The red Swingline stapler is a relatively significant object in Office Space. It is an object that secondary character Milton admires and has since become synonymous with the film.
Purpose[]
During the movie, Milton continuously defends the stapler from Lumbergh and refers to it on multiple occasions. When it's taken from him, he threatens to 'set the whole building on fire'.
The stapler's bright red as opposed to a usual grey or black tone indicates its value to Milton as one of the few things in the office that can bring joy or a semblance of personality and color. Lumbergh's persistent confiscation of the stapler indicates his lack of empathy and overall dislikable personality, eager to leave Milton with as little as possible in order to power trip. It ends up being one of the last straws for Milton before he causes the Initech fire. Afterwards, Peter finds it while working on the demolition crew, alluding to returning it to him.
A diamond in the rubble.
Trivia[]
- The stapler prop was not originally red and was painted the iconic color specifically for the movie.
- After Office Space's unexpected success, Swingline actually began producing and selling red staplers. They are available to purchase from Amazon.