“Leslie Knope, Poehler’s character in Parks and Recreation, is another kind of risk. It would be so easy to play an earnest young woman who works in the local government of a small Indiana town as a loser. But Poehler imbues Knope’s belief that she can make a difference—in spite of the glacial speed of her achievements—with both dignity and humor. You can laugh at Knope, but you pull for her at the same time—no small task. And the show itself, according to Poehler, is about “fighting against becoming cynical, against the idea of Ah, fuck it, nothing will change, therefore we shouldn’t do anything.” (x)