S1:E2 Oscar’s Sexual Orientation Revealed

Still from S1:E2 6:54 - The accounting department

While searching around the Season One wall decorations I found something that I hadn’t noticed before.

Closeup of image on Oscar's desk. Unique yellow 'Pastis' type.*

*Pastis is an anise-flavoured spirit and apéritif traditionally from France

In an interview with Michael Scott during the Diversity Day seminar being given to the office by Diversity Today representative Mr. Brown, the accounting department consisting of Kevin Malone, Oscar Martinez and Angela Martin can be seen during a cutaway as Michael riffs on Kevin’s job performance [6:52]. On Oscar’s desk the portrait of a blonde woman wearing sunglasses set against a pink background can be seen printed out and taped to the glass divider.

Levine original, 1967

Compilation album cover, 2004

The image on Oscar’s desk is a 1967 portrait of French animal rights activist and former actress, singer and model Brigitte Bardot taken by French artist Sam Levin titled Brigitte Bardot on the set of »Spécial Bardot«. This image was used as the cover of Bardot’s 2004 compilation CD titled Brigitte Bardot released under Universal Music and Mercury France (occasionally referred to as “The Lost 70s Album”.) Being set in the spring of 2005, S1:E2 would have occurred one year after the release of Brigitte Bardot meaning the release was culturally relevant at the time.

In order to fully understand the importance of Oscar displaying this image of Bardot, we must examine this detail through the lens of sexual orientation.
First let’s look at it from a straight perspective: Oscar’s straight.

If Oscar were straight, the image of Bardot wouldn’t have much symbolism attached to it. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated women with hedonistic lifestyles, Bardot was one of the best-known sex symbols of the late 1950s and 1960s. Although she withdrew from the entertainment industry in 1973, she remained a major cultural icon. Displaying the image of Bardot as a straight man would be similar to if Oscar displayed an image of Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn at his desk. It would most likely be seen as a nod to risqué French music and film by his coworkers.

But what if we took a look at it from a gay perspective: Oscar’s gay.

Bardot in 2005

If Oscar were gay, which we later learn he is, this display of the Bardot image takes on a very different meaning. One year prior to Bardot’s compilation CD she was the subject of international outrage following the release of her 2003 memoir Un cri dans le silence, an outspoken attack on gays, immigrants, and the jobless that shocked France in the early 2000s. She was convicted the following year for inciting racial hatred due to her remarks in the memoir, the fourth such fine for Bardot since 1997.

Still from S2:E13 16:57 - Oscar and his former partner Gil

Oscar takes pride in his cultured persona and having an awareness of the world beyond Scranton. It’s very plausible that Oscar is a fan of Bardot’s work from the 1950s and 1960s or was at the very least aware of her cultural importance. As a gay man in 2005 displaying Bardot’s image at his desk could have been his commentary on the fall of French entertainment culture at the turn of the century, or on the increasing bitterness aging cultural icons were exposing their fans to as the world changed around them.

While Oscar’s sexual orientation wouldn’t be confirmed until the fall of 2006 when in S3:E1 he was inadvertently outed by Michael, the Brigitte Bardot CD cover on Oscar's desk serves as a subtle but meaningful demonstration of his sexual orientation over a year prior to his public outing.

–Scrantonicity out.