A DEAN CRAIG PELTON TRIBUTE
"Off campus I'm just a Craigular Joe!"
Disclaimer: this page contains written material that may be considered NSFW, such as suggestive themes and references to sexual acts.
Craig Isidore Pelton is most known for being the Dean of Greendale community college. According to the Community Wiki, he is "a graduate of Appomattox University and holds a Bachelor of Education degree. Pelton has worked in Scholastics for over 10 years, although his résumé could be seen as a poor reflection of this as all his previous places of employment have since shut down. At Greendale he is a well meaning but bumbling administrator who is just barely able to run the school."
In the likes of Michael Scott from the Office and Glenn Sturgis from Superstore, he finds himself to be in a higher position of work - being the boss - that is much too challening for him. In the same vein as these characters, he's also much more worried with being perceived as good at his job than with being actually competent at it. Despite all of it, and much like the two mentioned, he's also the only person who has a passion for what he does that goes beyond getting a paycheck for it, estabilishing relationships with coworkers, employees, -and in his case, students - that the people more suited for the job wouldn't have.
"Tell me, dean, when I refer to you in my article, would you prefer “imbecile” or “incompetent?”"
"I prefer “incompetent,” but what I really want-"
It's worth noting that the Dean wasn't even supposed to become such a prominent character in the series. But Jim Rash's acting and the upcoming quirks of this character would propel him into a beloved recurring one, until his promotion as a regular in the last half of the show. He starts off simply as an odd guy with questionable morals - like in "Football, Feminism and You" (S1Ep06), threatening Jeff's image, and thus the man himself into convincing Troy to play football for Greendale. From there, we get a hint about how Pelton will do anything to help his treasured school, as he starts to view it as an extension of himself.
Greendale just isn't Greendale without the Dean. It's certainly not a regular college, not only due to its abnormal classes such as "Ladders", or "Can I Fry That?", but also what respectable college has its dean flaunt unusual outfits in its premises so many times it becomes the new normal? The first instance in which this happens is in "Intro to Political Science" (S2Ep17), where he wears a ladies' Uncle Sam costume, claiming it was last minute so he had to borrow his sister's outfit.
From there on, his dressing-ups would become more and more recurrent, arranging events and dances in the school as an excuse to wear them. This is evident by his line in "Course Listing Unavailable" (S3Ep18), "great, I have to give more bad news to Jeff and his study group. Hold my calls. I have to pick an outfit". It's a behaviour that is not questioned by the students at large, aside from in "Paradigms of Human Memory" (S2Ep21), in a comment made by Jeff about "debating how many times per year a man can drop in a study room in a dumb costume with irrelevant news", which visibly hurts Craig's feelings.
To highlight not only his relevancy, but also his codependency on Greendale, there's episodes like "Curriculum Unavailable" (S3Ep19), where the study group realizes the Dean would never expel them because he cherishes and cares about them, not only as students but as friends. The fond moments the group remember in the school are that of when, according to the Community Wiki, "Dean Pelton warns the study group ahead of everyone else at school that there's a fire in the building. Dean Pelton forces another student wearing the same outfit as Annie to go home. On pizza day, Dean Pelton reserves a few slices for the study group. Dean Pelton sings a special shout-out to the group over the P.A. Dean Pelton sacrifices himself for Abed's sake during the paintball assassination game held that year." Then, there's "Modern Espionage", all the way over to season 6, episode 11, where Craig is fearful of the changes Frankie is bringing to the school, telling Jeff that "a cleaner Greendale is like a healthier cigarette", and upon Jeff's response that Frankie can make them "a carrot stick", Craig insists that they're "tobacco".
Taken from Pop Culture Passionistas An Interview with Jim Rash from Community:
Q: Dean Pelton has this funny self-entitlement about him when it comes to his job. Do you think he thinks of himself as a hero or crusader?
JIM: I think he does. I think he is a guy who at his core really wants this school to be successful. And I think he fancies that this community college can be like, [as] he said sarcastically last year, "Any of those real colleges that people choose to transfer to after two years." I think he wants people to stay. I think he believes that this place can be just as great as the big colleges. So although I think that obviously, [he] makes a lot of missteps. I think that his heart is in the right place and his desire. When we first started, I remember Dan Harmon, the creator, was in his mind early on, felt… it’s possible I went to some Ivy League school and that Dean didn’t have the college experience that he felt that he deserved. And has been hell bent on making Greendale… his college experience the way he wants to have it. So that was how he always saw it.
GENDER AND SEXUALITY
The first mention of his sexuality comes from "Advanced Criminal Law" (S1Ep05). While in a disciplinary tribunal judging wether or not Britta cheated in Spanish, the Dean accidentally blurts out how he "goes both ways", imeddiately asking for that phrase to be scratched, and clarifying that he means he's impartial. Not too long after, he questions Britta about the boots she's wearing, asking if they're comfortable.
Only five episodes later, in "Enviromental Science" (S1Ep10), the Dean is shown to be watching a Youtube video of a man dressed in a dalmatian costume. That video is from Alex Kovas, a real performer based in UK, performing as a Humanimal, specifically a Dalmatian in this case. It's a scene that became iconic in the series for his "this better not awaken anything in me" line. This is important because to truly understand the Dean's relationship with gender and sexuality it's also important to understand fetish, as his character relies a lot on the joke of the weird and the odd aspects of it.
To start off discussing his homosexual attraction - during the run of the series, it's implicit Craig has crushes on many of the male characters, including Jeff Winger, Cory "Mr. Rad" Radison and Stephen Spreck. Not only that, he's implied to enjoy activities involving penises, like in "Basic Rocket Science" (S2Ep04), where he has truck stops and public bathrooms circled on a map, with stars (presumed to be ratings) along with a number of "thumbs" (refered by Abed as such, to which Pelton replies - "those aren't thumbs"). In "Politics of Human Sexuality" (S1Ep11), when he tells Annie about the anatomically correct model she was meant to demonstrate how to put a condom on, he mentions that with his eyes closed, he can't tell the difference [from the real thing]. Yet another reference can be seen in "The First Chang Dynasty" (S3Ep21), the school board members worry that nobody will cover up a scandal this big (refering to Chang taking over the school and even attempting to burn it down), the Dean claims that he will sit on it - once again implying a liking to, not only the genitalia, but also the act of anal sex. There's yet another joke regarding this subject, specifically about penetration, when Craig mentions "having Jeffrey inside of him" in "Basic Human Anatomy" (S4Ep11)(it's worth noting that this episode was written by Jim Rash himself).
"Excuse me, I received a text message about free Sephora samples."
"Ha ha! It was me, ha-ha. Sorry about the ruse, but I have something better than exfoliating soap to rub on you."
His crossdressing tendencies were mentioned in the section above about his character, but it also plays a major role in terms of his gender expression and the way he's perceived by his peers. Particularly in the case of "Paradigms of Human Memory", after Jeff's comment about the "dumb" costumes mentioned before, Shirley tells the study group that the fight they were having in this episode was "starting to hurt innocent pervets", refering to the Dean. She also portrays him as a the Devil in "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps" (S3Ep05), in her story about the end of days, being the origin of another iconic scene for his character where he, dressed in a corset, high heels, skirt and demon horns, barges in with a chainsaw screaming "gay marriage!" in the end of Shirley's Christian horror story. It makes sense for her to have such conceptions of him when she's meant to portray a stereotypical Christian. Not only does she outright calls him a pervert (albeit not to his face, and not with "bad" intentions), in "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps" it becomes apparent that she thinks everyone in the study group will be going to Hell for their sins - except for her, obviously -, but the Dean ranks a step above that, as he's not only in Hell, but he's also the literal (crossdressing) Devil.
A notable scene portraying his "duality" regarding his masculine and feminine presentations happens in "Virtual Systems Analysis" (S3Ep16), where he comes into the study room in a half man, half woman costume, refering to it as the "duali-dean of man", explaining he's dressed this way because he has "good news and bad news", much to the disbelief of Jeff ("You have got to be kidding me"). At first, he seems to regret his outfit decision, as he claims he has to go to the bank that day, leading to a more serious "come on, Craig, get your life together", as he scolds himself for it. It's a somewhat shocking moment for such a cheerful character that's usually not bound by the rules of society. It makes sense as he spends most of his time and energy at Greendale, a place that's accepting and safe for odd people like him. His fears are disproven, though, as he later tells the study group about how the people at the bank loved his outfit, that they had all kinds of questions and his answers "seemed to amuse and liberate some of them".
"What's it gonna take? A plum park space, free meals... A night of companionship, if you know what I mean?"
"I'll do it for the parking space and if you promise not to tell me what you mean."
The next topic in this subect is about the fetish and kink aspects surround his character. There's plenty of loose references for this one too, such as the Dean's mention about how "Jeff Winger looks sexy even in a coffin" from "Celebrity Pharmacology" (S2Ep13), as well as his comment about being "inclined to agree with the man in uniform" in "Basic Lupine Urology" (S3Ep17). He once announced to the study group that he's "into trains now". In "Origins of Vampire Mythology" (S3Ep15) when Annie mentions how Britta is "whipped by an imaginary douche", his response is "don't knock it 'til you try it". In "Intro to Felt Surrogacy" (S4Ep09), when presenting the study group with the puppets, the Jeff puppet he has brought has a little whip in its hand. In "Basic Rocket Science", his response to Jeff threatening to step on him is that "as much as [he] might enjoy that (...)", and to Jeff's threat about beating him up in "Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care" (S6Ep02) is that he's going to like it.
With all of this in mind, there's the question of his identity. Regarding his gender, is he simply a GNC cis man or a nonbinary person? And if it's the latter, is he genderfluid, or perhaps bigender? He's refered to by the vice Dean as a "pansexual imp", and he's shown his preference towards men many times in the show. He's also been implied to be very into sex and kink culture, but isn't ever shown to pursue romantic relationships. Although most of Community fans have accepted him as pansexual - including Jim Rash himself -, and some kind of nonbinary, Craig has never outright called himself anything. The only kind of "hint" towards his identity was when in "Queer Studies and Advanced Waxing" (S6Ep04), he explained that he's "not just gay", and that gay is approximatelly 2/7s of what he is, but he never elaborated anything more than that.
There's a few reasons for the showrunners not to disclose or pick a label for Craig. First, it might ruin the long ongoing joke based on his sexual deviancy, as well as the mystery surrounding just what is the Dean. Commiting to a label might also open up the show and the character for more criticism - while he's not "anything", his problematic behaviours like lack of respect for boundaries, obsession with straight men and over the top weirdness aren't attached to any kind of community, even if they're based on homophobic stereotypes. There's also the worries about censorship that have to be considered, since the series started in 2009, and despite many kisses between straight couples and many hints towards characters' queerness, the show still had no serious kisses between two women or two men ("serious", because there was a kiss between Britta and Paige, but it was played off as a joke and it was incredibly off putting). There were also no gay romances, at least not with relevant characters, aside from the publicity stunt between the Dean and Domingo in "Queer Studies and Advanced Waxing", but it wasn't a real relationship and Craig visibly disliked him.
On the other hand, the Dean's unwillingness to set for a label as a character is relatable to many individuals who know they are LGBT or queer in some way, but don't feel like they fit any existing labels or would rather use a vague description to express their identities. To some, their gender and attraction are too complex to be fully explained in simple terms. In the case of the Dean, his fetishes and kinks are an integral part of his character, as are his costumes, his dalmatian obsession, the way he freely expresses his interest in men and his sexuality.
In Uproxx's Interview: ‘Community’ star Jim Rash on The Dean’s sexuality, directing and more, HitFix asked Jim Rash how conclusively was the Dean's sexuality dealt with [in the series], to which Rash replied that "it's not. It's complicated. It's basically everyone else wants it to be less complicated and he can't let go of how complicated it needs to be."
Taken from The Week's How Community's Dean Pelton broke new ground for sexual politics on television:
There is, of course, a more cynical read: That Community treats Dean Pelton's sexuality as a mystery to avoid explicitly stating that the character is actually out. Film and television characters who are instead "coded" are sometimes leveraged for stereotype-driven or homophobic humor, and lingering cultural discomfort with same-sex romance and sexuality surely keeps many of these coded characters in the closet. Creators can allude to sexuality for jokes (and/or appeal to LGBT fans with subtext) without actually depicting a same-sex relationship. Given that there are so few depictions of bisexual characters in popular culture, this frustrating trope is invoked far too often.
But a full consideration of Dean Pelton reveals something sharper and more complicated than that. Yes, the humor surrounding his sexual tendencies sometimes draws on stereotypes. On occasion, he can even come off as predatory — a tired misconception about gay and bisexual men.
But in an average episode, Dean Pelton doesn't seem creepy; he comes off as friendly — though clingy — and loveable. What student wouldn't want a dean who puts together a can-can costume just to say biology class is "can-can-cancelled?" Or a dean who improvises a song to the tune of "Come On, Irene" about using hand sanitizer and stapling papers? He's eccentric — but no more so than anyone else at Greendale. The show's basic premise relies on a campus full of deeply flawed people who form an unlikely family and (yes) a community.
There's another, far more heartening way to interpret Dean Pelton's uncategorized sexuality: the dean himself isn't ready to define it. Jim Rash has said he doesn't know his own character's orientation; maybe Pelton, too, is still figuring it out.
THE MAN BEHIND THE CHARACTER
James Rash was born on July 1971 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He's an actor, comedian and filmmaker, and was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012 for his portrayal of Dean Pelton. Both he and his sister were adopted. He was a member of The Groundlings, the improv comedy group based in Los Angeles.
Dean Pelton wasn't only or even the first strange character Jim played, as back in the 2003 series Reno 911!, he'd play the creepy Andrew, and in 2005 he would be Stitches in Sky High, the sidekick of the main villain who has an appearance close to a court jester. When asked by The Observer what it was like to play such a weird character (Dean Pelton), Jim claimed he ejoyed the creepiness and the weirdness.
In the Homophilia podcast, Jim talked about his coming out story, which happened when he was 40 and a half years old, during the shooting of The Way, Way Back. He mentioned that, personally, as someone who'd been adopted, there was also this underlying fear of rejection that prevented him from discovering himself sooner. He'd fallen into a place where he was avoiding everything but friendships and work, and being at the Groundlings for such a long time, with friends who were already out, he felt he was living vicariously through them. But then he'd realize how he'd been denying himself so much joy. He also mentions that he's not afraid of the fact that he was a fun disaster as he navigated dating and sex as a recently out queer man at first.
It's a stark contrast to how he would be starring in Bros (2022), a gay romcom with an all LGBTQ+ cast. In a AV Club interview he said about the movie that even though he came out later in life, he thinks "about the impact that a movie would have had back then", especially since he feels like he was basically raised by TV, highlighting the importance of queer representation in media.