The Untold Truth Of Parks And Recreation

Generally speaking, novels are regarded as "high culture" and TV sitcoms as "low culture." Parks and Recreation is one of the classier, artistically significant TV comedies, but a sitcom nonetheless. However, it does have an episode full of references to David Foster Wallace's acclaimed, complicated, 1,079-page 1996 novel Infinite Jest. Parks and Recreation co-creator Michael Schur is a devotee of the postmodern classic, which Time called one of the best novels of the past 100 years. At one point, Schur even owned the movie rights to the book, but, seeing as how Infinite Jest is probably far too gargantuan and detailed to ever commit to film, he did the next best thing: paid tribute via an episode of his TV show. 

In the 2013 Parks installment titled "Partridge," Infinite Jest references abound. Ben and Leslie visit Ben's hometown of Partridge, Minn. (a character in Jest is from Partridge, Kan.) Ron deals with a lawsuit served by the firm of Gately, Wayne, Kittenplan, and Troeltsch (Those are all Jest character names). Ben is treated for kidney stones at a hospital named after Jest debt collector Gene Fackelman, and parents-to-be Ann and Chris take the Incandenza-Pemulis Parenting Compatibility Quiz, which also draws its name from characters in the novel.

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