite funnily in my opinion, revealing it was all just paper disguised as his desk.
To better understand how this correlates with a mischief gag, one need only look towards the two phases Gunning states are integral to the motion. As Gunning points out, “First, a preparatory action is undertaken with a very precise aim in view (which is sometimes obvious, sometimes surprising)”, in this instance the audience are led to believe the desk being ceremoniously vandalized with Christmas wrapping is the whole joke, but these expectations are then subverted once it is revealed the true intent of the prank was to make Dwight stumble over the (hilariously accurate) paper reconstruction of his desk.
The second phase is Dwight’s fall, the “result and effect of this preparatory phase” which I think as the conclusion in most cases of my exposure to these situations, . Out of the guidelines Gunning presents, the only omission in this scenario is the optional punishment conclusion, we aren’t subjected to viewing the aftermath as that isn’t the point, the point is to draw the audience with a quick laugh to positively start off the episode.
Furthermore, I noticed that here the apparatus is probably the true defining factor of the gag, the draw in a sense because the bulk of the humor lies with the audience anticipation, “The enjoyment of the gag lay at last partly in watching the device work”, basically it relied on seeing just what Jim was planning and if his ploy would work.
Does any of this play a part in the overall narrative? Nope, but gags aren’t necessarily plot devices that are designed to do so, befitting the idea that the mischief gag only has to “serve as attractions, presenting a brief scene of fairly harmless aggression”. Cause and effect very clearly.