Parallel Universes

Parallel Universes reimagines the 1999 movie Office Space in two edits: one version removes all dialogue, originally distributed as a screensaver through ScreenSaverGallery, while the other retains only the dialogue, cutting everything in between, and was shared via file-sharing networks as an optimized version of the film. These edits reflect on computational culture’s obsession with efficiency.

Parallel Universes draws inspiration from an efficiency hack described in Douglas Coupland’s novel Microserfs, applying it to Mike Judge’s Office Space. Both Microserfs and Office Space explore the lives of 1990s programmers. In Microserfs, ex-Microsoft employees, passionately pouring long hours into their new project, seek efficient ways to recharge without losing momentum. They discover that the most efficient and least time-consuming way is to watch subtitled foreign movies, fast-forwarding through scenes without dialogue. Meanwhile, the unmotivated programmers of Office Space, tasked with Y2K software updates, face a darker form of optimization: external consultants conduct efficiency audits, resulting in widespread layoffs. Ultimately, the protagonist finds solace as a construction worker, clearing debris from the burned-down office and its destroyed computers.

Inspired by the movie’s ending, Parallel Universe’s screensaver version challenges its viewers: to watch the entire edited film, they must refrain from using their devices for its full duration.