Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder
Lest Ye Be Mike Judge
Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2003 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.
I saw Office Space with many other people (including Adam, Josh, and Karen) and enjoyed it. The Saturday midnight movies at the Act I & II sell out quick (I had to snag a ticket from an acquaintance, as I arrived only 30 minutes before the alleged showtime), and the queue either is or allows me to believe it is a Who's Who of UC Berkeley.
When in conversation I mentioned Zed as "Zed who does MemeMachineGo!," I stimulated Adam to eventually ask me whether perhaps I'm reading too many weblogs.
I originally avoided Office Space because I heard it stereotyped Indians, and because it seemed to just repeat Dilbert humor. Well, for one thing, Samir is Muslim, so that's not too stereotypical. And yes, Ajay Naidu speaks English with a South Asian accent, but I wouldn't say the film stereotypes his character any more than it stereotypes Jennifer Aniston's waitress character. And as for unoriginality, the long form of the movie allows character development and more realism, leading to quite un-Dilbertish narrative. Recommended for those who have ever worked in cubicles.
Just as I was about to park near my house, I stopped; two girls were puzzling over a map at a bus stop, in the rain, at two in the morning. I gave them a ride home to Alameda, and promptly became quite lost. On an island. My peregrinations took me to a closed airport road, the wrong way down a few one-way streets, to a shoreline, and more than the duration of Weird Al's Bad Hair Day album. Finally I called Michael on my cell and he MapQuested me back to the mainland and its freeway. Phew.
