We’re in the office. Sally has traded in her previous blue power blazer for a salmon-colored one. She is also looking much more casual than in the past few strips, with the blazer unbuttoned and sleeves rolled up in a way that says “I’ve got some dirty work to take care of…”

“Guys, I have some important news to share with you…” she begins.

Sally pauses for a moment, She crosses her arms and takes a second to consider.

“…which knowing you,” she continues, “is probably best told at Dave & Busters.”

“I call shotgun!” exclaims one excited employee!

“Me too!” chimes another.

SUBTEXT: If you recall from previous posts, Sally’s office has been downsizing, and she carries to burden of telling her employees whether or not they will still have jobs. Will they? Won’t they? That is yet to be discovered.  As stated above, Sally’s change in wardrobe is very telling.  Anybody well-versed in non-verbal communication can tell that something is afoot when their boss, normally looking prim and professional in royal blue is now wearing a friendlier, more casual tone, both unbuttoned with sleeves rolled up.  It is clear her employees haven’t caught on yet. These dimwits are just excited when they hear about Dave and Buster’s.

This strip also plays to the idea that Sally is a mother not only at home, but at the workforce as well. A subordinate with selective hearing? Sound like anyone else you may recognize? Daughter Hilary, perhaps?

Cultural Relevance: 10/10

Overall Grade: A-

No update because I didn’t understand it today.

We’re in a board meeting. Sally’s boss, a more approachable version of Lou Grant from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, calls her up to address the room and share her thoughts.

“I miss so much sunlight being at work I feel like the little girl on Venus in that Ray Bradbury story,” she tells the board.

“Sal, a word…” her boss replies ominously.

—-

SUBTEXT: Here’s something we can all relate to…the humdrum monotony of an office job. Sally’s brazen report to the board is sure to turn some heads, that’s for certain, but she is not the kind of person who can keep her mouth shut.  While Sally is not trying to improve her working conditions, nor does she think this little act of rebellion will have any result whatsoever, it is a small display of her independence. “You may hold me here from 9-5. You may shove me in a cubicle with mounds of tedious work. But you will not silence me” she is telling the board. However, by doing so in a less serious tone, she is able to both speak her mind and avoid harsh consequence.

Sally is of course referencing “All Summer In A Day,” by Ray Bradbury, in which young Margot has moved from Earth to Venus, where sunlight only appears for two hours every seven years. The other kids in school have never seen sunlight, only Margot. To Sally Forth, sunlight is a metaphor for her family, for her friends, for her life. The board, however, much like the children who taunted and abused Margot in Bradbury’s classic story, don’t know that there is anything outside of the office. The office is their life.

Do not mistake Sally’s boss interrupting her to have “a word” as a disciplinary action. The casual tone plus his use of the nickname “Sal” shows a certain amount of respect for and understanding of Sally’s plight. Clearly she will not be fired. A slap on the wrist doesn’t even seem likely. He’s just looking for a way to pull Sally from the board meeting before things go wrong. He is protecting her, really. Not punishing her.

We open on Sally in the office, wearing a smart blue blazer over a black blouse. Several windows are open on her computer, so we can tell she’s been working.  At this moment, however, she is not working. She rests her chin on her hand as she listens to the complaints of two employees.

One is named Michael. He is balding with spectacles and a polka dot bow tie. While not classically handsome, Michael could easily pass as the spokesman for a company that sells frozen chicken breasts. The other employee, looking very much like a beatnik in his black turtle neck and whispy goatee, complains to Sally that Michael has eaten his potato chips. Sally is nonplussed. Her ambivalence concerns both Michael and the employee with a goatee.

“Aren’t you going to yell at him? Or yell at us for bringing this to you?” one of them enquires.

“Wha? Oh. Right. Whatever,” Sally responds lazily.

The two employees leave Sally’s office, looking even more unnerved than when they entered. Something his off. Her lack of concern in this issue draws Michael to the conclusion that they are to be fired. The employee with the goatee, however, suggests that perhaps they are getting a raise.

“These management types are crafty,” he explains wisely.

SUBTEXT: While typically men are not prone to picking up on nuances, this is a playful scenario in which two generally well-meaning males do in fact read into a woman’s behavior, only this time is nothing to read into!  Simply put, Sally doesn’t care. Her apathy towards the potato chip incident unsettles the two employees because in their mind, women typically DO care about such trivial conflict, turning their pre-conceived notions of women in the workplace slightly on its side.

CULTURAL RELEVANCE - 8/10

OVERALL GRADE - B+