Ron Swanson Presentation

Famous Person: Ron Swanson

A sensual presentation for Pawnee's Parks and Recreation Department director

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Who is Ron Swanson?

Ron Ulysses Swanson (Nick Offerman) is the director of Pawnee’s Parks and Recreation Department. He is a recurring character from sitcom Parks and Recreation and the boss of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler).

But who IS Ron Swanson?

fabulous mustache

Let's dive in and analyze this extremely accomplished yet very reserved man. Who is Ron Swanson? What made Ron Swanson the man he is?

Hands capable of building award winning furnitures

https://www.nbcstore.com/products/parks-and-recreation-swanson-pyramid-of-greatness-poster

We will start with our first chart, what makes Ron, Ron.

Ron made this poster! This is S data!

What does this tell us?

From the chart we can get S data like Ron's politcal leaning, beliefs, values, personal favorites, and more. However, the chart doesn't tell us about his background, lifestyle, relationships, temperament, and more, though we do get clues from the poster.

We need to dig deeper! Methods on next slide.

Ways to Analyze Ron Swanson

Here are the approaches I used:

Humanistic

Psychoanalytic

The Big Five

Understanding a person requires an understanding of that person’s view of reality

Traits: extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness

There always is an explanation that can be found with the psychoanalytic approach

The Big Five

extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness

Agreeableness

Ron distrusts the government and strives to make the government less effective with his powers, he score low for agreeableness.

Neuroticism

Ron is an anxious person, he is very protective of his privacy, he had thrown away his phone and computer to avoid being tracked, Ron scores high on neuroticism.

Conscientiousness

Surprisingly, Ron is a very competent and knowledgeable person, he is extremely skilled in his field. Ron has made a canoe, a wedding ring, a harp, a baby crib, and award-winning wooden chairs from scratch, therefore, he scores high on conscientiousness.

Openness

Ron is so confident in himself and his abilities he does not like new changes. Ron has “had the same haircut since 1978,” and when his hairdresser passed away, he said “I’ve never been a fan of change” It is safe to say Ron is not open to new experiences.

New guy.

Not sure how things will turn out.

Unpleased.

Extraversion

Ron has a remote that can close shut all the doors to his office so he can stay alone, he is not an extravert.

A flipphone! Wow this show is old.

Ron's Big 5

So, here's my rating for Ron's Big 5

Psychoanalytic

There always is an explanation that can be found with the psychoanalytic approach

‘ My first ex-wife's name is Tammy. My second ex-wife's name is Tammy. My Mom's name is Tamara, she goes by Tammy.’

Ron Swanson

What would Freud think?

From Freud’s point of view no behavior is accidental and there always is an explanation that can be found with the psychoanalytic approach. From the show we know that Ron had two wives, Tammy1 and Tammy2, both sharing a name with Ron’s mother, Tamara, Freud might say there are some elements of Oedipus complex involved with how Ron picks his partners.

Tammy 2 (second wife)

Tammy 1 (first wife)

The Fight For Ron Swanson

Here is a video of some of the most important women in Ron's life, all sitting in the same room.

Oral Stage

From a psychosexual development point of view Ron did not have his needs met during the oral stage as he is overly independent yet attracted to authoritative women.

Anal Stage

When Ron was with Tammy1 he was an anal-retentive person, and when he left Tammy1 he became an anal-expulsive person. The anal-expulsive traits were the most obvious when Ron was with Tammy2, the second ex-wife. After Ron and Tammy2 fought in a parking lot they immediately remarried, got tattoos, and were found in jail the next morning, Ron was showing extreme impulsivity and absolutely no self-control.

Ron's second wife Tammy 2 (played by Nick Offerman's real wife Megan Mullally)

He has no regret.

Phallic Stage

Ron and Tammy2 could also be phallic characters as they both are wildly promiscuous, especially Tammy2. Picture shown is Tammy2 distracting Ron when he was accepting an award from the Indiana Fine Woodworking Association.

Genital Stage

Eventually Ron left Tammy2 and married a middle school vice principal named Diane and together they had a baby, thus Ron reached Freud’s genital stage. To love and to work are the most important things in life according to Freud, and Ron had achieved the quentasential good life.

Humanistic

Understanding a person requires an understanding of that person’s view of reality

‘ I have cried twice in my life. Once, when I was 7 and was hit by a school bus, and then again when I heard that Li'l Sebastian had passed.’

Ron Swanson

Humanistic psychology

If the show chose to not tell us Ron’s backstory many may assume he is simply a headstrong man born with much personality and character. We, the audience, would not know Ron’s perspective. An important part of humanistic psychology is understanding a person requires an understanding of that person’s view of reality.

Childhood abuse

Ron Swanson grew up in an abusive environment where the grooming by an adult led him to a life with many troubles and relational challenges, though he may not be aware of any inconvenience nor view the life events he went through as problematic.

Learned to distrust

The lack of positive regards and harsh treatments from Tammy1 are the reasons why he grew to be a distrustful person. Ron’s extreme need for privacy may not make sense to most people, but looking from Ron’s perspective openness can mean security invasions, transgression of boundaries, loss of control, and unpredictable outcomes, all of these are massive threats to his survival.

Escape from danger

Ron’s second wife Tammy2 is very sexual and violent, she is not at all like the strict and cold Tammy1. Conscious or not, Ron had to make considerable changes to escape from an unsafe person to prevent going through the same abuse, though his second marriage also ended in divorce. Tammy2 is just as vicious of a person as Ron’s first wife.

Life fulfillment

Fortunately for the audience Park and Recreations decided to tell a story where Ron has a happy ending after what he went through. Ron married a confident woman who trust in him and fully admire his abilities, from the help of his good friend Leslie Knopes he also got a job at the fictional Pawnee National Park as a superintendent. He is loved and accepted unconditionally by his coworkers and family and has a fulfilling life outside of work.

Self-actualization

Ron remains a private person, but he is no longer deprived of support from close friends and family. This fits into Rogers and Maslow’s theory of positive regards leading to functional lives and self-actualization after basic needs fulfillment. ‘I know what I’m about, son.’ -Ron Swanson

Reference

Funder, D. C. (2019). The Personality Puzzle. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Daniels, G. Schur, M. (Creator).(2009-2015). Parks and Recreation. [TV series].Open 4 Business Productions; Deedle-Dee Productions; Fremulon; 3 Arts Entertainment; Universal Television;NBC Network.