Tristan Hughart

Professor Granillo

English 103

17 March 2019

What Kind of Pie is This?

As society moves forward, simple ideas and terms are being twisted to denote actions and

concepts that before may not have been thought of. Especially in today’s media, such as

television, it opens a door to different perceptions through semiotics, or study of a symbol and its

interpretation. Television uses semiotics to determine how an audience views an idea, and can

turn people against it or make them in favor of it. An example of such is the “Parks and

Recreation” series. Specifically, the episode “Pie-Mary” reveals how women are viewed in

society, and serves as a reminder of how terminology can shape how people view the world. By

using different aspects of semiotics, it exemplifies how the media can portray society and

determine how the audience views it.

In the episode Leslie Knope chooses to skip the Pie-Mary, which is an event where

congressional candidate’s wives compete in a pie-making contest. She receives backlash from

the public when they make it seem like Leslie doesn’t care about her family or tradition. She

does, however, gain followers from the “Indianna Organization for Women” since the

competition is viewed as retrogressive and misogynistic and threaten to not support her husband,

Ben Wyatt, in the coming election if she joins. In response, Ben decides to enter the Pie Mary in

her place. Unfortunately, this then leads to a Male Rights activist group protesting Ben and

Leslie because they believe she’s oppressing him. Ben and Leslie become trapped between
appealing to the feminists and the male rights groups. At the end of the episode Ben puts aside

his campaign and looks past the political consequences to say how Leslie doesn’t fit the idealized

version of a candidates wife, but that’s the good part. The episode ends on a comedic note, when

Ben receives the “IOW Woman of the Year” award for giving Leslie a platform in which to

speak, much to Leslie’s disappointment.

The major sign that’s used in this episode is the signifier “pie”. According to Tyson, a

signifier is a sound image, or what comes to mind when a word is heard (206). When people hear

the word “pie”, the signified, or concept to which the signifier refers to, they may think of an

apple pie or cherry pie. However, the word pie has also been given a semiotic code by society to

be sexual. Pie, while literally meaning a pastry with filling, also connotes a part of the female

anatomy. The Pie-Mary is described as “retrogressive and misogynistic” (Parks and Recreation”

S7:1 00:07:00), just as how the the idea of pie in a “dirty” sense is degrading. Also, the

denotation of “Mary” in the title Pie-Mary signifies Mother Mary, or Virgin Mary. In a religious

standpoint, Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus, but didn’t have sex and so she is still “pure”.

Virgin Mary is also the non-alcoholic version of a Bloody Mary. Putting the two terms together,

the semiotic code that’s been given to pie and the signifier of Mary, then what’s left is a murky

idea of the degressive. The symbol of pie in society today also connotes the idea of innocence.

An example of this is in Don McLean’s song “American Pie”. In the chorus, McLean sings “So,

bye-bye, Miss American pie” (McLean). Here, the denotation of pie is not a pastry, but instead

McLean is saying goodbye to America’s innocence. In the time period this was written in,

America was losing itself in the war with Vietnam, in the Cold War against Russia, and in the

many social protests and drugs that plagued the country. In a sense, America lost its chastity
during this time period. If Leslie, who is a progressive women’s rights activist and supporter of

equality, joins the competition and “gives up her pie”, then she loses the credibility and purity

she’s worked so hard to acquire and maintain.

Throughout the series of “Parks and Recreation” Leslie continuously fights for equal

rights and to prove to everyone that women are just as capable as men in society. Being

seemingly forced to partake in the degrading and misogynistic event in order to support Ben is

symbolic of how women, in society, are forced to give themselves up in order to progress in their

fields. Leslie has become a symbol not only in her fictional community, but for real women

watching the show. As a figure for strong women, if she submits to the ideals of the public and

relinquishes her pie then what message is that sending to the audience? Instead, Leslie stands

against it and refuses to join a regressive competition that asks for her pie, and maintains her

innocence by not falling victim to the corrupt and sexist ideals that are held over women.