Skip to player
Skip to main content
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Bookmark
Share
More
Add to Playlist
Report
Community: Why Britta's Major Change Actually *Did* Work, Explained
The Take Film TV Movie
Follow
20 hours ago
Go to http://factormeals.com/factorpodcast and use code FACTORPODCAST to get 50% off your first box and free shipping! | Community's Britta Perry changed a lot over the course of the show,...
Category
🎥
Short film
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Of all of the characters on Community, Britta Perry had the weirdest, and in many people's eyes,
00:06
worst, arcs on the show. Starting out as the tough-as-nails idealist, over the show's run,
00:12
she turned into someone that at times felt almost unrecognizable.
00:17
When we met, you were an eclectic anarchist. How did you become the group's airhead?
00:22
But if we take a closer look at Britta's story, we see that she isn't the worst,
00:27
and her journey actually makes a surprising amount of sense.
00:31
So why was Britta the way that she was, and what made us love her anyway?
00:38
If I had no self-awareness, I think I'd know.
00:40
From the start, Britta fell into a number of well-worn tropes.
00:44
She quickly became known among her new friend group for being a total buzzkill.
00:49
Knock, knock! Who's there? Cancer! Oh, good! Come on in! I thought it was Britta!
00:57
She's someone who has a lot of ideas about the world and how it should be,
01:01
and isn't afraid to share them. All the time.
01:06
While Britta was usually championing genuinely important causes,
01:11
we soon came to find that her persona was a bit of smoke and mirrors.
01:15
She was actually far more interested in appearing to be a good person,
01:20
in seeming to be saying and doing the right thing,
01:24
over actually following through and doing what's right.
01:27
I can excuse racism, but I draw the line at animal cruelty.
01:31
You can excuse racism.
01:32
She often contradicts herself and doesn't live up to the lofty moral standards she claims to have.
01:39
She's also got a pretty bad case of not-like-the-other-girl syndrome,
01:42
on top of her hipster-going-against-the-crowd nature.
01:46
Maybe I don't want a new pass, or any pass.
01:49
Maybe I'm not done raging against the machine!
01:53
With all of these forces combined,
01:56
it's not a surprise that she could be a pretty grating presence to her friends,
02:00
to the point that they verbed her name.
02:02
Look at the arrow. You ran these through the machine upside down.
02:05
She Britted it.
02:06
But why is Britta so Britta?
02:08
Britta had a difficult adolescence,
02:11
starting from the time a mascot got creepy with her at her birthday party as a child,
02:15
and her parents didn't believe her.
02:17
This and other less-than-stellar parenting on their part caused a schism between them,
02:22
and Britta began to rebel more and more.
02:26
She eventually dropped out of high school,
02:28
and her life spun off in a number of wild directions.
02:31
Britta is someone who is always looking for direction.
02:35
To be a part of something bigger than herself,
02:37
that she can feel gives her purpose,
02:40
and makes her feel justified in her own place in the world.
02:44
Humanity is premiering, you jacks!
02:46
She joined the Peace Corps and traveled the world,
02:49
joined a number of activist groups,
02:51
and even lived in New York City for a while,
02:54
which she won't let anyone forget.
02:56
Uh, I lived in New York, Troy. I know what a bagel is.
02:59
But nothing she tried ever seemed to really stick,
03:03
or to give her that direction in her life that she was secretly so desperate for.
03:09
This journey is what led her to Greendale Community College.
03:13
Britta hoped that college would give her some structure,
03:15
but she was also drawn to psychology in particular,
03:20
because her personality, at its core,
03:23
stems from a deep desire to feel like she understands what's really going on.
03:28
And importantly, that she, to some degree, has the power to change it.
03:33
Or, at the very least, to try to change it until she gives up and moves on.
03:38
She sees herself as a voice of reason,
03:40
and imagines that she has a more clear view of the truths of the world
03:45
than everyone else around her.
03:46
And so, it's her job to let everyone know what's up.
03:50
You should try reading Orwell's 1984.
03:53
I have. It's a great book.
03:54
It really awakened me in high school.
03:56
I think kids should be forced to read it.
03:57
Me too.
03:57
She wants to be able to categorize everything in black and white terms,
04:02
right or wrong, good or evil,
04:04
because it makes the world easier to understand,
04:06
and allows her to ignore any of the gray areas of life
04:11
that she doesn't want to contend with.
04:14
Relationships are also, perhaps unsurprisingly,
04:16
a bit of a tough spot for Britta.
04:19
She fiercely holds onto her independence,
04:21
both out of a desire to be self-sufficient,
04:24
and out of a fear of anyone else being able to control her.
04:28
I refuse to give Santa a Christmas list,
04:30
because I didn't want to depend on any man for anything.
04:32
She has a hard time making friends,
04:34
because she often either scares people away with her intensity,
04:37
or pushes them away with her attitude.
04:40
When it comes to romantic relationships,
04:42
she often fares even worse,
04:44
because she's drawn to men with problems
04:46
who don't treat her very well.
04:48
But for a long time, deep down,
04:51
this is the kind of relationship she thinks she deserves.
04:55
But the big point of contention for fans
04:57
wasn't the fact that Britta was so, well, Britta,
05:00
but the fact that she seemingly got Britta'd by the show itself.
05:04
So why did Britta change so drastically?
05:08
One thing that can be the worst
05:10
is trying to make sure you're keeping your nutrition on point
05:13
while juggling everything else.
05:15
Thankfully, Factor has chef-made gourmet meals
05:18
that make eating well easy.
05:21
Their meals are dietician-approved and super quick.
05:23
They arrive to your door fully prepared,
05:25
so they're ready to heat and eat in just two minutes.
05:28
Factor makes it so easy for us to eat healthy
05:30
without having to worry about things like prep work
05:32
and cleaning up.
05:33
Recently, we've been loving
05:34
the white cheddar chicken and broccoli grits
05:36
with roasted green beans, sliced almonds,
05:38
and chili garlic butter,
05:40
and the spicy sweet potatoes and peanut sauce
05:42
with coconut rice and miso-roasted green beans.
05:45
And they have so many options to choose from
05:47
across eight different dietary preferences,
05:50
so it's easy to pick meals that you love
05:52
and that fit your needs.
05:53
They also have lots of tasty add-ons
05:55
like snacks, breakfasts, smoothies, and more.
05:57
We particularly love these cold-pressed juices.
06:00
Make eating healthier a lot easier this year
06:02
and support the take.
06:04
Eat smart with Factor.
06:05
Get started at factormeals.com slash factorpodcast
06:09
and use code FACTORPODCAST
06:11
to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping.
06:15
That's code FACTORPODCAST
06:16
at factormeals.com slash factorpodcast
06:20
to get 50% off plus free shipping on your first box.
06:24
As a character, Britta got hit with problems from two angles.
06:28
She was set up with a deliberately annoying personality.
06:31
Oh, I'd very much mind, Annie.
06:33
There's no such thing as a quick invasion of civil liberties.
06:37
But then, over the course of the show,
06:39
was seemingly rapidly flanderized.
06:42
You seemed smarter than me when I met you.
06:45
Flanderization is when a character's more minor trait
06:47
is blown up over a show's run
06:49
until it becomes the central part of their being
06:51
to a ludicrous degree.
06:53
It was coined by TV tropes to describe
06:55
what happened to Homer Simpson's neighbor, Ned,
06:58
who went from a pretty normal,
06:59
if annoying, neighbor in the early seasons
07:01
to a full-on fanatic.
07:03
It can often be seen as either a Hail Mary attempt
07:06
to add some humor into a show
07:08
or as the writers just giving up and getting lazy.
07:12
But Britta's changes didn't start later in the show,
07:15
when the writers could have been thought
07:16
to be running out of steam or getting bored.
07:18
Her changes began quite early on.
07:22
This may shock you, Annie,
07:23
but I come from a long line of wives and mothers.
07:26
Many do.
07:27
Everyone got their character jumbled
07:29
and thrown off course during the gas leak year,
07:31
the joke that the team later used to write off
07:33
all of the weird changes that came during season four
07:36
when there was a change of writers on the show.
07:38
But Britta's problems began well before that.
07:41
While even in season one,
07:43
the show was pointing out that Britta
07:45
wasn't necessarily as smart as she thought she was.
07:48
As time went on,
07:49
she was made out to be actively unintelligent.
07:53
I got a backpack.
07:54
I got a new notebook.
07:55
Oh, I got one of those see-through yellow pens
07:57
so I can do that thing where you color in the words.
07:59
Highlight?
08:00
Probably the backpack.
08:01
It turns out that this wasn't out of a desire
08:03
to torpedo the character,
08:06
but instead just to let her join in on the comedy
08:08
in a more fun way.
08:10
Jillian Jacobs is a Juilliard-trained actress
08:12
and hadn't done much professional comedy
08:15
before getting her part on the show.
08:17
And once she began to feel more comfortable with it,
08:19
she wanted to lean into the goofier side of things.
08:22
He's the one making bad bridges.
08:24
That's like me blaming owls
08:25
for how much I suck at analogies.
08:27
This also gave the show the opportunity
08:29
to differentiate Britta and Annie's personal growth
08:33
even further.
08:34
Annie was very much the traditional smart girl.
08:37
So sending Britta off in the other direction
08:40
allowed for many moments of contrast and hilarity.
08:44
They have tiny little faces.
08:46
This is why you're the stupidest!
08:47
If loving worms is stupid, I don't want to be smart.
08:50
It is!
08:51
And you can't be!
08:52
While Britta's character changes
08:54
might seem out of left field,
08:55
they actually do make a lot more sense
08:58
when we look at them in the context
09:00
of who she is as a whole.
09:02
Everyone first comes to Greendale
09:04
with an idea of who they are
09:06
and how they fit into the world.
09:08
Morning boys!
09:09
I'm Annie Edison.
09:11
But people call me psycho
09:12
because I had a nervous breakdown in high school.
09:13
That comes to evolve,
09:15
expand,
09:16
and sometimes even totally break over time
09:19
to allow them to grow into their true selves.
09:23
I see your value now.
09:24
What?
09:24
Why?
09:25
I see your value now.
09:25
It's a callback to when we met first season.
09:27
And me calling you your seasons
09:28
is a callback to my first season dialogue.
09:30
Early on,
09:31
with Britta,
09:31
it can feel a bit like the writers
09:33
just wanted to have a punching bag character
09:35
for everyone else to make fun of
09:36
for actually caring about anything.
09:39
But it quickly becomes clear
09:40
that that isn't the case.
09:42
They use Britta to explore
09:44
a very real character flaw,
09:46
while also allowing the character
09:48
to grow into someone
09:49
who actually cares about other people
09:51
and puts in the work to show it.
09:55
And while Britta's personality change
09:57
might be kind of jarring,
09:58
it actually isn't that unrealistic
10:01
or out of nowhere.
10:03
The Britta we first meet
10:04
is someone who is desperately trying
10:06
to keep up a very specific facade
10:08
of the kind of person
10:09
she imagines herself to be.
10:12
She thinks that if she can just
10:13
keep spouting off the right things
10:15
and popping off the snarkiest quips,
10:17
then she'll really become
10:19
that world-changing person
10:20
she wants to be.
10:22
But that wasn't who she was inside.
10:24
Not really.
10:26
And so, over time,
10:27
no matter how hard she tries to stop it,
10:30
the real Britta continues to leak out.
10:33
You told me a hawk stole them!
10:36
You exploited me
10:37
and made me believe
10:38
in a slightly more magical world!
10:40
This isn't necessarily a sign
10:42
of her devolving as a character,
10:44
but instead just of her
10:45
becoming more comfortable
10:47
with herself and her life.
10:49
She no longer feels the need
10:50
to hide her true self
10:51
behind that shield
10:52
when she's around her true friends.
10:55
And while it might feel
10:56
counterintuitive at first,
10:57
that is actually a sign
10:59
of growth.
11:01
Personal growth
11:01
doesn't just automatically mean
11:03
you become more like
11:04
the image you had
11:05
of yourself in your head.
11:06
Sometimes it means
11:07
updating that mental image
11:09
based on your changing goals
11:10
and interests
11:11
and then going after that.
11:13
Did somebody tell Britta
11:14
what an analogy is?
11:15
I know what it is!
11:16
It's like a thought
11:17
with another thought's hat on.
11:19
For a long time,
11:20
the people around her
11:21
didn't like Britta.
11:23
But Britta
11:24
also didn't like Britta.
11:26
Her biggest win
11:27
over the course of the show
11:28
is learning to like herself.
11:31
And it's that growth
11:32
that allows her
11:32
to begin making
11:33
the big changes
11:34
she had always hoped for.
11:36
Building real friendships,
11:37
having deep relationships,
11:39
finding a sense
11:40
of direction in her life,
11:41
even if it's not
11:42
the direction
11:43
she thought she'd be going in.
11:45
And even if she
11:46
never stops being annoying,
11:48
her friends make sure
11:49
she knows she's not
11:50
actually the worst
11:51
in their book.
11:52
You are the worst!
11:53
Hey!
11:54
You do not get
11:55
to call Britta the worst.
11:58
While the degree
11:59
to which the show
12:00
sanded down her character
12:01
might be a bit much,
12:03
as a whole,
12:04
deciding to let her be
12:05
more than just
12:06
annoying pretentious Britta
12:07
and explore other sides
12:09
of herself,
12:10
including and especially
12:11
the goofy and weird ones,
12:13
was actually a good thing.
12:15
High on my own drama?
12:21
People's champion!
12:22
And through it all,
12:23
she importantly never
12:24
lost her best qualities,
12:26
like her quietly caring
12:28
and compassionate nature
12:29
or her ability to see
12:31
through other people's bluster.
12:33
In the end,
12:34
Britta doesn't end up
12:35
changing the whole world.
12:37
The biggest change
12:38
in her case
12:39
is actually very local.
12:41
For the first time
12:42
in her life,
12:43
she's making the choice
12:44
to stay.
12:46
As Annie and Abed
12:47
are heading off
12:47
to new adventures
12:48
outside of Greendale,
12:49
Britta staying behind
12:51
could feel sad.
12:53
But really,
12:54
she's already done that.
12:56
Her growth instead
12:57
is now based on
12:58
being willing to
12:58
stay in one place
13:00
and make small changes
13:01
that can then ripple out
13:03
and have a big impact.
13:05
It's not where season one
13:06
Britta likely would have
13:07
imagined she would end up,
13:09
but life very seldom
13:10
takes the path
13:11
you try to make up yourself.
13:13
We can all feel like
13:14
we're the worst sometimes.
13:16
Like, no matter what we do,
13:18
we're going to screw things up.
13:19
No matter how much
13:20
we want to help,
13:21
we're only going to
13:22
cause more problems.
13:24
And you guys
13:24
are going to stop
13:25
using my name to mean
13:27
making a tiny
13:28
and understandable mistake.
13:31
But Britta shows us that
13:32
if we're willing
13:33
to put in the work
13:34
and accept ourselves
13:35
and those we care about
13:36
as we really are,
13:38
there is a light
13:39
at the end of the tunnel.
13:41
Britta is not the worst.
13:43
She's just Britta,
13:44
and there's nothing
13:45
wrong with that.
13:46
Britta, you're not the worst.
13:47
You're the best.
13:52
That's the take.
13:53
Click here to watch the video
13:54
we think you'll love.
13:55
Or here to check out
13:56
a whole playlist
13:57
of awesome content.
13:58
Don't forget to subscribe
13:59
and turn on notifications.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment
Recommended
1:07:58
|
Up next
Modern Family: Breaking Free From Stereotypes & Finding Their True Selves | Compilation
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
1:18:10
The Real Reason Modern Work Is So Soul Crushing, Explained | Compilation
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
1:03:09
What Movies & TV Get Wrong (& Right!) About Personal Finance & Adulting | Compilation
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
56:29
Why Everyone Wants To Eat The Rich Now (Even Other Rich People!) | Compilation
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
1:18:24
Why Being A Mom Is SO Hard Now... | Compilation
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
1:11:36
Fake Nice Guys, "Romantic" Red Flags, & The Toxic Relationship Obsession, Explained | Compilation
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
46:47
How Sibling Birth Order Affects *So Much* Of Your Life: Oldest, Middle, Youngest, Only? |Compilation
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
17:04
The Godfather vs Succession: 50 Years of Power, Greed, & The "American Dream"
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
11:05
The New Year's Eve Midnight Kiss Trope & Why People Are Over it, Explained
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
9:40
Jennifer's Body: Jennifer Might Have Been Evil But She Was Also Right...
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
10:59
The Cheating Creative Cliche, Explained - When Art Imitates Infidelity...
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
13:02
Eye Color Symbolism, Explained - What Each Color Means In Movies & TV
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
13:32
Gilmore Girls - The Truth About Emily Gilmore
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
10:34
How Shrinking People Stories Help Us Deal With Our Anxieties 🔬 Miniature People Trope, Explained
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
14:25
Holiday Rom-Coms' Problem Isn't Being Formulaic, It's...
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
11:17
New Girl's Jess: The Hard Road to Finding Confidence in Your True Self ✨
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
11:57
Nightbitch Review & Explained: A Ferocious Portrait of the Dark Truths Motherhood
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
13:37
Surviving Family Holiday Chaos - The Truth About The Most Stressful Season 😵💫 Trope Explained
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
13:07
Desperate Housewives: How Susan Became The Show's Accidental Villain... | Explained
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
13:05
The Smallest Movie & TV Roles With The Biggest Impact Of All Time
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
12:38
Middle Child Syndrome, Explained: The Kid Who Gets Forgotten...
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
8:08
My Neighbor Totoro: How To Find The Bright Side In The Darkness ✨ Analysis
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
13:19
The Best (& Worst) Movie & TV Redemption Arcs of All Time, Explained
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
11:36
Why The TikTok Ban Does Actually Matter (Even If You Don't Like TikTok)
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
13:05
Girl, Interrupted - Why Their "Crazy" Still Resonates 25 Years Later
The Take Film TV Movie
19 hours ago
Be the first to comment