Flight of the Conchords is a musical television show featuring two men who pose as a direct opposition to Alexandra Plakias’ assertion that people aren’t intrinsically awkward. These men are tremendously awkward and constantly put into situations where the social script would be obvious to nearly any other human. The majority of their awkwardness comes from the presence of the other in situations which are, in the social script, reserved for two. Either through song or dialogue the situations are exacerbated for the sake of humor. These two songs display awkwardness tangibly.
In this song, the act of Brett performing a song for Coco is not awkward. Plakias writes “It’s a moving target: as our attitudes and expectations change, subjects become more or less awkward.” (Plakias 23) The content of the song, if it was shared between Brett and Coco would not have been awkward. Additionally, Brett and Jemaine singing a song for her is not prescriptively awkward. The combination of the sexual song and the presence of both Brett and Jemaine makes it undeniably awkward. The awkwardness is addressed but not stopped by Coco through her facial expressions but lack of verbal acknowledgement. She is trying to avoid the awkwardness of mentioning the awkwardness while Jemaine and Brett sing.
The song “Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” relates to this social script phenomenon as well. Although this song is not as directly awkward in the moment, it is a prime example of not following the script. Plakias writes “Our desire to avoid awkward conversations may involve coalescing on scripts that don’t reflect anyones preferences.” (Plakias 17) In “Most Beautiful Girl in the Room,” Jemaine is not sticking to the script which entails not acknowledging the existence of other more beautiful women while trying to flirt with one. Although he may not believe she is the most beautiful woman ever, it is standard to make it seem the case in the moment. It is awkward not to do so. Another awkward aspect is the presence of Brett in bed when Jemaine and Lisa get to their apartment, which harkens back to the awkwardness in the first clip.
Through Brett and Jemaine’s trials through love and sex, the ever present existence of the other one is a breeding ground for awkwardness. This is through uncertainty of how to react from the female perspective, and the blindness of Brett and Jemaine towards the possibility of awkwardness. The self consciousness of the two men is one of their funniest qualities, both in its accuracy, and unique ability to miss the obvious faults in their various social situations.