"Paradigms of Human Memory"
◄   Season Two, Episode Twenty-One  ►
Air date	April 21, 2011 on
Written by	Chris McKenna
Directed by	Tristram Shapeero

“	Abed, stop being meta! Why do you always have to take whatever happens to us and shove it up its own ass?	”
–Jeff

Paradigms of Human Memory is the twenty-first episode of the second season of Community. The study group assembles their twentieth- and final- Anthropology diorama of the year. When Troy's monkey reappears and subsequently disappears into a ventilation shaft, the group starts reminiscing about their year together.

Contents 1 Plot 2 End Tag 3 Recurring Themes 3.1 Continuity 3.2 Running gags 3.3 Pop culture references 3.4 Meta references 4 Guest Cast 5 Quotes 6 Trivia 7 Promotional images 8 Comments

PlotEdit

The study group is working on their final diorama for Duncan's fake Anthropology Class, which is a diorama of them making their second to last diorama. Annie's Boobs appears and steals Troy's paint brush before retreating to a nearby vent. He is pursued by an oiled up and semi-naked Chang, who discovers the trove of objects the monkey had been stealing since being released. Chang brings the items back out including the missing purple pens Annie accused the group of stealing. The group then recalls a couple adventures they've had over the season: being shot at during a visit to a ghost town and filling in for the Glee Club when they all died in a bus crash.

While several group members believe the past year has been dark, Jeff and Britta argue they are all focusing on the bad stuff. Jeff suggests that Abed comes up with something positive that happened this year. Abed counters with the revelation that the two have secretly had sex all year. He points out several things he noticed over the semester. Exhibit A: Jeff and Britta went into the restroom together at the Halloween party in "Epidemiology", Exhibit B:Abed overhears Jeff proposition Britta after he left his therapy session with Ian Duncan, Exhibit C: Abed found the two of them half naked in his dorm room after the group's river rafting adventure.

 

This leads to an argument about their mutual agreement to stop hooking up, and the group points out other ways Jeff and Britta have been selfish: Jeff switches wigs with Troy during wig making class to steal credit,Britta interrupts Troy and Abed's viewing of The Cape's premiere to watch a news report on Tunisia, Jeff escapes a group talk by yelling that the group is giving out free iPhones, causing them to be mobbed by nearby students, Britta steals Annie's chapstick without asking and carelessly throws it on the floor, The group stands in front of a destroyed house with the Dean reprimanding them. When he demands that someone take responsibility, Jeff and Britta trick the others to step forward for the crime, exonerating themselves in the process.

 

Jeff and Britta counter with evidence of selfish acts from the other group members: Pierce injects himself with flu shots in an attempt to gain godhood Shirley recruits Annie, Abed, and Britta to help her sell makeup kits only to inform them that they owe her 50 dollars for opening them; Pierce steals food from Abed's plate while making bird noises; Jeff sees Troy and Abed mocking him while wearing his jacket; the group is soaking wet after pulling a deflated raft out of the river while Troy explains why he popped it, Abed approaches Jeff in the cafeteria wearing a Cape costume and knocks his food tray on the floor; Annie, having started self defense courses, accidentally knocks out Pierce and Shirley. Annie and Shirley contend that those situations weren't as damaging to the group as Jeff and Britta's shenanigans.

Jeff states that they were kept their hook-ups a secret specifically so it wouldn't impact the group. Annie scoffs at this idea and mentions how he wasn't discrete when flirting with her all semester. Jeff feigns ignorance over this and Annie presents a few examples: Annie pays for her lunch as Jeff briefly glances at her, Jeff and Annie stand next to one another, eating lunch and looking at one another, In the ghost town Annie is about to step in dog poop, but Jeff grabs her arm, Annie chokes on food in the cafeteria and Jeff gives her the Heimlich maneuver, Annie stands in the path of a rampaging Boob-A-Tron only to be pulled out of the way by Jeff; Annie and Jeff spin two jump ropes for Pierce and look at one another.    

Denying any romantic undertones exist in these examples, Jeff states that a similar examples can be pulled from Pierce and Abed's relationship: Abed gives Pierce change for a dollar, so he can use the vending machine; Abed, dressed in his Cape costume, performs moves in the study room while the group and a disinterested Pierce look on; In the ghost town, Abed points out to Pierce that his fly is open; While Pierce jumps rope, Abed smiles at him from a table nearby. The group is a bit disturbed by the imagery stirred up by Jeff's examples and Abed tries to get Jeff to admit there is some truth to Annie's claims. Jeff still denies it and claims that it's just because he has chemistry with everyone. Dean Pelton then bursts into the room in a yet another costume after having overhearing their argument.

Jeff then mocks Pelton for repeatedly dressing up in ridiculous costumes and several examples follow: The Dean dresses as Catwoman and announces Feline Awareness Week; The Dean dresses as Mozart and announces a Music Department Fundraiser; The Dean dresses as Tina Turner and announces Daylight Savings; The Dean dresses as Julius Caesar and announces a free Caesar salad bar in the cafeteria; The Dean dresses as Scarlet O'Hara and announces a Green Window initiative. The Dean leaves, upset and offended. Shirley tries to get them to stop fighting, but Troy disagrees and says they should continue to get it all out of their system this time.

Abed believes this is futile since they've tried that before: A camping trip where the group bickering leads to Abed reminding them within that flashback of an arguments during the painting of Shirley's nursery which leads to yet another flashback of Caesar Salad Day where the group's argument causes Troy to scream. The flashbacks cycle through each previous scene with Troy's yelling getting louder until present day Troy is shown with a nose bleed. This causes Annie to believe that their group dynamic is toxic. Abed suggests that they follow the same routine they always do and declare that the group is breaking up. The group contemplates this for a moment but instead decide to follow Shirley's lead and try finish their diorama project together. The solemn moment is interrupted by Chang who bursts out of the air vent.

When they are done, Jeff stops them from leaving delivering another speech. The speech is inter cut in a montage of other speeches he made previously that year at various events the group took part in;  at a haunted house, with Mexican drug-runners, at an old west Locomotive, river rafting, Caesar Salad Day, on a camping trip, inside a mental institution, and the group comforting Abed about The Cape's cancellation.  Jeff ends his argument by saying that despite the arguing and fighting, they are becoming closer and more fantastic as a group. Everyone is sufficiently moved to reconcile and they all hug it out. They tell Jeff and Britta they can continue hooking up but the two decide not to. Chang returns to find them all gone. He then begins to reminisce about his time in the vent with Annie's Boobs.

End TagEdit

The episode ends with a cartoon written by the Dean, showing him getting revenge on the study group for being mean to him.

Recurring ThemesEdit

ContinuityEdit

• Double Take: The sequence that pays homage to the fan video Gravity is parodied twice, using Pierce and Abed, then Annie's Boobs and Chang instead of Jeff and Annie, as the first sequence and the video it's based on did.
• Previously:
  • While all of the "clips" are never-before-seen footage, some come from episodes that are canon, like the Halloween and Christmas episodes, but divulge new information about what happened.
  • It's mentioned in "Romantic Expressionism" by Troy that in High School when Annie was freaking out while on Adderal, she ran through the hallways screaming "Everyone is a robot!". One of the flashback's sees her in the Greendale hallway faced with an out of control robot.
  • The monkey Annie's Boobs is revealed to be the culprit behind Annie's missing pens in Cooperative Calligraphy.
• Winger Speech: This one alternates between eight Winger speeches from the past (chronologically in the show, however like all the other clips it's actually new footage), and one that takes place in the present.

Running gagsEdit

• Changuage: Chang claims to know the school's air vents like the back of his chang.
• I hate Glee!: One of the flashbacks reveals that the study group filled in for the Greendale Glee club.
• Gasp!: Annie gasps when Jeff denies any romantic undertones in their interactions and suggests that Pierce and Abed had just as many moments which could be perceived that way as well.
• NOOOOOO!: Troy screams when they are surrounded by a crowd of students after Jeff announces that they are giving away free iPhones.
• Man-crush: In the ending cartoon written by the Dean, Jeff seems to have hidden feelings for the Dean.
• Annie's Boobs: The monkey returns and is revealed to have stolen many things from the group.
• WWBJD: Shirley claims that it's not God that hates the group but Jeff and Britta due to their hooking up
• Bag-ul: In the camping trip adventure clip, Jeff and Britta argue over her pronunciation of the word "s'more".
• Nice outfit: Several instances of Pelton making announcements in different costumes are shown.
• Deanotation:
  • "Dean-a-ling-a-ling."
  • "Dean-yow!"
  • "Dean-de-de-de-dean-dean-dean, dean dean dean dean."
  • "What's dean got to do with it?"
  • "Deanie, vidi, vici!"
  • "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a dean."

Pop culture referencesEdit

• IMDB: Gone With The Wind, Alien
• TV Guide: Glee, The Cape
• Shout Out: Troy refers to the old prospector in the ghost town as "1800's Disney Racist", referring to the racism in old Disney cartoons (such as Fantasia). When Jeff calls the group a "supergroup", Troy references the Traveling Wilburys, a rock and roll supergroup.
• Name that tune: "Gravity"

Meta referencesEdit

• Homage/Parody:
  • The episode is an homage and parody of a "clip show", an episode of a television show comprised of clips from previously aired episodes. This subverts the old formula by using almost entirely new footage shot for this particular episode
  • The Jeff and Annie, Pierce and Abed, Ben Chang and Annie's Boobs montages are all parodies of a particular "shipping" video (see main article "Gravity"). These fanvids are made by fans who enjoy a particular romantic pairing on the show, even some pairings not considered canon. This is one of the few instances when a fan work has been incorporated within the canon of a show.

Guest CastEdit

• John Oliver as Professor Ian Duncan
• Jim Rash as Dean Craig Pelton
• E.J. Callahan as Old Prospector
• Marcus Folmar as Barber Professor

QuotesEdit

“I can't believe this is our twentieth and final anthropology diorama of the year.”— Annie

“I can't believe our assignment is making a diorama of us making our nineteenth diorama.”— Britta

“Didn't we decide, at the beginning of the year that, for the good of the group, we wouldn't allow any intimacy between each other or ourselves?”— Troy

“Troy, we never said 'ourselves'.”— Jeff

“Okay, now I'm really mad.”— Troy

“Feast your ear-tongues on these memory-pops.”— Britta

“Dean-a-ling-a-ling. I was just heading to judge our belated carnival when I heard you guys having a tiff. What's the rumpus?”— Dean Pelton

“We were debating how many times per year a man can drop in a study room in a dumb costume with irrelevant news.”— Jeff

TriviaEdit

Clip show episodes are usually included in a show to save money on the budget, as not much new filming is required. However, this episode showcased all new and extravagant footage. Additionally, in order to acquire the rights to "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles, Dan Harmon had to pay $30,000 of his own money.

Promotional imagesEdit

Season Two Episodes
1. "Anthropology 101" 2. "Accounting for Lawyers" 3. "The Psychology of Letting Go" 4. "Basic Rocket Science" 5. "Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples" 6. "Epidemiology" 7. "Aerodynamics of Gender" 8. "Cooperative Calligraphy" 9. "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design" 10. "Mixology Certification" 11. "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" 12. "Asian Population Studies"	13. "Celebrity Pharmacology 212" 14. "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" 15. "Early 21st Century Romanticism" 16. "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking" 17. "Intro to Political Science" 18. "Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy" 19. "Critical Film Studies" 20. "Competitive Wine Tasting" 21. "Paradigms of Human Memory" 22. "Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts" 23. "A Fistful of Paintballs" 24. "For A Few Paintballs More"
Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five

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