I Really AM Color Blind!

About three years ago, I discovered “The Office” (much in the same way Christopher Columbus “discovered” America, meaning after it was already in syndication.) But even though I was late to the party, thanks to constant reruns and DVR marathons, I managed to get through the first six seasons in time to "attend" Jim and Pam’s wedding along with the rest of the world. 

And during those many viewing hours, I came to know each character like a real friend, while developing crushes on both of Jim's love interests on the show, Pam and Karen. And, let's face it, maybe even a little mancrush on Jim himself!

But, getting back to the ladies...from the show's intro, it was clear that Jenna Fischer played Pam Beesley, but since Karen didn't show up until the third season, she was only pictured, not named in the opening credits,  so I didn't know the actress who played her. I did spot the name Rashida Jones in the credits, but never associated her with Karen, although I was curious as to who she was as well, since for years I had been reading about how funny and talented this Rashida Jones was. But I never saw her in anything. Or so I’d thought.

I remember watching  “I Love You, Man” – a decent movie featuring the guy who plays Marshall on “How I Met Your Mother” (another show I didn’t discover until recently) and coincidentally, the girl who played  Karen from “The Office” as the main character’s fiancé. Thinking what a cool (and cute) chick she was, I carefully watched the credits in hopes of finally learning her name, but I couldn’t find it. But I DID see Rashida Jone’s name go scrolling by.  WTF? I thought. How did I miss her again? Who did she play? Who WAS this person? It was driving me crazy!

So crazy I even checked out a few episode of the god-awful “Parks and Recreation” to try and find her after reading that she was in it, but again, no luck. Though, once again, there was Karen from “The Office” this time playing a cool (and cute) nurse.

By now, you all have probably put two and two together enough times to fill an ark, but it took me a little longer to figure it out. In fact, it wasn’t until a few months ago, when I saw “The Social Network”  and spotted Karen from “The Office” as a cool (and cute) lawyer, that I finally put it all together. I waited for the credits, and lo and behold, there was Rashida Jones, and since there was not a single black person in the entire movie, I realized my mistake.

You see, I was assuming an actress named Rashida Jones would be black, which she is, sort of (more on that in a minute) so I was looking for someone that looked more like Wanda Sykes than a classier version of Leah Remini from “King of Queens,”  so I never made the connection. Turns out, Karen, from “The Office” – and all the other movies mentioned here, was Rashida Jones. She was hiding in plain sight!

Duh, right? Well, the funny thing is, Rashida’s dad IS black. And famous. He’s the incomparable producer, Quincy Jones, who “produced” Rashida, and an equally hot sister, with actress Peggy Lipton, from “The Mod Squad” (insert your own Link joke here) So I was right. Though this may be the first time in history where two rights make a wrong.

Which makes me wonder what other well-known things I’ve yet to “discover.”  Based on this, and the fact that I was 30 when I first learned that “The Outsiders” author, S.E. Hinton, was a girl, I’m guessing quite a few!