History Recap / CommunityS2E05MessianicMythsAndAncientPeoples

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Abed's vision for the film becomes increasingly complex, strange, and painfully meta. Most of the campus eats it up, but Abed ultimately realizes the final product is unwatchable, and fears what will happen when it's released.

* YouJustRuinedTheShot: Shirley ruins the shot when stumbling into Abed's production.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Abed's vision for the film becomes increasingly complex, strange, and painfully meta. Most of the campus eats it up, but [[spoiler: Abed ultimately realizes the final product is unwatchable, and fears what will happen when it's released.]]

* HeroWithBadPublicity: [[spoiler: After spending the whole episode fighting against Abed's film, Shirley overhears him realizing that the final product was a self-indulgent mess, and praying that something will happen so he doesn't have to release it. Shirley then publicly destroys the film, knowing that she'll be publicly hated for it, just to give him a way out.]]

* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: Leonard and his elderly clique, the "Hipsters", so called because they all have replaced hips.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: InUniverse. Abed's vision for the film becomes increasingly complex, strange, and painfully meta. Most of the campus eats it up, but [[spoiler: Abed ultimately realizes the final product is unwatchable, and fears what will happen when it's released.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: When the senior citizen group has the idea to take a joy ride in the Dean's car, Pierce is the only one to protest, partially because of it being theft and partly because [[DrunkDriver all of them have been drinking]]. After Richard crashes the car[[note]]read: has the car ''very slowly'' bump into a lamppost[[/note]], Leonard tells the rest of the group to run, but Pierce willingly stays behind to look after Richard, who it's just been revealed is suffering from dementia.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: When the senior citizen group has the idea to take a joy ride in the Dean's car, Pierce is the only one to protest, partially because of it being theft and partly because [[DrunkDriver all of them have been drinking]]. After Richard crashes the car, Leonard tells the rest of the group to run, but Pierce willingly stays behind to look after Richard, who it's just been revealed is suffering from dementia.

* PrettyBoy: Jesus!Abed.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Abed's vision for the film becomes increasingly complex, strange, and painfully meta. Most of the campus eats it up, but [[spoiler: Abed ultimately realizes the final product is unwatchable, and fears what will happen when it's released.]]

* RecycledInSpace: This episode is ''Film/ManWithAMovieCamera'' [-WITH RELIGIOUS SUBTEXT-].

* NotSoDifferent: Jeff is clearly confused by some of the viral videos, just like Shirley and Pierce.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Jeff awkwardly dancing in the background in the ColdOpen.

* PerpWalk: The "hipsters" give the Dean and Shirley a hard time when the two pass from the car to the school's entrance.

** When Shirley tries to get Abed to help make a movie about Jesus, saying that some people have called ''Literature/TheBible'' "the greatest story ever told," Abed notes that [[http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/28/entertainment/ca-lyons28 Ben Lyons]] said the same thing about ''Film/IAmLegend''.

* WhatYearIsThis: Pierce uses the line when pretending to have dementia. Gets a dark reprise later on by Richard in the car.

Concerned about a lack of what she considers to be wholesome entertainment, Shirley sets out to make a religious film and asks Abed for help. However, Abed is consumed in the project, which evolves into a gratuitously meta study of the relationship between Jesus and God, with Abed himself in the starring role. Shirley worries about the blasphemous implications while Abed sweeps the rest of the school into his vision.

* AmateurFilmMakingPlot: Abed's plot. Taking inspiration from Shirley, Abed decides to make his own religious film. While he's making it, the film starts to take on some MemeticBadass traits. Unfortunately, the result turns out to be terrible and Shirley destroys it to save Abed's reputation.

* BatterUp: Shirley uses a baseball bat to [[spoiler:trash Abed's set.]]
* CryingWolf[=/=]PlayingSick: Leonard's comrade Richard continually says, "Where am I? What year is this?" and the rest of the seniors laugh at this genius ploy of getting out of trouble. This leads to a TearJerker moment towards the end when Pierce and the others discover Richard is actually suffering from dementia, and may or may not have been previously faking.
* DesignatedParents: Jeff and Britta even moreso than usual, although Jeff tries so hard to defy this. Pierce plays the role of the rebelling teenager and Annie is the concerned younger sister.
* DressesTheSame: In TheTag Abed and Troy both SpeakInUnison with and [[DressesTheSame dress the same]] as Jeff. Annie apparently wanted in on the gag too, but got stuck in traffic and arrives just after the joke has ended - only to become the impromptu next victim as the two imitate her, instead.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Jeff awkwardly dancing in the background in the pre-opening credits scene.
* GiveMeASign: Abed asks and [[ExactEavesDropping is being heard]].
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: Nobody besides Abed and Starburns will ever see whatever was the Abed's movie, since Shirley destroys the tapes, helped by the fact Abed actually does not wants anyone to ever see what's in the movies.

* MyGreatestFailure[=/=]MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Abed refers to his movie as the worst piece of crap he's ever seen. He thinks that if the movie goes out, critics will turn against him and ending his career before he even has a chance to start it.
-->'''Abed:''' "It's a self indulgent adolescent mess, I can barely sit through it".

* OneWomanWail: A female vocalist ululates Abed's name for a sort of joking Biblical epic effect many times throughout the episode, then in the "dramatic" ending, the singer eerily wails Shirley's name.

* ShoutOut: Multiple references to [[Creator/CharlieKaufman Charlie Kaufman]], a screenwriter known for his use of metafiction and MindScrew-y films.

* TakeThat:
** When Shirley tries to get Abed to help make a movie about Jesus, saying that some people have called the Bible "the greatest story ever told," Abed notes that [[http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/28/entertainment/ca-lyons28 Ben Lyons]] said the same thing about ''Film/IAmLegend''.

-->'''Abed:''' "It's a self indulgent annalistic mess, I can barely sit through it".

* StylisticSuck: Shirley's attempt at making a video without Abed. Featuring BadBadActing by Tory and Britta.

* TakeThat: When Shirley tries to get Abed to help make a movie about Jesus, saying that some people have called the Bible "the greatest story ever told," Abed notes that [[http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/28/entertainment/ca-lyons28 Ben Lyons]] said the same thing about ''Film/IAmLegend''.

* MyGreatestFailure[=/=]MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Abed refers to his movie as the worst piece of crap he's ever seen. He thinks thta if the movie goes out, critics will turn against him and ending his career before he even has a chance to start it.

* TakeThat: When Shirley tries to get Abed to help make a movie about Jeses, saying that some people have called the Bible "the greatest story ever told," Abed notes that [[http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/28/entertainment/ca-lyons28 Ben Lyons]] said the same thing about ''Film/IAmLegend''.

* [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even Pierce Has Standards]]: When the senior citizen group has the idea to take a joy ride in the Dean's car, Pierce is the only one to protest, partially because of it being theft and partly because [[DrunkDriver all of them have been drinking]]. After Richard crashes the car, Leonard tells the rest of the group to run, but Pierce willingly stays behind to look after Richard, who it's just been revealed is suffering from dementia.