In This is Awkward, author Alexandra Plakias states that awkward situations arise from an individual failing to follow the social “script” that guides most interactions. This includes deviating from norms regarding eye contact, conservational pauses, physical distance, and appropriate topics. Plakias emphasizes that when even one conversational partner doesn’t follow the script, whoever they are speaking to will also be unable to follow it, creating an awkward situation where the rules become unknowable to everyone. Additionally, in The Zany Science, author Sianne Ngai identifies many traits of “zany” individuals, including their propensity for a variety of “odd jobs” involving reproductive or immaterial labor; notably, though, she states that zany individuals often violate social norms, overstepping boundaries and comically interfering with others’ lives. While they may have the best intentions to help, they usually end up ruining situations for others; they are “permanently active in a game of construction and deconstruction of relationships” (199).
In this clip from The Detroiters (from 5:10 to 9:20), best friends Sam and Tim are at a bar, discussing how Sam wants to meet someone and settle down. As women approach Sam, though, Tim repeatedly and obliviously chases them away. While Tim is citing the social “script” as evidence of their rudeness (“Oh, so you just interrupt people?!”), it’s really him who’s not following it, as he doesn’t recognize that there is a different social script governing flirty interactions at a bar. This leaves Sam stranded without a script, as well, creating multiple awkward situations and ruining his prospects of starting relationships. After Sam explains to Tim that he’s getting in the way of his meeting someone, Tim agrees to back off; however, this doesn’t last long, as he sabotages Sam’s next conversation with a woman by continually interrupting them, making absurd claims about working for NASA and sleeping with aliens. When Sam confronts him, Tim says that deep down, he wants to sabotage Sam’s relationships so he can have him all to himself. As a zany character, Tim is “permanently active in a game of construction and deconstruction of relationships”, in which he consciously wants to help but is driven to mischief and destruction by his unconscious desires and his social obliviousness — ruining one relationship for the sake of preserving another. He oversteps boundaries and inserts himself into conversations where he isn’t wanted, ripping up the social script and creating awkwardness (and humor!) for all involved.
Ngai, Sianne. 2015. Our Aesthetic Categories : Zany, Cute, Interesting. Cambridge, Mass. ; London: Harvard University Press.
Plakias, Alexandra. 2024. “This Is Awkward.” Awkwardness, April, 7–37. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197683606.003.0002.
(5:10 to 9:20)
I was so close to writing about Tim Robinson as he is such a great example of the intersection of zany characters and awkwardness. His sheer dedication and self one-upmanship to each bit/character is such a great example of how following different scripts can cause awkward breakdowns in situations, as Plakias describes.