death and taxes; unavoidable facts Literally death and taxes, used here as unavoidable facts.
You can't fight city hall, death and taxes.Waking Life · 2001 — Chapter 6 of 13 · 2'05" · C1
Man Rants About Control, Explained: two sides of the same coin
A speech starts with the things you cannot beat and swells into a full attack on control: "We should not submit to dehumanization." The surface is politics; underneath is a demand to stop letting systems make people feel small.
What happens
A speaker delivers a rapid-fire manifesto, moving from city hall, death and taxes to political parties, mass conditioning, and corporate power. The speech calls on listeners to reject dehumanization, resist control, and treat the next move as theirs.
Listen for
fight city hallrat mazeI don't know about you, buttwo sides of the same coin
00:00 / 02:05Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
two sides of the same coin
two things that are different but connected
Right after dismissing both rival camps, the speaker uses the coin image to say they belong to one system.
The two rival apps are two sides of the same coin: both sell the same data.
Also in this scene
- fight city hall
try to beat bureaucracy
- rat maze
a trap built like a maze for rats
- I don't know about you, but
speaking for myself and inviting you to agree
- take a bite out of it
take a bite from something
- Slavery, Incorporated
Slavery, Inc.; slavery imagined as a corporation
Everything marked in this scene
31 notes across 35 lines
Let the t in can't fade into fight rather than hitting both words hard.
You can't fight city hall, death and taxes.discuss politics or religion
Don't talk about politics or religion.the same as; effectively
This is all the equivalent of enemy propaganda rolling across the picket line.wartime propaganda from the enemy
This is all the equivalent of enemy propaganda rolling across the picket line.a protest line outside a workplace Here propaganda is pictured as pushing across a protest line.
This is all the equivalent of enemy propaganda rolling across the picket line.time to take a public stand
And now in the 21st Century, it's time to stand up and realize...let oneself be packed into
that we should not allow ourselves to be crammed into this rat maze.passive infinitive: The passive infinitive makes we the ones who get crammed, not the ones doing the cramming.
that we should not allow ourselves to be crammed into this rat maze.give in to being treated as less than human
We should not submit to dehumanization.care about; be troubled by
I don't know about you, but I'm concerned with what's happening in this world.systems that keep people controlled
I'm concerned with the systems of control,try to control
those that control my life and those that seek to control it even more!relative clause: Those points back to systems, and the that-clause tells you which systems are meant.
those that control my life and those that seek to control it even more!every single one of us
It's up to each and every one of us to turn loose and just shovel the greed, the hatred, the envy and, yes, the insecurities...Keep and very light and run each and every together.
It's up to each and every one of us to turn loose and just shovel the greed, the hatred, the envy and, yes, the insecurities...causative make: Make plus object plus adjective shows control acting on people's sense of self.
because that is the central mode of control-- make us feel pathetic, small...surrender self-rule
so we'll willingly give up our sovereignty, our liberty, our destiny.on a very large scale
We have got to realize that we're being conditioned on a mass scale.a state run like a corporation that enslaves people A coined image for state power run like a corporation.
Start challenging this corporate slave state!all the remaining
and classism and statism and all the rest of the modes of control!going to — Common in speech; use going to in formal writing.
It's gonna be the age of humankind...defend or support something
standing up for something pure and something right!a load of nonsense — Dismissive and informal; not for formal settings.
What a bunch of garbage-- liberal Democrat, conservative Republican.competing to win control
Two management teams bidding for control!a wide spread of lies Literally a buffet, used here for a spread of lies.
The truth is out there in front of you, but they lay out this buffet of lies!fed up with it — Casual complaint; avoid in formal settings.
I'm sick of it, and I'm not gonna take a bite out of it! Do you got me?do you understand me? — Colloquial and nonstandard; keep it out of formal writing.
I'm sick of it, and I'm not gonna take a bite out of it! Do you got me?Run gonna quickly into get fired and stress fired.
We're gonna get fired up about the real things, the things that matter: creativity and the dynamic human spirit that refuses to submit!energized and excited — Good for pep talks; use motivated in formal reports.
We're gonna get fired up about the real things, the things that matter: creativity and the dynamic human spirit that refuses to submit!it is your turn to act
At the very end, the speaker stops and hands the next move back to the crowd.
Well, that's it! That's all I got to say! It's in your court.Man Rants About Control, explained
What's really going on
The speech keeps insisting that the real conflict is not between left and right but between people and systems that want to manage them. "Two sides of the same coin" turns electoral rivalry into two management teams bidding for the same control, while "We should not submit to dehumanization" raises the stakes from policy to personhood. The language is deliberately total: every institution becomes a mode of control, and every listener is told that resistance is not futile. What makes it persuasive is the escalation—small phrases about city hall open into a vision of mass conditioning—and what makes it uneasy is that it leaves almost no room for doubt.
Theme
PowerThe speech frames politics as a contest between human freedom and systems that condition people on a mass scale.
Listen for
- can't fight — Let the t in can't fade into fight rather than hitting both words hard.
- each and every one — Keep and very light and run each and every together.
- gonna get fired — Run gonna quickly into get fired and stress fired.
You can't fight city hall, death and taxes.It names three things people say you cannot beat: city government, death, and taxes, setting up the speech's refusal to accept limits.
We should not submit to dehumanization.The speech treats being made to feel small and manageable as a condition people must refuse.
I'm sick of it, and I'm not gonna take a bite out of it! Do you got me?The speaker rejects the offered lies outright and demands that the audience hear the refusal.
It's all there to control you. Two sides of the same coin.Electoral rivals are presented as one mechanism: different faces, the same purpose of control.
Resistance is not futile. We're gonna win this thing.A direct reversal of hopelessness: the speech claims that opposition can succeed.
Questions about this scene
Why does the speech call Democrats and Republicans "two sides of the same coin"?
It says both exist "to control you" and calls them "two management teams bidding for control!" — the prize being "the C.E.O. job of Slavery, Incorporated."
What does the speech say is the "central mode of control"?
It says control works by making people feel "pathetic, small" so they will "willingly give up" their sovereignty, liberty, and destiny.
What does the speech want the listener to do after it ends?
It ends with "It's in your court," handing the next move to the listener; earlier it tells them to "Start challenging this corporate slave state!" and "stand up for something pure and something right!".
Is the speech saying resistance is hopeless?
No. It says "Resistance is not futile" and promises "We're gonna win this thing," even after describing systems of control.
Waking Life · 13 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 7in the middle of nowhereGas Station Shooting Story
Chapter 1on an even keelA Ride Full of Sea Metaphors
Chapter 2write ourselves offSpeaker Defends Existentialism
Chapter 3at the whim ofThe Evolution Lecture
Chapter 4collective memoryTwo People Discuss Reincarnation
Chapter 5charadeThe Free Will Lecture
Watching · Chapter 6two sides of the same coinMan Rants About Control
Chapter 7in the middle of nowhereGas Station Shooting Story
Chapter 8make the best of itLucid Dreaming Tips and Tricks
Chapter 9come out of the momentTwo People Debate What Film Captures
Chapter 10be an antStrangers Talk About Not Being Ants
Chapter 11beside the pointA Character in a Dream
Chapter 12coauthors ofBridge Monologue on Dreams
Chapter 13false awakeningsDreamer Describes False AwakeningsChapter 6 of 13 · about 23 min to go