> Date: Tue, 9 Dec 1997 20:15:46 -0500
> Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> From: Doug Henwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: Dilbert
> Dilbert is a perfect way for cubicle-bound office drones to blow off steam
> in a socially harmless way. The author's politics are a perfect fit for the
> way the cartoon is consumed. Don't rebel, don't unionize - laugh at the
> stupid boss!
I said this was a waste of time, and here I am
wasting more time. My brain goes into low-
power consumption mode after 8 pm.
Laughter can be prelude to rebellion.
I hypothesize that desperation and gloom
less often are. I would bet that an office of
'Dilbert' readers are more likely to unionize
than an office of 'zippy the pinhead' fans.
The hierarchical structure of Dilbert bears
some review.
The boss is a perfect idiot, but he's the least
of the power structure. At the top of the food
chain is Dogbert and his 'special body of
armed men,' Bob the Dinasaur. Dogbert
is able to con and/or intimidate everyone
and is a reasonable model of the fundamental
illegitimacy of the social order and the market.
He routinely sells products utterly lacking in
utility. Bob the D of course is pure physical
force, amoral and relentless; his specialty is
wedgies, which he is even capable of delivering
over the phone lines. Then there is Catbert,
"evil director of human resources." who offers
nothing in the way of workplace productivity and
devotes himself to tormenting workers for the
pure pleasure of it, emphasizing the alienation
of the w.c. at the point of production and the
amorality of capitalism. Finally there is
Ratbert, a complete sucker, the apotheosis of the
helpless victim of corporate culture.
Then there are the gallant workers.
There is the female engineer with the
big hair, a worthy representative of
assertive feminism. There is Wally,
who resists and survives by reveling in his
unpro-ductivity. And finally there is Dilbert
himself, who routinely ridicules his
boss to his face without the latter's
knowledge and still manages to get
his job done. He is clearly more
qualified to run the company than the boss
himself, though it is not clear he could best the
diabolical genius Dogbert in quasi-competitive
markets. Which points up the need for radical
solutions to the likes of Dogbert and his goon
Bob.
Some reactionaries have produced great
art, and some draw pretty good comic strips.
Next week we can tackle an advanced subject like
the dialectics of Dirty Harry.
MBS
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