Put A Bird On It

By - Macy Sarchet

Portlandia, a show about two people living in Portland Oregon, essentially to me it is a show about nothing. Portlandia is composed of many different skits/sketches that have little to no flow in a single episode. Rather, many of the characters reoccur throughout the season, allowing the story lines continue creating a serial plot which brings viewers back from week to week.

When viewing the taste cultures of Portlandia, we can see that it is a postmodern piece; meaning all individual styles are gone. It contains many of the qualities that we can connect with being postmodern; first of all the show is a parody show, or pastiche, it tends to make fun of other people or shows themselves. Portlandia's, "Put A Bird On It" is a parody of the make over shows. The couple goes into a shop and completely "makes it over" by putting birds on everything in the shop; Lisa states at one point, "What a sad little tote bag, I know I'll put a bird on it. Did you see this bag before? I didn't, now there's a bird".

Secondly, we can also see that Portlandia is ironic, many things in the show feel as if they should funny but instead are awkward and give you the feeling of, "should I laugh at this?" For an example we can look at the Women & Women First Bookstore that appears frequently throughout the series. Many skits that take place in the store tend to have the viewer feeling uneasy and anxious, wanting something to laugh at.

Third, we view hyperconsciousness, "hyperconscious television relies on playfully and ironically commenting on society through culture, genres, plot devices, types of characters, and itself" (http://wikiage.wordpress.com/exam/question-2/). In a sketch called, "Sanitation Twins" we can view how Portlandia plays on society by poking fun at just how eco-friendy we can really be. In the sketch the two have created many new ways to recycle; allowing you to recycle just about anything, from lotion to toe-nails and egg shells.

Portlandia, a show containing many different characters, performed mostly by two people; a show about nothing but still about something. From episode to episode we get to see what the kooky and awkward characters are up to while still being entertained by their crazy antics.