I Finally Know Why There’s a Camera Crew in Abbott Elementary – And It Makes So Much Sense

Abbott Elementary earned its deserved place alongside modern classics such as The Office and Parks and Recreation as a quintessential mockumentary sitcom. However, unlike the aforementioned shows, one particular component stands out and provides deeper context to the whole show’s existence, making it even more impactful once understood: the reason a camera crew is documenting the teachers' lives is far more elaborate than it seems.

A mockumentary about real issues

Often, in other sitcoms of analogous format, the camerawork is purely artistic; in others, such as Abbott Elementary, the presence of a camera team serves a greater purpose that fits the narrative. These documentary filmmakers are capturing students’ lives in a public school in the underprivileged area of Philadelphia. It serves its purpose, and in this case, it is brilliant.

Aside from the fact that treating teachers as educators struggling to get through to their students on a fundamental level without losing their sanity, humanises the characters in an already relatable situation, it compounds with this specific reason, certainly making things even harder.

Externally, this is a sitcom about clueless overworked teachers, but in reality, it is an attempt to reveal every single exhausting reality public school teachers go through for the children, of which far too few realise just how much work is pouring in from these educators.

Limited lens with big impact

The most clever aspects of the documentary style of Abbott’s Elementary are the level of control the camera crew has over the viewer's reality. Camera crews do not tend to capture every moment from every angle. Missed conversations and skewed angles become televised voids, and context doesn’t exist if the crew wasn’t there to record it. This consideration boosts the sense of realism exuded by the show while forcing the audience to piece things together.

Consider Gregory’s funny blank expressions directed at the camera and Jacob's cringeworthy, intense descriptions. They aren't simply highbrow jokes; they serve a larger purpose. The feature that people are being filmed in part alters their behaviour, and combine that awareness with how they are likely to self-edit, and cope with conflict.

Crew becomes a part of the story

The brilliance of Abbott Elementary is that the camera crew doesn’t merely exist as decoration. They are sometimes subtle changers of the storyline. For instance, in season 4, episode “Dad Fight,” a frustrated parent catches their eye on Gregory's glance around the room, which exacerbates the problem.

In season 2, Draemond, the antagonist, tried using the documentary crew as props when he tried taking over the school and turning it into a charter school. He believed the crew was capturing his PR stunt, mixing reality and fiction in a manner that's clever and terrifying.

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The presence of the documentary crew is never explicitly acknowledged. We never hear them or see their faces. But their presence can't be denied. They become silent champions of the teachers, amplifying their voices and documenting the silent victories and everyday frustrations that characterise public schooling.

Abbott Elementary is undoubtedly hilarious, but it's also one of the most considerate shows on television right now. And since I get it now, since I understand fully why the cameras are there, I can't help but applaud just how deliberate and genius the show format is.

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