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- Project: Video: Office Alienation |
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- Project: Video: Office Space & Stress |
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Plot Line: Office Space is a 1999 comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge. Though it pokes fun at work life in a typical software company during the late 1990s, the film resonates with corporate employees as a group, by portraying individuals who are entirely fed up with their jobs. |
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In a cube farm setting evocative of the Dilbert comic strip, the film
depicts the daily grind of Initech workers Peter, Michael, Samir, and Milton.
Soon after the movie begins, two consultants (nicknamed “The Bobs” since
they both have the same first name), are brought in to Initech to help
with cutting expenses by downsizing and outsourcing. The workers at Initech
are then interviewed for the purposes of determining which employees are
to be shown the door.
Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) is a programmer who spends his days updating bank software to remedy the then-expected Y2K disaster. His co-workers include Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu), whose last name no one else can pronounce; Michael Bolton (David Herman), who is pissed off that he shares his name with the real-life singer; and Milton Waddams (Stephen Root), a soft-spoken, fixated collator who mumbles to himself incessantly and is repeatedly walked on by management, especially the hollow office manager, the soulless Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole). Lumbergh—a stereotypical corporate middle-manager who spends most of his time wandering the office coffee mug in hand, wears white-collared shirts and suspenders, and emotionlessly micromanages his employees while engaging them with superficial small talk—is Peter’s nemesis. Meanwhile, Peter is stressed, burnt out, and ineffective, and will likely be first on the Bobs’ downsizing list. Fortunately, something unusual happens during the occupational hypnotherapy session urged upon him by his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend—the "occupational" hypnotherapist (Michéal McShane) suddenly dies before he can snap Peter out of a state of complete relaxation. The newly-relaxed and still half-hypnotized Peter announces that he will not work anymore, instead pursuing his lifelong dream of “doing nothing,” and finally asking out Joanna (Jennifer Aniston), a waitress he’s long wanted to date. During his interview with the Bobs, Peter unreservedly speaks his mind about the absurdity of his job and of how Initech is run. The Bobs misinterpret Peter’s candor, easygoing attitude, and the valid points he makes as evidence of a corporate executive mentality. Much to his surprise—and Lumbergh’s dismay—Peter receives a promotion while his friends Samir and Michael, two of his department’s best employees, are going to get canned. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
However, all their problems are solved when Milton snaps after Bill Lumbergh takes away his beloved red Swingline stapler and moves his desk yet again, this time to the cockroach-infested Storage Room B in the basement. Milton then sets fire to the boss’s office, which destroys the entire building, including all the computers and the virus code. Peter finally finds a job that makes him happy (working construction with his gravel-voiced neighbor Lawrence), Samir and Michael get jobs at Initrode (a rival company), and Milton makes his way to the Caribbean with the traveler’s checks. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Space |
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The End