Log 7: The Mook

When we learned about the archetype of the Mook, it seemed pretty familiar to me. Mooks try to portray themselves as a form of comedy, and since I've surrounded myself with many different types of comedy over the years, I've definitely encountered a couple Mooks. They aren't the same "frat-bro" Mooks that were around during Merchants of Cool; the Mook has evolved into a stoner who's less about partying and a little more nerdy. This modern Mook is still, by definition, the same as the frat-bro Mook of the early aughts. However, it's an appeal to a different kind of adolescent male: the "nerd" rather than the "bro."  Workaholics would be an example of this more modern Mook. The show features three friends who live together and work together as telemarketers. That description sounds pretty boring, right? But the show isn't! The show gets a huge portion of its plot-lines and jokes from things like getting high, getting drunk, and having sex. Without any of these things, the show would be incredibly boring. However, this still leaves me with a question. I am definitely not the target audience for Mook-style comedy, but I enjoy Workaholics. So can Workaholics both appeal to Mooks and actually produce smart comedy at the same time? I think they can, and they've done a pretty good job at it for a while now. Here's how: self-awareness and nuance. The boys of Workaholics don't know they're Mooks; the actors/writers, however, do. Because of this, they are able to create several layers within their show. The first layer is for the Genuine Mook, who probably doesn't know much about the writers or producers of the show (because why would they care?) They typically only see the first layer, which includes gross jokes and talking about weed. But even though they only see that one layer, these Genuine Mooks are satisfied. For the rest of us, we're able to enjoy that layer for its absurdity, but also to see the deeper layer, which is ultimately poking fun at or sometimes mocking the Genuine Mook who is also watching their show. This strategy is genius, because it allows the people being mocked to still be included in the enjoyment of the show, instead of excluding a huge category of people. By having different layers that allow you to appeal to different kinds of people, they are ultimately able to reach a much larger total audience.