Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the film's whole manifesto in one slogan: small, scruffy and independent against the big chain, with a punk shrug at 'the man'. Mark, the staff's goofy trouble-maker, is the unlikely one to rally everybody, which is the joke and the heart of it. The film bombed in 1995 and became a cult classic, and the line went with it onto shirts, stickers and record-store counters.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Empire RecordsShow the scene
In Empire Records (1995), directed by Allan Moyle, one day at an independent Delaware record store goes wrong when Lucas gambles away the $9,000 deposit in Atlantic City, money that was meant to keep the chain Music Town from buying the shop. The staff can only scrape together $3,000. When a news crew arrives to cover a robbery attempt outside, Mark runs in front of the camera and announces a late-night benefit party at the store. He ends his live-TV pitch with the line, and the evening becomes a rooftop concert that raises the missing money.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: Empire RecordsPlot sectionReference checked
- Wikiquote: Empire RecordsMark sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
