10 Amazingly Profound Quotes About Life From Richard Linklater Films
8. Dewey - School Of Rock
"Give up, just quit, because in this life, you can't win. Yeah, you can try, but in the end you're just gonna lose, big time, because the world is run by the Man. The Man, oh, you don't know the Man. He's everywhere. In the White House... down the hall... Ms. Mullins, she's the Man. And the Man ruined the ozone, he's burning down the Amazon, and he kidnapped Shamu and put her in a chlorine tank!
And there used to be a way to stick it to the Man. It was called rock 'n roll, but guess what, oh no, the Man ruined that, too, with a little thing called MTV! So don't waste your time trying to make anything cool or pure or awesome 'cause the Man is just gonna call you a fat washed up loser and crush your soul. So do yourselves a favour and just give up!"
School Of Rock is probably Linklater's most mainstream flick and though the film is much more straightforward and traditional than most of his stuff, it's also got some great lines in it too that serve a greater purpose than just delivering laughs.
Although Jack Black's Dewey gets a little off-point in this rant, the point is hammered home. "The Man" is always there, and sometimes the little guy just can't win. A valuable life lesson.