We're never getting to Ohio. Not the way this guy drives.My Fellow Americans · 1996 — Chapter 9 of 13 · 3'54" · B2
Wayne Gets the History Wrong, Explained: shut your cake hole
A car ride turns into an argument when the driver gets American history wrong and the passenger corrects him: "Get your facts straight." From there the talk moves to hard times, and the exchange about who ruined the country ends with the couple ordering both ex-presidents out of the car.
What happens
The two ex-presidents ride in Wayne's car, and a chat about Mount Rushmore goes badly wrong when Wayne mixes up the presidents and the folk tales. The passenger corrects him, and the talk turns to lost jobs, lost homes and who is to blame. It ends with the couple throwing them out.
Listen for
shut your cake holeGet your facts straightmix up withno disrespect
00:00 / 03:54Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
shut your cake hole
a rude way to tell someone to stop talking
车里有人被吵得睡不着，冲着另一位前总统让他闭上那张嘴。
Shut your cake hole and let me finish the story.
Also in this scene
- Get your facts straight
make sure you know the facts before you speak
- mix up with
把甲和乙搞混；张冠李戴
- no disrespect
无意冒犯；不是不敬（用来说难听话前先垫一句）
Everything marked in this scene
42 notes across 72 lines
The Donner party moved faster.Aw, shut up. I'm trying to sleep.This time, pretend not to enjoy it.a rude way to tell someone to stop talking
Aw, shut your cake hole, Douglas.You know, we'd have been fine outside in the tent, but thanks for sharing the bed.You know, we'd have been fine outside in the tent, but thanks for sharing the bed.It means a lot.You know, we voted for you.Oh, I-I'm sorry about that, sir.Well, at least you can admit it.That's the first step towards recovery.Any idea how much longer to Cleveland, Wayne?I may have to call the boys in our department and tell them what time to expect us.You know, I was thinking, after we drop you off,That's one of America's greatest natural wonders, son.A man by the name of Gutzon Borglum carved it.Well, that ruins the whole thing.Whoops! Diaper patrol, Matt!Well, there's Abe Lincoln. He chopped down the cherry tree.You got to be kidding, right, Wayne?You got Lincoln mixed up with George Washington and you've got the Roosevelt's mixed up with Davy Crockett.have got something done
You got Lincoln mixed up with George Washington and you've got the Roosevelt's mixed up with Davy Crockett.Uh, no disrespect, sir, but you're in my car.make sure you know the facts before you speak
Well, our country. Get your facts straight.expect someone to do
How do you expect your son to respect the nation's history if you don't?No. The country's fallin' apart. People are losin' their homes.elision
No. The country's fallin' apart. People are losin' their homes.They can't find work. You talk about ignorance.The voice of the people?There is no such thing.The voice of the people, my fanny.Pull over, Wayne.liaison
Pull over, Wayne.There we go.Please get out of our car.elision
Please get out of our car.We lost our jobs because of your budget cuts, President Kramer.And we lost our home because of your economic downturn,All we have now is the slim chance of a job at my uncle's paint factory in Cleveland.all plus a clause
All we have now is the slim chance of a job at my uncle's paint factory in Cleveland.So I will ask you once again.Wayne Gets the History Wrong, explained
What's really going on
The comedy here is that the men who ran the country cannot even agree on its history. Wayne's version of Mount Rushmore is a jumble, and the correction that follows is not gentle: "That kind of ignorance is dangerous" and "Get your facts straight." But the scene is doing more than scoring points. Once the history is cleared up, the argument moves to the present — jobs, homes and the recession — and the ex-presidents answer with the kind of distance that got them into trouble: "There is no such thing" when someone mentions the voice of the people. The couple's patience runs out, and the request to get out of the car lands as a verdict on both of them. The people they governed are not abstract after all; they are sitting in the front seat.
Theme
ClassTwo ex-presidents are lectured by an ordinary family about jobs and homes they lost.
PowerThe men who ran the country cannot even agree on its history, and it costs them their ride.
Listen for
- fallin' apart — elision
- Pull over — liaison
- get out of — elision
The only thing you all seem to agree on is you don't want higher taxes.A jab at voters: the one clear opinion they share, in this view, is a refusal to pay more.
That kind of ignorance is dangerous.The verdict on getting history wrong in front of a child, framed as a civic danger rather than a slip.
No. The country's fallin' apart. People are losin' their homes.The shift from a history quarrel to real hardship, naming lost houses as the proof.
There is no such thing.The blunt dismissal of the idea of a united public voice, which shows how far the speaker is from the family beside him.
Questions about this scene
Why does the couple kick the presidents out of the car?
After the history argument turns into a fight about the economy, the husband says they lost jobs to budget cuts and their home to the downturn. The couple's patience snaps, and they order them out.
What does Kramer get wrong about Mount Rushmore?
He says Lincoln chopped down the cherry tree and Roosevelt killed a bear at three. The other passenger points out he has mixed up Lincoln with Washington and Roosevelt with Davy Crockett.
What is the point of the 'voice of the people' exchange?
When the husband invokes the voice of the people, one ex-president dismisses it with "There is no such thing," which shows how out of touch the politicians are with the family that gave them a ride.
Why is the car such an awkward setting?
The two ex-presidents are dependent on a stranger to get to Cleveland. Being trapped in his car means they cannot avoid hearing what ordinary people think of their records.
My Fellow Americans · 13 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 10put on a spreadKramer and Douglas Find the Fix
Chapter 1too little too lateGolf Talk Turns Awkward
Chapter 2shift the stinkThe Missing Appointment Log
Chapter 3skedaddleTanner Summons the Presidents
Chapter 4in the middle of nowherePresidents Hijacked in the Woods
Chapter 5get away with itWalking to Ohio for Evidence
Chapter 6stick a fork inPassengers Gossip About the Presidents
Chapter 7steams my clamsPresidents Trade a Watch for a Ride
Chapter 8live in the pastOld Rivals Almost Bond
Watching · Chapter 9shut your cake holeWayne Gets the History Wrong
Chapter 10put on a spreadKramer and Douglas Find the Fix
Chapter 11up to its knees inHaney Confesses to the Cover-Up
Chapter 12the end of the worldTanner Corners Them in the Tunnel
Chapter 13a way aroundThe Presidents Confront Each OtherChapter 9 of 13 · about 10 min to go