Film poster for Office Space – Copyright 1999, 20th Century Fox (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Written by: Sarah Carter
Peter Gibbons-
Peter Gibbons from Office Space[1] is one of the only examples of a “Slacker” hero who becomes labeled as a hero by literally slacking off on the job by refusing to comply with his company’s dress code, not following his boss’s orders, and being unmotivated to be productive at work. For the majority of the film, he contemplates and schemes how his life would be if he did not have to work for a living and pay bills, resulting in frequent daydreaming on his part. When Peter learns that two of his white collar colleagues Samir Nagheenanajar and Michael Bolton may be fired in the near future by new management, they decide to secretly infect Initech’s computer software with a virus that will create monetary dividends to their advantage. But the virus causes the trio to inadvertently embezzle more money than they originally calculated. Peter then proceeds to take charge of the situation by accepting full blame for the misdemeanor. He writes a letter to his boss with the stolen money enclosed, disclosing every detail and plan of action he and his colleagues discussed. However, when Peter returns to work fully expecting to be arrested when he arrives, he sees that Initech was set on fire, bursting into flames before his very eyes. Near the closing of the film, it is suspected that Milton Waddams, (one of Peter’s obsessive former Initech colleagues) caused the fire, potentially due to his always being the brunt of office jokes and the poor treatment he received from his boss (Bill Lumbergh). Since Initech was burnt down, all reliable evidence of the scandal was destroyed, saving Peter and his friends Samir and Michael from a prison sentence and/or a massive fine of money. Despite the fact that Peter is portrayed as an irresponsible, disgruntled, stubborn co-worker, he becomes a “Slacker” hero in the end by sticking up for his friends and accepting full blame for the crime they willingly committed.
_______________________________
[1] Office Space. Directed by Mike Judge. USA: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1999. DVD.
See the following journal article on how researchers have used the movie Office Space in an experiment with students in order to study concepts of organizational communication: Bunz, Ulla. “Reviewing Organizational Communication Concepts with the Movie ‘Office Space.’” Communication Teacher 20, no. 2 (April 2006): 36-39. Accessed July 4, 2013. Communication & Mass Media Complete.
Epic Heroism for the 21st Century: a Multimedia Web Resource 