After following the British template almost slavishly in the pilot episode, the American version of The Office goes its own way already in the second show, the painfully hilarious Diversity Day (although, truth be told, it does occasionally remind of the first episode of the original's second season).
Shockingly, the fun derives from Michael trying to fix something: after one of his employees told a subtly racist joke, a Diversity Day is organized. What Michael doesn't know is that the spokesperson in charge of the event, Mr. Brown (Larry Wilmore), is actually there because of numerous complaints about his behavior, not someone else's. That the boss thinks Mr . Brown is a made-up name - due to the person's skin color - isn't very helpful, either. Soon everyone in the office is involved in a series of increasingly ridiculous tolerance games that undermine everything Diversity Day is meant to stand for.
From Michael's lame attempt at (mis)quoting Abraham Lincoln to Dwight's twisted mentality (when given a clue to find out what race he is representing as part of a test, he says: "Aw man, what am I, a woman?"), this episode is a good example of the show's ability to pull off the same kind of awkward humor as the original version whilst adapting it to the American way of life. It's considerably lighter (the British one's gag about over-sized genitalia would never have made it past the idea stage), but that doesn't mean it's any less entertaining.
Shockingly, the fun derives from Michael trying to fix something: after one of his employees told a subtly racist joke, a Diversity Day is organized. What Michael doesn't know is that the spokesperson in charge of the event, Mr. Brown (Larry Wilmore), is actually there because of numerous complaints about his behavior, not someone else's. That the boss thinks Mr . Brown is a made-up name - due to the person's skin color - isn't very helpful, either. Soon everyone in the office is involved in a series of increasingly ridiculous tolerance games that undermine everything Diversity Day is meant to stand for.
From Michael's lame attempt at (mis)quoting Abraham Lincoln to Dwight's twisted mentality (when given a clue to find out what race he is representing as part of a test, he says: "Aw man, what am I, a woman?"), this episode is a good example of the show's ability to pull off the same kind of awkward humor as the original version whilst adapting it to the American way of life. It's considerably lighter (the British one's gag about over-sized genitalia would never have made it past the idea stage), but that doesn't mean it's any less entertaining.