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Being given nonsensical and petty commands at work would make most of us pretty annoyed.
After all, humor is a pretty effective solution for a lot of tense situations.
A mansharedhis bit of malicious compliance when he was told to be more quiet during his warehouse job.
He did exactly as told and ended up giving a number of his coworkers and customers jump scares.
If you are not familiar, the principle is quite simple.
This is considered the bread and butter of many horrormovies.
Interestingly, one of the first jumpscares was perhaps not entirely intentional.
Orson Welles put a transition inCitizen Kanewhich was accompanied by a shriekingcockatoo.
A famous example isthe Maze, sometimes calledthe Scary Maze Game.
The player must navigate a cube through a maze without touching the walls.
If you were curious, the face in question is the possessed girl from theExorcist.
This is all possible because of our bodies startle response or startle reflex.
This is perhaps why this tale seems so humorous to some readers.
It is a classic example of getting exactly what you asked for without being too dark or depressing.
This is also the fun in most malicious compliancestories.
Its passive aggressive, but, importantly, the power dynamic tends to favor the weaker party.
After all, its normally a manager or boss who is giving poorly thought out orders.
The maliciously complying worker just follows them and lets whatever is going to happen unfold.
