Abbott Elementary's Principal Ava & The Secret Power of Functional Narcissism

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00:00Rabbit Elementary's principal Ava is many things. Outlandish, vain, selfish, hilarious.

00:06I can hear you, but you can't stop me.

00:08Ava's narcissistic nature has caused many problems over the course of the show,

00:12for herself and others. Mostly others. But as time has gone on, we've also gotten to see how,

00:19when she uses her powers for good, this side of herself allows Ava to do great things

00:26and make the world around her a better place.

00:29My words really have meaning, huh? I should be more reckless.

00:32She may not always be the perfect principal,

00:35but she does actually have a great lesson to teach us.

00:39Welcome back to the house that Ava built.

00:40Ava is always focused on number one, and this, especially when we first meet her,

00:46comes across as extreme narcissism.

00:49Principal Coleman, the gorgeous...

00:53I'm not reading the rest of this.

00:55Her ideas around narcissism, as well as the word itself,

00:58come from the Greek myth of the beautiful Narcissus, who, instead of falling for any of the many

01:03people who tried to woo him, fell in love with his own reflection, and then became so distraught

01:08that he couldn't be with his reflection that he essentially wilted away.

01:12While it was originally connected to this idea of extreme vanity, the idea has over time expanded to

01:18include the level of selfishness and self-centeredness that often appears in tandem with that mindset.

01:24Where'd you get this stuff?

01:26I put it on your list.

01:28For the kids.

01:30How does having a principal with muscle tension serve them?

01:32Ava's personality is so grating to the teachers at Abbott because she always seems so willing to

01:38sacrifice the greater good for her own personal gain.

01:41She pale like a zombie.

01:43You know they eat the hottest people first.

01:44Let me back my tasty ass up, okay?

01:46For example, when she manages to get a $3,000 check from the district for the school,

01:51but instead of spending it on things the teachers actually need,

01:55she has a giant custom sign made with her image on it.

01:58She also makes it clear that she's willing to sacrifice everyone literally to save herself.

02:03Well, almost everyone.

02:05Gregory is the only person that can stay in my bunker, so stop asking.

02:08She doesn't, at first, look at the school as a community of which she is a part,

02:12but instead as a resource for her to use to her own ends.

02:16She doesn't feel bound by rules or expectations.

02:19Let me see these permission slips to the zoo,

02:21and they better be real because I can tell if you faked a Herbie Hancock.

02:24Oh, it's John Hancock.

02:25Girl, I know. I just say whatever I want.

02:27We learned that yet?

02:28In the environment at Abbott, we can see that, even once we're grown up,

02:32a lot of the social dynamics from our school years don't actually change all that much.

02:38And Ava is a classic queen bee through and through.

02:41She goes after what she wants, no matter how it affects others,

02:45she makes sure everything is framed around her,

02:48and she even picks on the nerds to keep the hierarchy in order.

02:51Aina is, perhaps unsurprisingly, obsessed with social media,

02:55keeping up with friends, and going viral.

02:58This is, on the one hand, certainly a function of her own narcissism.

03:02But in this, we can also see how Ava's personality is actually a lot deeper than we might initially

03:08expect from all of those surface-level assessments.

03:11Social media certainly does bring her the attention that she craves,

03:15but it's also a great outlet for her creativity.

03:18She's not just posting bland little clips.

03:21She's scripting, directing, choreographing, lip-syncing, editing, and sometimes even creating the music.

03:26Because of me, when people say that their favorite director is that Ava lady,

03:29somebody else gotta be like, which one?

03:31And as we come to see, when Ava puts her mind to it,

03:35she's able to use those same skills to actually help other people achieve their goals, too.

03:41While outright narcissism generally isn't a great thing,

03:45being unafraid to put yourself first is.

03:48And it's something that can be really difficult for a lot of people.

03:52Ava Coleman certainly does not have that problem.

03:54She's incredibly adept at understanding social dynamics and how to shift things in her favor.

04:00And over her lifetime of working her way around the obstacles of society,

04:04she's also gained some important wisdom.

04:07The key to never getting your ass beat?

04:09Knowing when someone can beat your ass.

04:10She's learned how important it is to be able to let go of things

04:14that don't serve you and your interests if you want to keep moving forward.

04:18Now you know how I used to date Alan Robinson.

04:22He might have been the answer, but he was not the one.

04:25Ava does not dream of labor, but instead uses her job and side hustles

04:29as a way to find the life she actually wants to live.

04:32It's no such thing as a happy career.

04:34To work is to lose a life.

04:36Ava is infinitely resourceful.

04:39She had to learn how to go after what she wanted and make it work somehow.

04:43Because she did not grow up in an environment where things were just handed to her.

04:47She learned how to use whatever she can, her looks, attitude,

04:51information, to get to the next step on her journey.

04:55I go to the same church as the superintendent,

04:57called him cheating on his wife with the deaconess.

04:58I needed a job.

05:00Because she usually uses her skills solely for her own benefit,

05:04others can underestimate how useful she can be in a larger cooperative environment as well.

05:09Take when the Abbott kids are trying, and unfortunately failing,

05:12to sell candy to make enough money to fund their field trip.

05:15Barbara of course wants them to be the ideal little sweetheart salespeople.

05:19What we say is, thank you for your time.

05:23Thank you for your time.

05:25But that doesn't work.

05:27You couldn't sell a scarf to Lenny Kravitz with that pitch.

05:29Who taught you to sell like that?

05:30Ava, on the other hand, teaches them how to hustle,

05:33and they quickly start raking in the dough and then some.

05:36Barbara hates Ava's tactics because she thinks they're immoral,

05:39and that she's essentially teaching the kids to steal.

05:42But Ava points out that she's just teaching the kids how to hustle so that they can make their own

05:47way in life, just like she had to learn how to do.

05:49You didn't grow up having to make hard choices.

05:52I did.

05:53And what you call scamming?

05:54Got me by-

05:55She knows that the world isn't going to hand these kids the things they want,

05:59no matter how much they deserve them.

06:01So she wants to make sure that they have the tools to get what they need.

06:06I want to teach him to make extra money in the pocket so he can take care of himself.

06:09Some of our students don't have it like that.

06:11Ava always puts herself first.

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07:48Putting yourself first can sometimes be seen as putting yourself above others,

07:52but it can also go in a different direction.

07:54Sometimes it just means doing things that are difficult for you,

07:57but that you know in the end are for the best, regardless of anyone else.

08:01While Ava never liked school when she was in school…

08:04That was my thing in college.

08:06Certainly wasn't academics.

08:07I hate school.

08:09Now, as an adult, especially after coming to enjoy Jacob's lessons on Black history,

08:13she realizes that she does enjoy learning.

08:16She even decides to go back to school to get the credentials she's supposed to have for her job.

08:21She doesn't have to do this.

08:22She's made it this far just on confidence and vibes.

08:25But part of putting herself first is also not blocking herself from growth opportunities.

08:30She, of course, still does this in the most Ava way possible,

08:34telling everyone that she attended Harvard because…

08:37she went to her online school using Harvard's free Wi-Fi.

08:41She'll never miss an opportunity to talk herself up.

08:44I went to Harvard this summer.

08:46I sat right there on her campus and I used her free Wi-Fi to get my degree in education via

08:51Education Connection.

08:52While Ava's attitude can certainly be a bit much for those around her at times,

08:56she and they eventually come to realize that her trying to force herself to fit into a more

09:02appropriate box is not better for anyone.

09:06So it turns out the only thing worse than Ava being an awful principal is Ava being a good one.

09:11Ava might not always be the best principal, but she does learn to better use her own strengths to

09:16help Abbott's students and teachers succeed. While she does seem, and often is, incredibly

09:22self-centered, like any Queen Bee, she actually has a very good idea of what's going on in her domain

09:28at all times. She does use this to meddle and cause chaos, but she also uses this insight to

09:34help at times as well. Like the fact that she keeps extra uniforms in her office to make sure that

09:39the kids always have something to wear, even if they're not able to get new clothes. As a Queen Bee,

09:46she knows that if she wants to continue to be the Queen of the Realm, the Realm has to keep going.

09:55Wait a minute, are you on the side of labor?

09:57Yeah, I hate bosses. That's why I became a principal, so I don't have any.

10:01Ava and Janine are often framed as direct opposites.

10:05Good morning, Abbott Elementary. Good morning, Abbott Avalentine.

10:09While Ava is always looking out for Ava, Janine is constantly trying to put everyone else above

10:15herself. While Janine's intentions are admirable, her mindset often leads to problems for herself

10:20and the people she's trying to help. Neither outlook is better than the other. It's actually

10:25the balance of their two mindsets that allows for the most success for Abbott. While Janine

10:30has been on her own journey of self-confidence, Ava has had her caring, helpful side shine through

10:36more and more. People often don't even necessarily realize that she is deliberately being helpful,

10:41because she still frames everything she does in a very Ava way.

10:45Next time I do something to help others, which I'm very good at, I'll make sure to give you the

10:49whole story so that you're not surprised. So she doesn't always get the credit she's due.

10:53Though, over time, that has begun to change. After her stint at College via Harvard's Wi-Fi,

11:00Ava decided she was going in a different direction with her life. Old outlandish Ava was gone and a new

11:06serious professional Ava would take her place. One of the first things I learned when I was

11:11physically located within the legal property lines of Harvard is that teachers are required to stick

11:16to curriculum for student safety and school protection. This is what everyone had been

11:21telling her she should do for the entire show. To stop messing around and focusing on herself,

11:26and instead really buckle down and be a proper principal as laid out by the guidelines.

11:30But in practice, Liz quickly makes everyone miserable.

11:35Great news everyone! There are no more free periods. Instead, everyone will be volunteering for

11:40lunch duty, hall monitoring, library management, etc. At all times.

11:45Because guidelines and rules don't always match up to what actually works in real life. Ava has always

11:50been able to see that side of things clearly, and having her switch that part of herself off to become

11:55a by-the-book principal does not make anything better.

11:59We need old Ava back!

12:01Well, she's dead and gone. I lead now. I communicate. I haven't listened to the city girls in months.

12:07Old Ava was of course confident in herself, but she was also confident that everyone else could

12:12handle themselves and do their jobs. So when she began ignoring that and focusing on only following

12:18the rules and getting in everyone's business, everything started to fall apart. But it also made

12:23everyone realize just how important her letting them do their own thing was.

12:28Thankfully, after a well-executed juvenile surprise dance party, old Ava returned.

12:33Ava shows how qualities that seem wholly negative can actually become major positives if you're willing

12:40to try. While the teachers might feel like she holds them back at times, she's also done a lot to

12:46keep the school afloat in the chaotic environment of an education system that doesn't value teachers,

12:51students, or education itself. In Season 4, she even took the blame for the golf course bribes and

12:56got fired as a result. This shows her growth, as the Ava we first met certainly wouldn't have been

13:01willing to take the fall for the greater good. But the fallout also shows how much her community has

13:06come to cherish her, too. She still puts together a festival to help the school raise money, even

13:11though she was let go. And eventually, the entire community comes together to push the board to

13:17unsuspend the teachers, and rehire Ava. Ava's story is still being written, and we can't wait to see how

13:23she continues to grow, without ever changing the core of who she is.

13:27Oh, sweet Jesus! Y'all must have forgot I'm me.

13:34Respect. Impressive.

13:36Respect. Now, everyone is ready to enter a new school year together, with everyone able to use their own

13:42special qualities to work to make the school a better place. With Queen B Ava back at the helm

13:47where she belongs, of course.

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