WinkLingo
Log in

The Mask · 1994 — Chapter 7 of 8 · 4'02" · B2

Stanley Confesses He's the Mask, Explained: I'm history

On the surface a lieutenant is finished and a suspect lands in a cell. Underneath, the visit is a confession about the mask. "It's like it brings your innermost desires to life." A repressed romantic turns into a wild man; someone like Dorian means big trouble, so the reply is to leave town fast.

What happens

At the station a lieutenant calls himself history: the captain will have his badge. He then wishes, sarcastically, that Stanley Ipkiss will fall into his lap, and Ipkiss is soon in a cell. Tina visits. A reply admits the mask and explains it brings innermost desires to life. A repressed romantic becomes a wild man; someone like Dorian means everyone is in trouble. The advice is to leave town.

Police questioningAccusationsConfessingWarningB2american
IMDb ↗

Listen for

Ipkiss your ass goodbyehopeless romanticI'm historystrike a deal

00:00 / 04:02
Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

I'm history

I am finished or doomed

上尉眼看局面失控，自嘲说自己这下完了，饭碗和退休金都要保不住。

If the client complains, I'm history.

Also in this scene

  • Ipkiss your ass goodbye

    a name swapped into an idiom as a pun

  • hopeless romantic

    someone who believes in romance against all reason

  • strike a deal

    to reach an agreement, often after negotiation

Everything marked in this scene

27 notes across 56 lines

Phrase · B1still can't believe somethingI still can't believe it.
Phrase · C1have someone's badge for breakfastI'm history. The captain will have my badge for breakfast, with a little pension on top.
SoundI'm history

liaison

I'm history. The captain will have my badge for breakfast, with a little pension on top.
Phrase · B2something will turn upSomething will turn up.
Phrase · B2fall into someone's lapSure. Stanley Ipkiss will fall right into my lap.
Grammar · B2will fall right into my lap

future tense

Sure. Stanley Ipkiss will fall right into my lap.
Phrase · B2got a cell for someoneWe got a cell for you, pal.
Slang · B2pal

a mate, often said with a hard edge

We got a cell for you, pal.
Phrase · A2forget about someoneYou better forget about me, buddy.
Phrase · A2a new place to liveFind yourself a new place to live.
Phrase · A2got a visitorYou got a visitor.
Phrase · A2tell anybodyYeah, but don't tell anybody.
Sounddon't tell anybody

elision

Yeah, but don't tell anybody.
Phrase · B2strike up a dealIf I get a good lawyer and strike up a deal,
Grammar · B1If I get a good lawyer

conditional clause

If I get a good lawyer and strike up a deal,
Phrase · B1take a chanceYou're taking a chance coming here.
Grammar · B1There's got to be a way

existential with have got to

There's got to be a way to stop him.
Phrase · C1bring something to lifeIt's like it brings your innermost desires to life.
Grammar · B2It's like it brings your innermost desires to life

like introducing a comparison

It's like it brings your innermost desires to life.
Sounddesires to life

liaison

It's like it brings your innermost desires to life.
Phrase · B1deep down insideIf deep down inside, you're...
Phrase · B2a hopeless romantic

someone who believes in romance against all reason

A little repressed and a hopeless romantic,
Phrase · B1some sort of somethingyou become some sort of a love-crazy wild man.
Phrase · A2be in big troubleThen we're all in big trouble.
Phrase · B1if I were youAnd if I were you, I'd get out of town fast.
Phrase · B1get out of townAnd if I were you, I'd get out of town fast.
Grammar · B2if I were you

subjunctive

And if I were you, I'd get out of town fast.

Stanley Confesses He's the Mask, explained

What's really going on

The arrest is the punch line to a ruined career. A lieutenant, sure he is history after cops danced in the street and a SWAT team got a Vegas offer, sneers that Stanley Ipkiss will fall right into his lap. Then Ipkiss is in a cell. He tells Milo to forget him and find a new place to live, because this stay looks long. Tina's visit changes the charge sheet into a confession. Asked if he is the mask, the answer is yes, but quiet, in case a lawyer can strike a deal. She is taking a chance: her boyfriend is headed to a charity ball to do something terrible, and a lambada joke does not survive the warning. "It's like it brings your innermost desires to life." A repressed hopeless romantic becomes a love-crazy wild man. Someone like Dorian means "we're all in big trouble," so the advice is to get out of town fast.

Theme

SecretsA jail visit turns into a secret: he is the mask, and he asks that nobody be told, even while warning what Dorian could become.
IdentityThe mask does not invent a new man. It brings innermost desires to life, so a repressed romantic becomes wild and a man like Dorian becomes a threat.

What you'll learn

  • Use Ipkiss your ass goodbye in the same situation
  • Hear fall right into my lap as pressure, not small talk
  • Catch who the line is aimed at

Listen for

  • I'm history — liaison
  • don't tell anybody — elision
  • desires to life — liaison
It's like it brings your innermost desires to life.

In the cell, this is how the mask works: it acts out what someone already wants. A repressed romantic turns into a love-crazy wild man.

And if I were you, I'd get out of town fast.

Advice to the visitor after the Dorian question. If that plan at the charity ball goes ahead, leaving town is safer than staying.

Then we're all in big trouble.

The reply to what a man like Dorian would become under the mask. The danger is not limited to the person wearing it.

Sure. Stanley Ipkiss will fall right into my lap.

Sarcasm. The lieutenant does not believe the suspect will appear on his own. Right after this, Ipkiss is actually caught.

Questions about this scene

Why is the visitor told to get out of town?

Because someone like Dorian is going to a charity ball to do something terrible, and the mask brings innermost desires to life. A hopeless romantic only becomes a wild man. A man like Dorian puts everyone in big trouble, so leaving is the safer move.

Did the lieutenant expect Stanley Ipkiss to show up?

No. "Stanley Ipkiss will fall right into my lap" answers "Something will turn up" with sarcasm. He thinks the suspect will never appear. The shouts of "Ipkiss!" and "I can explain everything" are that joke coming true.

What does the mask do in this confession?

It brings a person's innermost desires to life. A little repressed and a hopeless romantic becomes a love-crazy wild man. Nothing new is added; what was hidden gets loose. That is why Dorian is treated as a different threat from the man in the cell.

Why say yes and then "don't tell anybody"?

"You're the mask" gets a yes, then an immediate request for secrecy, plus talk of a good lawyer and a deal. The confession is real, but he still hopes the damage can be bargained down, so it is meant only for the visitor.

The Mask · 8 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 8one hell of a timeStanley at the Police Station
Chapter 1crème de la crèmeStanley Hands Over the TicketsChapter 2school is outArguing the Plan Against NikoChapter 3put downStanley Becomes the MaskChapter 4you can quote mePeggy Questions StanleyChapter 5beat him to the punchPolice Grill Ipkiss Over PajamasChapter 6written in the starsThe Mask Cornered by PoliceWatching · Chapter 7I'm historyStanley Confesses He's the MaskChapter 8one hell of a timeStanley at the Police Station
Chapter 7 of 8 · about 4 min to go