In a recent Office episode Michael, the oblivious manager of the Scranton Branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, gets invited to speak at a business class of one of his employees. It quickly becomes obvious that Michael really has no idea what he is talking about when it comes to business and when one of the students asks him what he is going to do to compete with a world being dominated by large companies like Staples and OfficeMax, Michael responds, “Dunder Mifflin is the world, can’t you see that?” In a world that is growing increasingly more global, where large companies can kick out the little guys like Dunder Mifflin, the drive for prosperity and development versus the desire to retain identity and traditions has never been more visible.
We all want everyday low prices but what about a place that we can call home? How long can we compromise lower prices for the local shop where everybody knows your name and where you’re treated like a human being? What would the world be like if eccentric offices like Michael Scott’s were all replaced by huge cold conglomerates like Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and Office Max? Could you imagine crazy Dwight being replaced by a robot or Phyllis being outsourced to India? We can’t afford to have our lives run by faceless corporations guided by the invisible hand.
For this very reason it’s never been more important to support your local scene. Go out of your way to buy a CD from that cool record shop downtown, eat at places that aren’t seen in commercials on TV, buy your snowboard from the local skate shop instead of going to Gart Bros.; do it for The Offices sake. Sure it might cost a little more, but in the end you may just be one more factor that keeps the world from turning into one huge homogenized mush ball. There is something special about Michael’s innocence and his blissfully positive attitude of how his company will succeed, as cheesy as that sounds, but I hope it does. There will always be a desire to socialize with other humans, like Michael Scott says, “People never go out of business.”
We all want everyday low prices but what about a place that we can call home? How long can we compromise lower prices for the local shop where everybody knows your name and where you’re treated like a human being? What would the world be like if eccentric offices like Michael Scott’s were all replaced by huge cold conglomerates like Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and Office Max? Could you imagine crazy Dwight being replaced by a robot or Phyllis being outsourced to India? We can’t afford to have our lives run by faceless corporations guided by the invisible hand.
For this very reason it’s never been more important to support your local scene. Go out of your way to buy a CD from that cool record shop downtown, eat at places that aren’t seen in commercials on TV, buy your snowboard from the local skate shop instead of going to Gart Bros.; do it for The Offices sake. Sure it might cost a little more, but in the end you may just be one more factor that keeps the world from turning into one huge homogenized mush ball. There is something special about Michael’s innocence and his blissfully positive attitude of how his company will succeed, as cheesy as that sounds, but I hope it does. There will always be a desire to socialize with other humans, like Michael Scott says, “People never go out of business.”
1 comentario:
No quotes from The long tail? Or from the World is Flat? hey what gives?
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