It's a big room of cats and dogs and chimpanzees.Come from Away · 2021 — Chapter 16 of 22 · 3'47" · B2
A Fight Breaks Out in the Hallway, Explained: jump at one's own shadow
Days into the grounding, tempers snap. In a hallway, a passenger is accused of celebrating the attacks and told to go home, and she answers, "I'm Muslim, and I was born in Connecticut." The stress is everywhere: no sleep, a storm closing in, and a town doing its best to hold everyone together.
What happens
With the airspace still closed and a hurricane approaching, the stranded passengers and the town that hosts them are stretched to breaking point. In one hallway, a Muslim woman is accused of celebrating the attacks and told to leave. Elsewhere, a stressed animal shelter waits on a pregnant bonobo, and the passengers look for a drink and a distraction.
Listen for
jump at one's own shadowring off the hookshoulder to shoulderanywhere near
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Phrase of the scene
jump at one's own shadow
被自己的影子吓到；紧张到一点动静都受惊
连续几天缺觉之后，大家紧张到被一点小事惊动，用这句话形容自己的状态。
After the break-in, she was jumping at her own shadow.
Also in this scene
- ring off the hook
phone ringing constantly
- shoulder to shoulder
very close together
- anywhere near
close to, mostly in negatives
Everything marked in this scene
34 notes across 78 lines
phone ringing constantly
The phones are ringing off the hook with people who wanna see their pet.close to, mostly in negatives
But they're not allowed anywhere near the planes.But they're not allowed anywhere near the planes.not allowed to
But they're not allowed anywhere near the planes.All animals are affected badly by stress, not just humans.passive voice
All animals are affected badly by stress, not just humans.Some people spend their days crammed inside, shoulder to shoulder,very close together
Some people spend their days crammed inside, shoulder to shoulder,with nothing to do but watch the news and wait for something to happen.On the edgeliaison
On the edgethe more the more
and the more they watch, the more scared and angry they get.None of us have either, and we're jumping at our own shadows.Hey. Hey, what the hell are you saying?elision
Hey. Hey, what the hell are you saying?-I beg your pardon? -You celebrating this?-She's an American citizen! -Don't look American!To keep me from thinking Of all of those scenes on the tubeTo keep me from thinking Of all of those scenes on the tubeAnd here on the ground we're dealing with a whole mess of other problems.Some of the planes are parked on a runway where the surface is all torn up.Her son is a firefighter, and they still can't account for him.And I can't stop shaking.can
I don't know if I can do this anymore.I check in with Air Traffic Control again, and it's more bad news.Hurricane Erin is making landfall tomorrow or the day after.He's about that tall, and he's lost his mind.But I really think you should come home and get some sleep--flap
But I really think you should come home and get some sleep--We are about to have the first rare bonobo chimpanzee born in Newfoundland!Miss Beulah, please let me help with the food.Please. I am a master chef for an international hotel chain.And I think, "Nobody here knows me. I can be whoever I wanna be."A Fight Breaks Out in the Hallway, explained
What's really going on
The scene is where the film's kindness meets its limits and has to be chosen again. Everyone has been generous, but nobody has slept, and the pressure finds an ugly outlet in the hallway, where a woman is accused of celebrating the attacks and told to go home. Her answer is the scene's spine: "I'm Muslim, and I was born in Connecticut." It refuses the assumption behind the question, and it is delivered without shouting. Meanwhile the film keeps the wider picture in view: a hurricane closing in, planes that may never leave, a bonobo about to give birth, travellers trying to find a bar and an hour of forgetting. The point is that hospitality is not a mood; it has to survive the moment when it gets hard.
Theme
IdentityA Muslim American is told she does not belong, and answers by naming both her faith and her birthplace.
TrustUnder exhaustion and fear, the town's welcome is tested, and people choose to keep showing up for each other.
Listen for
- On the edge — liaison
- what the hell — elision
- get some sleep — flap
All animals are affected badly by stress, not just humans.A reminder that the crisis is felt beyond the passengers, extending even to the animals waiting in shelters.
None of us have either, and we're jumping at our own shadows.The shared exhaustion of hosts and guests alike, so tense that any small noise startles them.
Hey. Hey, what the hell are you saying?The sharp opening of a confrontation, the sound of patience running out in a crowded hallway.
I'm Muslim, and I was born in Connecticut.A calm answer to a hostile assumption, claiming both a faith and a home in the same breath.
We are about to have the first rare bonobo chimpanzee born in Newfoundland!An unexpected note of joy in the middle of the crisis, a birth to look after while everything else is breaking.
And I think, "Nobody here knows me. I can be whoever I wanna be."A quiet realisation in a strange town: being unknown is suddenly a kind of freedom.
Questions about this scene
Why does a fight break out in the hallway?
Everyone is exhausted and frightened after days of waiting. A passenger turns on a Muslim woman, accusing her of celebrating the attacks and telling her to go home.
How does the woman respond to the accusation?
She says she is Muslim and was born in Connecticut, pushing back on the idea that her faith makes her foreign or disloyal.
What problems are adding to the strain?
The airspace is still closed, a hurricane is heading for Newfoundland, and some planes are sinking into the tarmac. On top of that, a pregnant bonobo is about to give birth at the shelter.
Why do the passengers go to the Legion?
To get a drink and a break from waiting. One character notes that in a town where nobody knows her, she can be whoever she wants to be.
Come from Away · 22 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 17take the plungeThe Screech-In Ceremony
Chapter 1a lay of the landGander Learns of the Emergency
Chapter 2shaking like a leafPlanes Land Unexpectedly in Gander
Chapter 3a state of emergencyGander Declares a State of Emergency
Chapter 4for the love of GodA Town Gathers Supplies
Chapter 5rumors start flyingPassengers Stuck on Planes for 28 Hours
Chapter 6make no mistakeWaiting on the Plane for News
Chapter 7left over fromPassengers Disembark into the Dark
Chapter 8hear a pin dropGander Finds Translators and Animals
Chapter 9speak the same languageLocals Drive Passengers to the Camp
Chapter 10to the ends of the earthGander Academy Becomes a Shelter
Chapter 11suit yourselfStranded Passengers Wait for News
Chapter 12make small talkGander Locals Take In the Passengers
Chapter 13praise be to GodThe Gayest Town in Newfoundland
Chapter 14there for meA Mother Waits and Tells Jokes
Chapter 15a moment of silenceA Gas Station Falls Silent
Watching · Chapter 16jump at one's own shadowA Fight Breaks Out in the Hallway
Chapter 17take the plungeThe Screech-In Ceremony
Chapter 18Don't be a strangerGander Says Goodbye to the Visitors
Chapter 19take seriouslyA Muslim Passenger Is Searched
Chapter 20seize the momentDiane and Nick at the Lookout
Chapter 21ground zeroThe Aftermath Back Home
Chapter 22a big breakGander Remembers the Plane PeopleChapter 16 of 22 · about 22 min to go