The Office and Philosophy by J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Author:J. Jeremy Wisnewski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Published: 2008-08-27T04:00:00+00:00

The Fatal Strategy of Gareth Keenan

Two Lesbians, probably sisters—I’m just watching. (1:4)

Gareth Keenan, the Brentian mini-me, is a consummate example of Baudrillard’s “fatal strategy.” A fatal strategy is a system that cannot sustain itself—that is doomed to destruction. For Baudrillard, social systems always contain the seeds of their own destruction. The rise of terrorism is the fatal strategy of desire for freedom; obesity is the fatal strategy of the desire for consumption.

Idolizing Brent, Gareth models his language and lifestyle on him: “Just the eight pints for me last night then.” He sees himself as a womanizer with deadly pick-up lines like “Are you going to be sleeping with him again or spreading it around” (1:5) and as both sensitive and strong, suggesting “I’ll do you from behind if it’s just a quick in and out” (2:3 ). In his desire to become Brent, Gareth produces violent reactions. He has occasional victories (the menage-a-trois with the bikies at Chasers (1:3), the dreadlocked blonde at the end-of-year financial party (1:6), the “sex toys”). But these victories are overshadowed by the failures. Gareth, utilizing the systems and codes of Brent, takes them to a higher, more hyperrealized level and they cave in on him. His sexism intensifies when he opines “Women who work in factories are slappers” (2:3). His homophobia heightens, leading him to facetiously conclude “And that’s one of the main arguments against letting gay men into the army,” all the while insisting that he is not homophobic. “Come around and look at my CD collection. I’ve got Queen, George Michael, Pet Shop Boys. They’re all bummers” (1:2). Gareth’s inability to sustain and develop interpersonal relationships sees him finally dissolve into a bumbling mess in Brent’s office, begging to be “assistant national manger” at the end of series one (1:6).

Gareth uses his insensitivity to claim that he is sensitive; he uses his homophobia as evidence that he is not homophobic. In his attempt to ingratiate himself into a conversation (the Brentian desire for universal acceptance) Gareth pushes the boundaries of the conversation to the extreme through either being offensive, as in explaining the negativity of sexually transmitted diseases in the army (“Paxton sir he’s got knob rot off some tart” (1:5)), or banal, as in challenging the competency of technology:

Gareth: [on the phone] I just got a complaint from a very important client, claiming that the figures I gave him were wrong, and …

[Pauses to hear person on the other end of the line]

Gareth: Yeah, well basically I’ve checked all other possibilities and it’s come down to the calculator [pauses again]. Well, I don’t know. Circuitry? Sorry, who is this I’m talking to?

The absurd is another thing that interrupts the flow of normal conversation, and pushes the boundaries of intelligibility. Consider Gareth’s conversation with Tim about Tim’s plans to go back to university:

Gareth: What do you want to be a psychiatrist for? They’re all mad themselves, aren’t they?

Tim: I want to be a psychologist.

Gareth: Same difference. All right then Einstein, what am

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