Do you think the satire depicted in the Movie “Office Space” is less pronounced in European culture that doesn’t seem to be as heavily influenced by Capitalism?

14 comments

1. I honestly don’t know what day to day office culture is like in Europe. Wouldn’t it make more sense to ask this question of Europeans?

2. Europeans aren’t capitalists anymore?

3. Maybe I’m not some great thinking fella, but I genuinely don’t think about stuff like that.

   I just work hard to leave a better life for my daughter, and try to be the best person possible. So far it has seemed to work out just fine, I stayed in my lane worked my tail off and can now say I’m more happy and doing better than I have before.

   I get to do things I love relatively often like fish and go out doors while still working a full time job, I personally love capitalism it has benefitted myself and my family greatly.

4. I have no idea what European office culture is like, and while I’m a fairly I inquisitive person, it’s not high on my list of subjects to learn about.

   So I can’t do a direct comparison.

   However, one positive side effect of COVID is that more and more Americans with “office” jobs work from home at least part of the time, so the sort of tedium seen in the movie is less of a concern.

5. I don’t know what it’s like in European offices. It wouldn’t surprise me if an American movie was a better depiction of America than Europe though, yeah.

6. I don’t know, all I know is that Michael Bolton is eerily similar to me personality-wise. I fucking hate it when technology doesn’t work, and only rap when I’m alone.

7. >for the sake of performance metrics

   Yeah I’ve got news for you about the USSR and CCP.

8. Capitalism isn’t some sentient being out there influencing everyday life, it’s literally just an economic system. It likely has to do with cultural differences, not capitalism.

   Also, when did America become the only capitalist country?

9. It’s a movie about American culture, made by Americans, for an American audiences, so no I would say that it does not accurately depict European culture.

   As to the rest of your question, I would say it’s a 90 minute comedy movie. You don’t need to read that deeply into it.

10. The Office was originally a UK show. I don’t think this phenomenon is uniquely American thing. Also, on the second part, I don’t go into a French Sub-Reddit and go “Hey, why are you lazy bums always striking?” It’s just a different value set on work in the US, as opposed to somewhere like say France.

11. You’re taking a high-flying idea and trying to cram it into a box the size of a popular Gen X movie about pointless work. It’s not going to look pretty.

    Office Space is a reaction to the monotony of many jobs and the empty words and management that does nothing for anyone except to keep up an act so that… well, that’s sort of the point, as best I can summarize a movie I haven’t seen in years. It doesn’t touch on the justification for the system, let alone tie it to a “pushy” idea of American enterprise. That’s on you.

    You could bring up Marx and the idea of alienation, just change the setting from a factory to an office. That’s a challenge to capitalism. Maybe a focus on innovation somehow increase the amount of “bullshit” jobs and increases alienation overall.

    But that’s quite an argument to make and then you’d have to find something about it that explains why Europeans with a less “innovative” approach would lead to less bullshit jobs, somehow.

    See how this idea feels half-baked? Maybe you just read too much into what is a very generation-specific approach to making fun of work. Or you don’t have the right words to express your idea.

12. You’re trying to fit a round peg in a square hole there.

    And as others have said, it is a movie about American’s living in America….

13. OP your post history suggests you are European.

    Why don’t *you* tell us?

14. You do realize office space is satire, right? And not some deep meditation on how modern techno-capitalism has led to some new era of mass alienation?

    Anyway, in my industry I have about two weeks a year less vacation than my European counterparts but otherwise things are pretty similar and I make about twice as much – so I’m good, thanks. Happy to continue in my little capitalist hellhole.