“But it looks like me and you got a problem.”
Por qué es buena
A threat delivered as small talk, which makes it land colder.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
It looks like we got a problem with the schedule.
00:00 / 03:08
00:00 / 03:08
Teacher Reads Lofgren's Footnote, Explained
Bad Boys · 1983
Capítulo 8 de 9 · 3'08"
The teacher announces the whole class passed and turns Lofgren's report into a lesson on art. Then the footnote gets read aloud, and the room realizes the newspaper story is about one of their own: "That was Tweety." The laughter stops being about grades and starts being about who is next.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:44–1:35
The Teacher's Art Speech
51s - 1:51–3:06
❝ Monólogo · 4 frases Tweety's Death Hits the Class
75s
Teacher Reads Lofgren's Footnote, explained
What happens
In the detention classroom, the teacher returns the latest reports and announces that everyone passed. He praises a hidden artist in the room, then reads from Lofgren's report: a newspaper clipping about a youth shot during a liquor-store holdup. When the boys ask who the dead youth is, Lofgren answers that it was Tweety.
What's really going on
The art talk is the teacher's way of giving the boys something to be proud of, but it backfires the moment he reads the footnote. The clipping describes a boy killed in a robbery attempt, and the class laughs it off — "So what? Who the fuck is Warren Jerome?" — until someone tells Lofgren to explain. His line, "That was Tweety, you assholes," lands like a verdict: the boy they joke about was one of them. Suddenly the betting talk from earlier isn't gamesmanship anymore; it is a countdown. Even the teacher's high-minded definition of art as "the creation of something beautiful from nothing" can't cover what just happened, and O'Brien's odds question makes the stakes explicit.
Key lines & what they mean
- “But it looks like me and you got a problem.”
- An inmate sizes up O'Brien and announces the conflict openly, putting the threat on the table before anyone throws a punch.
- “You know, they're betting on who's gonna kill who.”
- He explains that the other boys have turned the coming violence into a wager, treating life and death as a game.
- “And I'm happy to tell you, finally, you all passed.”
- The teacher announces the report results with formal pride, the closest the class comes to good news in the scene.
- “And there's a real artist in this class.”
- He reveals that one of the boys has genuine talent, raising the room's curiosity before turning it into a spectacle.
- “I didn't even know about it myself until this report.”
- He admits the talent only became visible to him through the written work, making the report the doorway to the reveal.
- “But first, for the record, let me give you my definition of what art is.”
- Before praising anyone, he stakes out his own authority on the subject, framing the praise that is about to follow.
- “Now, art is the creation of something beautiful from nothing.”
- His definition of art, which he then measures the boys against, and which the footnote will quietly undercut.
- “That was Tweety, you assholes.”
- The revelation lands: the dead youth in the clipping is a boy from the room, turning a joke into grief and fear.
Theme
- Identity — The footnote forces the class to see a newspaper victim as one of their own, not a stranger.
- Power — The teacher's art lesson tries to hold authority, and the boys' mockery tears it down.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel1/7
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“You know, they're betting on who's gonna kill who.”
Por qué es buena
Turning life and death into a betting line says everything about this place.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
They're betting on who's gonna quit first.
“And I'm happy to tell you, finally, you all passed.”
Por qué es buena
A cheerful announcement that only highlights how grim the room really is.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
I'm happy to tell you that your order shipped.
“And there's a real artist in this class.”
Por qué es buena
Praising a real artist in a room like this sounds both generous and absurd.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
There's a real chef in this office.
“I didn't even know about it myself until this report.”
Por qué es buena
Crediting the report makes the discovery sound like it surprised even him.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
I didn't even know about it until you told me.
“But first, for the record, let me give you my definition of what art is.”
Por qué es buena
The mock-formal framing of a definition makes the whole speech feel staged.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
For the record, let me give you my definition of teamwork.
“Now, art is the creation of something beautiful from nothing.”
Por qué es buena
A lofty definition of art that lands right on top of a boy's death notice.
Registro
literary
Úsala tú
Cooking is the creation of something warm from almost nothing.
“That was Tweety, you assholes.”
Por qué es buena
The slur and the name together turn a news item into a death in the room.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
That was my brother, you idiots.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ the obituary read aloud
"Youth killed in robbery attempt. "A youth died Saturday from gunshot wounds "received in an attempted holdup of a liquor store. "Police said Warren Jerome of Chicago was shot twice in the abdomen "by the proprietor of the High Jay liquor store on Kimball Avenue, "after brandishing a pistol and demanding money. "Jerome died undergoing surgery at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Hospital."
The flat newsread turns a death into a cold, official announcement.
Siguiente · 09ready to blowLa escena: Horowitz Gets Called the Wrong NameIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- Odds-on favorite started as a horse-racing term.
- The fuck adds anger, not meaning.
- Nothing personal makes a cruel line sound neutral.
- The obituary turns a stranger's death into a classmate's.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy does the teacher read the footnote out loud?
He thinks the page is genuinely beautiful and wants to share it with the group, without realizing that the clipping names a boy the class knows.
Who is Warren Jerome?
He is the youth in the newspaper clipping, shot by a liquor-store owner during an attempted holdup. Lofgren reveals that he was Tweety, a boy from the class.
Why do the boys say "So what?" when the clipping is read?
They treat the death as a stranger's story and do not connect the name to anyone they know. That reaction is exactly what the reveal shatters.
Why does O'Brien ask about the odds again?
He wants to know how the room now rates his chances against Moreno. The answer, three-to-two against him, tells him he is still the underdog.