All the movies I have reviewed thus far have been dramas, because typically dramas contain underlying philosophies and themes that reflects a certain issue or time period. Office Space, however, is a comedy that examines life in a cubicle in a humorous way that you come to the realization of your working life while you chuckle. This movie does a wonderful job of questioning our sense of enjoyment in our current occupation that may deprive us of our time with friends, family, spirituality and more. While it is absolutely necessary to make a living in today’s world to provide for you or you’re family, so much is lost when we fully give ourselves to our occupation. In the current industrialized world, America works more hours per week, takes less vacations and have lower paid vacations/sick days, as the graph below shows.
As Pete, the protagonist in the film, finds out, money isn’t going to buy you happiness; doing what you love for a living will.
Pete works at an IT company, Initech, in which he feels he is serving a life sentence to his job. He’s feels no excitement in his life to the point where his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend takes him to see a hypnotherapist to bring him out off his funk. When the hypnotherapist hypnotizes Peter, the therapist dies of a heart attack, leaving Pete seemingly emotionless. However, the next morning, he abandons his expectations in terms of his work life, love life and does as he pleases without the fear of his boss, Bill Lumberg, breathing down his neck. From here, he begins to date a waitress named Joanna, who also despise her job. He comes into work abiding by his own rules: coming in as he pleases, wearing what he likes and working at his own pace(if he’s even working at all). In a pivotal point in the movie, Pete goes to speak with two corporate consultants, Bob and Bob, who are interviewing every employee to determine who will be getting laid off. When it’s comes time for Pete’s interview, he leaves it all out on the table, describing his everyday routine. Coming in late, staring off into space for about an hour before he begins working and confessing to working for only about 15 minutes of “real, actual” work a week. Ironically, the Bobs feel Pete should be promoted to a manager.
The plot thickens when Pete’s only two friends at the company, Michael Bolton(not the singer) and Samir Nagheenanajar are laid off when they clearly take their job more seriously than Peter. In an effort to get back at their former employers, they commit theft electronically that didn’t go according to plan, with Peter slidding the amount stolen in Lumberg’s vacant office, willing to take the fall. But as fate would have it, the building is burned down, and the check is taken by one of the moronic employees for his vacation. Pete then leaves the white collar lifestyle for good and works as a construction worker, happy as can be.
I’m not advocating you quit your job, but don’t let it turn you into a soulless puppet that goes through the motions of life. As Pete said to Michael:
“It’s not just about me and my dream of doing nothing. It’s about all of us. I don’t know what happened to me at that hypnotherapist and, I don’t know, maybe it was just shock and it’s wearing off now, but when I saw that fat man keel over and die – Michael, we don’t have a lot of time on this earth! We weren’t meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements.”
We all have aspirations of doing something we love. If you do what you love you’ll never work a day in your life. Some people don’t mind working well over 40 hours a week because they genuinely enjoy what they do. These are the people who are truly content in their lives because they are not grappled down by the pressures of an unwanted anxiety that they commit themselves too. Money is without a doubt beneficial, but is not the equivalent of happiness. It’s only when we strive to be a part of something that gives us honest purpose in our lives where we are truly happy. Some people dedicate there whole life to a job that once they get laid off, they are without purpose and take their own life. You are not defined by your job, and never mistake yourself for a falsified version of yourself in the workplace. You only have one life to life, don’t waste it on something you loath. Remember what is really important in life and your freedom will constitute your happiness.
Aron's Movies 