It’s hard to believe that Mike Judge’s classic comedy classic, Office space, is over 20 years old at the moment, but is still as culturally relevant as ever. In fact, workers who have had to wrestle remotely from home during the pandemic have likely had time to realize how exhausting the traditional office environment can be in determining one.
However, there is more to the movie than laments about the rat race. Office space is a story about a man’s willingness to give up everything, to find his way in his own career in order to regain his identity. There are some lessons that people from all walks of life can appreciate in this hilarious workplace comedy.
10 Do not change lanes
Anyone caught in big city rush hour traffic knows about exercise. Unless they are willing to activate route guidance apps on their smartphone or vehicle, many can expect to sit for hours in congested traffic, day after day. It is a tortuous process that provokes and provokes as drivers creep forward, only to stop again.
The solution, of course, is to switch to a faster-moving lane. That is until that lane suddenly slows down, while another speeds up. It’s almost as if the gods are teasing the driver to see how long it will be before they get onto the shoulder and risk getting caught by the police.
9 You will get a shock
For whatever reason, some office environments tend to be compartmentalized static bombs waiting to go off. It’s like the whole place is wired with an electromagnetic field of tricks and traps, hoping to catch the unfortunate employees. How such a sterile environment can be so bright is anyone’s guess.
Office space taught viewers that there is a 100 percent chance of receiving a shock at some point in the workday. The main culprit, it seems, is the malevolent door handle. This simple piece of forged steel or aluminum houses a supercharged stream of electricity designed to snap the fingers of anyone who dares to try to enter.
8 Kung Fu Rock Movies
When the stress of the office becomes too much, sometimes workers need to step back and reflect on their lives. It’s hard to organize your thoughts when your head is full of messy cables due to corporate mismanagement and incompetence. Only a select few things are capable of clearing cobwebs from the brain, including kung fu movies.
Yes, kung fu movies are wonderful. The plots are simple, the characters are heroic, and the bad guys are definitely bad. Sure, many in the audience lack the strength to beat even an egg, but minds can easily go from grasshopper to Sifu in no time.
7 Printers were never great
Ahhh, the printer: For years, office workers have battled burnt toner cartridges, smudges, and fuzzy and crooked copies of important documents, while sadly contributing to deforestation around the world. Where would the office be without this massive behemoth taking up space where a trendy coffee station might otherwise exist?
The truth is that printers are pretty horrible, especially those used in corporate environments. They are prone to mechanical and software failure, require constant toner changes, and need to separate entire storage rooms to house mountains of paper packages. In the age of the Internet, these machines have largely been put to graze, or perhaps beaten to death with a baseball bat.
6 Downsizing is not always a bad thing
The film focuses primarily on the downsizing taking place at Initech, a corporation that seemed unprepared to join the cabal of powerful fictitious corporations. While this practice is considered largely evil, it is sometimes a necessary step in keeping a business afloat and running efficiently. Throwing money at a problem in the form of superfluous employees does no one any good.
The reduction of Office space it is not entirely negative. For example, one of the nicest characters, Thomas Smykowski is literally used without good reason, and when pressed on the subject, he struggles to find a rational explanation. Downsizing for profit? Bad. Downsizing to improve efficiency? That’s another thing.
5 Show some spine
The number one mistake many office workers make is becoming a “yes man.” They perform their tasks with diligence and commitment, every day, they don’t question their authority figures, and they are more than willing to go the extra mile (or two, or three) for the sake of their managers or bosses.
While this attitude seems like a path to success, it is actually the opposite. Milton learns this the hard way when a bossy jerk of a boss, Lumbergh, keeps belittling and dismissing his concerns as he piles up menial tasks that aren’t even in his job description. He fails to earn any respect and ends up being harassed as a result.
4 TPS reports are crimes against humanity
It is good that the modern office is changing, because the old system is practically unworkable at the moment. Employee retention is now considered a key component of many successful companies, which means making them happy is a priority. In the old days (not so long ago), the opposite was true. Either hold on or give up.
Office space popularized the otherwise boring TPS report, a quality assurance document typically designed with the IEEE in mind. It is largely used as a torture device to frustrate low-level employees and drive them crazy with what is essentially tedious and superfluous paperwork. TPS reports probably serve a purpose, but for the average worker, they are one step closer to throwing in the towel.
3 Go for the cake early
It’s worth betting that many workers have been left with an empty plate at company parties, as management saw fit to purchase a cake for an office of 50 people. However, this ridiculous practice continues, creating resentment and animosity among staff. After all, who wants to be the person left holding a fork, with nothing to show for it?
In the complicated world of corporate parties, everyone is on their own. Go get the cake and make it quick before there’s nothing left. This is doubled if Janet from accounting has a history of hooking up and securing a slice at every party she’s attended. It’s time for her to sacrifice herself so someone else can feast on.
two Always take advantage of free advertising
Office space fans see a red stapler and an involuntary reflex kicks in. The Swingline 646 is so synonymous with the movie that it has become a pop culture icon in the same way that the Ark of the Covenant was. In search of the lost ark. In fact, the movie probably put Swingline back on the map and gave it a huge corporate edge.
Fans of the film demanded a red Swingline stapler in droves, and the company responded by pumping out an official red model to cope with the increase. What’s so great about the Swingline stapler? Nobody really knows, but it’s red, and apparently, it’s basic like a boss, because Milton definitely doesn’t want to part with his.
1 You don’t feel in a sequel
Office space it performed poorly when it first came out, and that was probably due to a lack of faith in a movie about a bunch of guys complaining about their jobs. The implication is that people went to the movies to escape their everyday lives, not to remember them. Unfortunately, they missed the fact that Office space it was a satirical catharsis: a soothing balm for a lingering wound.
In an interview with Film School Rejects, Mike Judge mentioned that he resisted the idea of doing a sequel or a television series., which in hindsight, was a huge mistake. Finally, the British series The office It was adapted for American audiences and became one of the most successful comedy series in the country. The lesson? Believe in your product.
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