I believe he uses the radio as a coping mechanism because it gives him a sense of routine. This is because with the constant desk changing he still has his radio on every day. I also believe that he fixates on objects for the same purpose. For example, the red stapler. Milton grows very attached to the red stapler, and is very distraught when his boss Lumbergh takes it from him. Another character, Tom is very unsatisfied with his position at Initech. His method of escapism is to envision himself as an entrepreneur, in order to fixate on one day leaving his current job. He has ideas such as the "Jump-To-Conclusion" game. Eventually he becomes severely injured and is able to get out of Initech and begin his entrepreneurship. The waitress, Joanna, is another character who is unsatisfied with her job. Her perky coworker is constantly trying to exceed expectations, in regards to the flare they are expected to wear. The boss notices the effort and tells Joanna she should be wearing more than the minimum amount of flare. I believe she chooses to resist these demands as a way of showing her boss that she doesn't care if she does the bare minimum. I believe this rebellious behavior can be seen as a coping mechanism because she chooses to disregard her bosses' suggestions. The character Michael Bolton, who also works at Initech, takes his job frustrations out in the form of violence. The office printer is a physical representation of everything he dislikes about Initech. It runs painfully slow causing him to react with violence. I believe this is a direct form of coping, because it is an immediate reaction. He is able to channel his anger into one object and have some form of stress relief by hitting the machine. .
2. After having viewed the film, what do you think of John Kane's "Radical Analysis" of Office Space? Is it convincing? Why or why not? .
After reading "Work Sucks: A Radical Analysis of Office Space" by John Kane, I find it to be a somewhat convincing article.
