She's lost her enthusiasm. She's stuck in a dead-end job with no real prospects for her acting career to go anywhere, and she's thrown in the towel romantically and settled for Leonard (who's better than the jerks and losers she used to date, but doesn't excite her). Always being put down by those around her doesn't help; Howard and Stuart are the only ones who don't insult her.
This is a really good point!
The show needs to finally address what Penny is doing. If she is just a failed actress with a sad life and no prospects, who is willing to settle for Leonard because he means a secure lifestyle, that's not going to work, but that seems to be what they're setting up.
It would be nice if they let Penny get back to being bright and street smart, and let her either have an acting career, or let something else pop up that's exciting for her, such as maybe making a living off the science fiction conventions and cosplay world making costumes and selling them online, or doing the makeup for movies or TV shows or something like that. Bring back Penny's business sense and resourcefulness, and let her occasionally put the boys in her place with a remark like, "I can waltz six different ways. Can you?" ANYTHING but having her on a slow road to self-destruction being a failed actress, failed waittress, and very unhappy person settling for a cute college professor she doesn't really appreciate.
Maybe she raided the donation bin again for her outfit. I could see her at least conserving funds by shopping at a thrift store.
I don't think there's really an upward path for the guys without leaving the kind of work they like to do. It's normal for someone like Penny to move up
Unrelated, is it standard for people in the US to have somewhat deadend jobs for a long time? All the guys in the show (and Penny) have held the same job the entire time.. also in the US version of The Office they basically all stayed the same which made me wonder if it's a for TV thing or if that is how things actually are.
Yes, it is standard for people in the US born after a certain date to have dead end jobs forever. Academia has turned into "dead men's shoes" and adjunct professorships. Every other job is pretty much "see how long you can tread water before getting fired." The US is basically The Office. People either stick to it forever or get fired and bounce around, but that whole zipping up the corporate ladder thing died in the early 1980s. Those Americans who have jobs are terrified of losing them. It's pretty stagnant from what I can see.
It is not normal to "move up" at a restaurant. The manager is a guy in a tie and an MBA who got the job long before you came to work there and will probably work that job til he dies. Waittresses are usually pretty people waiting tables while they try to think of something else to do, not someone who thinks of it as their career.
Edited September 30, 2014 by Hecate7ncG1vNJzZmien6fCrr%2BNqamipZWptq6x0WeaqKVfqbyxtcJocGpoXaWyr7rYpJilnalisLa7wqhksKCRqXqqv4yhnKtlnJbAtXnNmqSeZw%3D%3D