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So, like, right now for example. The Haitians need to come to America. But some people are all, 'What about the strain on our resources?'
— Clueless · 1995
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Cher's logic is hilariously off-target yet oddly persuasive, and the film lets her win the room. The debate-class speech is the clearest example of the film's bubbly, sincere voice, and its Valley Girl delivery is endlessly imitated. Fans quote it as shorthand for explaining geopolitics through a party analogy, usually with a smile at how much she gets right by accident.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for CluelessShow the scene
Clueless (1995), Amy Heckerling's loose update of Jane Austen's Emma. In Mr. Hall's debate class the topic is whether all oppressed people should be allowed refuge in America, and Cher is given the pro side with two minutes. She says the Haitians need to come to America, answers the strain-on-resources objection by comparing it with the garden party she threw for her father's birthday, where uninvited guests turned up, and concludes it was the more the merrier. If the government could just get to the kitchen and rearrange some things, she says, they could party with them. The class applauds.
Sources (2)
- Clueless transcriptDebate class sceneReference checked
- Wikipedia: CluelessLead and PlotReference checked
Context reviewed
