What's wrong with that? [GROWLS] Mine said yes but I have to buy the ticket.Turning Red · 2022 — Chapter 5 of 13 · 1'50" · B1
The Girls Plot Their Concert Escape, Explained: fight the power
Mei's friends turn her misery into a plan. "This isn't just our first concert," one of them says, and together they decide to sneak out under cover of a sleepover. The scene is a small conspiracy, but the stakes are real: "And we have to do it together."
What happens
After Mei loses her temper on the court, her friends pull her aside. She complains that her mother never trusts her, and the girls hatch a plan: tell their parents it is a sleepover, sneak to the 4*Town concert, then find a way to raise the ticket money. They swear to do it together.
Listen for
sleepovercalm downsuch a loserfight the power
00:00 / 01:50Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
fight the power
反抗权威、跟体制对着干
美美吐槽妈妈管得太多，朋友听了直呼过瘾，喊出这句口号给她撑腰。
The students marched with signs that said fight the power.
Also in this scene
- sleepover
a night spent at a friend's house
- calm down
to become less upset
- such a loser
an insult for someone seen as pathetic
Everything marked in this scene
21 notes across 34 lines
have to for obligation
What's wrong with that? [GROWLS] Mine said yes but I have to buy the ticket.Who the heck's got that kind of cash? [YELPS]Who the heck's got that kind of cash? [YELPS]liaison
Who the heck's got that kind of cash? [YELPS]an insult for someone seen as pathetic
No wonder Mei is such a loser.No wonder Mei is such a loser.to become less upset
Calm down, Mei.Dude, keep it together.My whole life I've been her perfect little Mei Mei. Temple duties, grades.present perfect for a lasting state
My whole life I've been her perfect little Mei Mei. Temple duties, grades.Yeah. We've been so good.if-clause with a rhetorical then
If they don't trust us anyway, then what's the point?This isn't just our first concert.elision
This isn't just our first concert.This is our first step into womanhood.And we have to do it together.flap
And we have to do it together.I'm in, girl. We'll say it's a sleepover at my house.The perfect crime.Yes. My mom will never know.The Girls Plot Their Concert Escape, explained
What's really going on
On the surface the girls are just scheming about a concert, but the plan is really an answer to Mei's complaint that goodness gets her nowhere. She has been "her perfect little Mei Mei," dutiful at the temple, in class, at violin and tap, and still hears only suspicion: "If they don't trust us anyway, then what's the point?" The friends do not argue her out of it; they give her a reason to act — "This isn't just our first concert" — and dress the rebellion in grown-up language, calling it their "first step into womanhood." The lie about a sleepover is the first thing the group does as a unit rather than four separate daughters, which is why "The perfect crime" lands as a triumph rather than a betrayal.
Theme
FriendshipThe friends answer Mei's frustration by turning it into a shared plan, swearing they will pull it off together.
Coming of ageThe girls frame a forbidden concert as their rite of passage, the first step from childhood into independence.
What you'll learn
- Use bomb dot com in a comparable exchange.
- Listen for the attitude around bomb dot com.
- Notice how the reply changes the scene.
Listen for
- that kind of — liaison
- This isn't just — elision
- do it together — flap
My whole life I've been her perfect little Mei Mei. Temple duties, grades.Mei's account of always being the obedient daughter, dutiful at the temple and in class, and getting no trust in return.
This is our first step into womanhood.The concert recast as a coming-of-age ritual, a way for the girls to declare that they are growing up.
And we have to do it together.The pact at the heart of the plan: the trip only counts if all the friends go as one.
This isn't just our first concert.Setting up the bigger claim to come: the night is about more than music, it is about independence.
Questions about this scene
Why do the girls pretend to have a sleepover?
To hide the concert from their parents. A sleepover is an ordinary excuse that buys them a night out, so the whole scheme depends on it.
Why does Mei feel her mother never trusts her?
She says she has always been the perfect daughter — temple duties, grades, violin and tap — and still gets treated with suspicion, so she asks what the point of being good even is.
How do they plan to pay for the concert?
They do not have the money yet. After deciding to go, they set out to raise the cost of the tickets, which becomes their next problem.
What does "the perfect crime" mean here?
It is Mei's half-joking name for the lie. The scheme is not a crime at all, but calling it one makes sneaking out feel clever and thrilling rather than dishonest.
Turning Red · 13 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 6keep one's mouth shutTyler Blackmails Mei for a Party
Chapter 1take advantage ofMei Turns Into a Red Panda
Chapter 2watch someone like a hawkMei Turns into a Red Panda
Chapter 3once in a lifetimeMei's Friends Have Her Back
Chapter 4in the bagMing Refuses the 4*Town Concert
Watching · Chapter 5fight the powerThe Girls Plot Their Concert Escape
Chapter 6keep one's mouth shutTyler Blackmails Mei for a Party
Chapter 7have a word with someoneMei's Family Takes Over
Chapter 8pin one's hopes on someoneMei Chooses 4*Town Over the Ritual
Chapter 9take advantage of someoneMei Attacks Tyler at the Party
Chapter 10make room forJin Explains the Panda to Mei
Chapter 11too good to be trueMei Refuses the Ritual and Bolts
Chapter 12it was all meMei Confesses to Ming
Chapter 13ride or dieMei Reconciles With MingChapter 5 of 13 · about 27 min to go