I know I've mentioned the movie Office Space more than a few times on my weblog. But what I hadn't realized until today is that the movie is a lot like an Outlook virus.

I was minding my own business today after a longer than expected meeting/presentation at work when Kasia said she was gonna watch Office Space. Of course, that led to a lot back and forth quoting of some of the best lines in the movie. Of course, that led to me wanting to watch it for the billionth time. (What can I say? It's a classic.)

So I head home and she's half way thru the movie. By the time I get home after stopping at Whole Foods (which kicks much ass, BTW), she's quoting stuff from the end of the movie and has an IM status of "it feels good to be a gangsta."

Wasting no time, I grabbed my dinner (soup, in case you're curious) and started the show. About 20 minutes later, she said that Derek is watching it now too. (Apparently he saw her IM status and that was enough to get him watching the movie too.) So I toss a few of my favorite quotes his way and he responds with a classic:

Illeagal?!?! Samir, this is AMERICA!

Then he asks me if I'm also watching the movie. After learning that I am, he made the profound observation that Office Space is like an Outlook virus for geeks.

He just might be right.

Now that the movie is over, I'm posting this in the hopes of spreading the meme virus. :-)

And, before, you waste your time looking: No. The iTunes Music Store does not carry the soundtrack.

Pity. Amazon has it as well as the movie itself, of course.

Update: Not 3 minutes after posting this, one of my coworkers noticed my IM status of "federal 'pound me in the ass' prison" and started throwing Office Space lines at me. It really is a freakin' geek virus!

Posted by jzawodn at March 30, 2004 10:11 PM

Reader Comments
# Jonathan Disher said:

ugh. now i'm gonna wanna watch it tomorrow while the Dell guy is replacing my laptop screen (for the second time in two days)

on March 30, 2004 10:47 PM
# david said:

Its coming..attack of the red staplers.. Damn, now I know what i'll be watching inbetween coding sessions next week on break.

on March 30, 2004 10:50 PM
# Chris Pirillo said:

Umm, yeah... didn't you get the memo about those TPS reports? We're gonna need you to add them to every one of your posts. M'kay? Yeah...

on March 30, 2004 11:44 PM
# justin said:

that would be greeaaaaat...

on March 31, 2004 01:06 AM
# Wahyu Wijanarko said:

Hmm, Office Space is like an Outlook virus for geeks?

on March 31, 2004 03:37 AM
# Kasia Trapszo said:

It cured my case of the Tuesdays.

on March 31, 2004 05:24 AM
# Mike said:

Not moments after reading this I mentioned it to someone in my office who I find, after a trip to the soda machine, playing the sound track. His IM status has the song listed.

So the question is, how could you measure the spread of the virus?

on March 31, 2004 08:36 AM
# George Schlossnagle said:

Strangely serendipitous: http://georgemustgo.blogspot.com/2004_03_21_georgemustgo_archive.html

on March 31, 2004 01:42 PM
# Brian said:

Office Space is a classic Meme:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme

..which 'Geeks' seem to be more susceptible too than your average bear.

My sister is decidedly non-technical but loves this movie as well and can hold her own in a round of quoting. She loves it so much I had to go buy myself another copy.

At the risk of overstating the obvious I think Office Space is a 'classic' because everyone recognizes themselves and a number of either current or previous co-workers in the cast.

Office Space seems to rise around here as Spring arrives but I can't quantify that at this time. My theory is that the movie has generally bright and sunny spring/summer outdoor footage and a barbecue scene which indexes it seasonally in the minds of most. The Jury is still out on that one as well.

Don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily follow Meme theory to the extremes that others do, but it's a nice analogy for those times when someone quotes a line or walks by humming a tune and it becomes lodged in your head for hours afterward.

Other Meme's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base_are_belong_to_us

may be considered less fortunate by some but no less effective.

on March 31, 2004 01:44 PM
# Scott Johnson said:

Office Space is definitely one of my top five favorite movies. And I know a lot of non-geeks that feel the same way.

It's my opinion that we think of the movie as a "geek virus" because geeks tend to get stuck in Office Space-like office environments a lot more often than those in other professions. I know I've had my share of those experiences.

on March 31, 2004 07:46 PM
# Matthias said:

Hey Jeremy,
you are a quite nasty guy! ;) ;)
To spread viruses ...

I'm infected enough!!
Playing Computer games, surfing the web, building websites, blogging, ...
Please not more!!!

;) ;)

Matthias

on March 31, 2004 11:45 PM
# Mictke said:

PC load letter, what the f--k does that mean?


similarly, singing..."all you gotta do is just load letter paper..."

thank you and goodnight

on September 21, 2004 10:03 PM
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