Perhaps the most common unifier of students at the University is their faith in their degree’s promise of a prosperous career. A cushy office chair and reliable paycheck, to many, is the most tangible reward for four years of undergraduate education meandering through academic, professional and personal successes and failures.
Fourth-year students flying into the workplace post-graduation — and other students pursuing internships who will soon find themselves in those same shoes — are entering a world no longer graced by peachy days on the Lawn or upheld by an Honor Code. Instead, many may find themselves bound by rigid, financially consequential project deadlines and ingratiating workplace politics. These three films detail how to comprehend, climb and cruise across corporate America for those still finding the prospect of an office-centered life overwhelming.
“Office Space” (1999)
Garnering much of its public praise long after its theatrical release, director Mike Judge’s “Office Space” is a scathing satire of the workplace. Its tagline, “Work Sucks,” and plot that follows the occupational frustration of protagonist Peter Gibbons — played by Ron Livingston — leaves little room for appreciation of a standard 9-5 lifestyle. Office work is portrayed as monotonous and meaningless under Gibbons’ employer, software company Initech. Employees spend their days comically bickering at one another while occupied with busywork and the fear of being fired. A strange sequence of events leads to Gibbons suddenly no longer caring about his job, making him hilariously disregard workplace protocol, and, ironically, achieve a promotion as a result.
Initech’s drab environment is one any recent graduate would be wise to avoid altogether. Though their employee’s collective misery might be hysterical in the film’s one-and-a-half hour runtime, a sense of desperation and hope for escape underscores “Office Space.” After endless trials and tribulations in his programming job, Gibbons finds salvation in an alternative career path. As a result, his lack of regard for Initech’s drudgery speaks to the importance of agency in the workplace. Judge’s black comedy reminds spectators to never compromise their sense of self or deep-rooted passions — a message especially pertinent to students now entering the corporate universe for the first time.
“Wall Street” (1987)
Crime drama “Wall Street,” directed by William Oliver Stone, wields a title enough to entice the viewership of hyperambitious recent graduates alone. Stone’s film — named after and set on perhaps the most infamous landmark in New York City’s financial district — paints a cinematic picture of the cutthroat environment and moral apathy for which the financial industry is colloquially known.
“Wall Street” follows striving rookie stockbroker Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen, as he attempts to claw his way up the corporate ladder. Obsessed with the financial genius of the ruthless corporate raider Gordon Gekko — played by Michael Douglas — Fox weasels his way into a partnership with Gekko by enticing him with insider trading schemes. Thrust into a world of riches and avarice, Fox grapples with a wealth of moral and personal dilemmas.
Gekko, as cold-blooded as his surname suggests, lives by the mantra that “greed is good” — one that dooms him to an internal life of loneliness and dissatisfaction despite material success. Fox, as he progresses further down the hole that sunk Gekko, similarly never finds his heart as full as his wallet. Stone’s thrilling narrative and gripping characters warn against unbridled greed and the admiration of money above all else. The film’s stakes depict a level of difficulty and sacrifice in the workplace arguably unfit for wide-eyed young graduates. Students captured by the outward glamor of Wall Street, as the film of the same name suggests, should ensure that allure is not motivated by the wrong reasons.
“The Secret of My Success” (1987)
A far more lighthearted New York City story — released eight months before “Wall Street” — is “The Secret of My Success.” Directed by Herbert Ross, the film is a charismatic comedy chronicling the romantic and corporate journey of recent college graduate Brantley Foster, played by Michael J. Fox. After an untimely layoff from his job as a financier due to a hostile takeover, Foster stumbles into a role as a mail clerk at a relative’s multimillion dollar company, the Pemrose Corporation. Foster uncovers ignorant and wasteful decisions among Pemrose executives, and, by adopting a false identity, postures his own executive role at the firm to conveniently solve the issues they cause.
Through undying self-confidence and sharp business intuition, Foster finds success in his made-up leadership position and eventually secures an enviable role on his own terms. Despite the fact that Foster began on the lowest rung of the corporate ladder, his willingness to challenge authority and trust his instinct catapults towards the financial triumph any energetic new graduate may seek.
Ross’s comedic rendition of high-flying business environments serves as an upbeat reminder to lead with individuality and cast out self-doubt in the face of workplace adversity. The film’s titular “secret” — applying oneself whenever possible — is one that prospective junior employees should hold close to their hearts when navigating initially intimidating corporate atmospheres.
The workplace experience’s ubiquity lends to cinematic portrayals of it that convey almost every sort of message and emotion possible. Those looking to find an exact replica of what to anticipate from what may be decades in the office may not find their desired answers in cinema, but instead can come across personal tales that outline the values and behaviors most conducive to fulfillment in professional lives. As graduates leave the University to embark on a seemingly endless journey and younger counterparts balance career opportunities, films like these three can help maintain senses of promise and individuality in the workplace.
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