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Shulamith Firestone

Shulamith Bath Shmuel Ben Ari Firestone (born Feuerstein; January 7, 1945 – August 28, 2012) was a Canadian-American radical feminist writer and activist. Firestone was involved in the early development of second-wave feminism and a founding member of three radical-feminist groups:, , and. In September 1970, Firestone's The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution was published and became an influential feminist text.

The Dialectic of Sex (1970)

 * Constant erotic stimulation of male sexuality coupled with its forbidden release through most normal channels are designed to encourage men to look at women as only things whose resistance to entrance must be overcome.
 * Women have been allowed to achieve individuality only though their appearance.

Chapter One

 * The assumption that, beneath economics, reality is psychosexual is often rejected as ahistorical by those who accept a view of history because it seems to land us back where Marx began: groping through a fog of utopian hypotheses, philosophical systems that might be right, that might be wrong (there is no way to tell); systems that explain concrete historical developments by a priori categories of thought; historical materialism, however, attempted to explain 'knowing' by 'being' and not vice versa.

 * Sex class is so deep as to be invisible. Or it may appear as a superficial inequality, one that can be solved by merely a few reforms, or perhaps by the full integration of women into the labour force. But the reaction of the common man, woman, and child - 'That? Why you can't change that! You must be out of your mind!' - is the closest to the truth. ]
 * p. 1

 * It is everywhere. The division yin and yang pervades all culture, history, economics, nature itself: modern Western versions of sex discrimination are only the most recent layer. To so heighten one's sensitivity to sexism presents problems far worse than the black militant's new awareness of racism: Feminists have to question, not just all of Western culture, but the organization of culture itself, and further, even the very organization of nature. Many women give up in despair: if that's how deep it goes they don't want to know. Others continue strengthening and enlarging the movement, their painful sensitivity to female oppression existing for a purpose: eventually to eliminate it.
 * p. 2

 * By and large, feminist theory has been as inadequate as were the early feminist attempts to correct sexism. This was to be expected. The problem is so immense that, at first try, only the surface could be skimmed, the most blatant inequalities described. Simone de Beauvoir was the only one who came close to – who perhaps has done – the definitive analysis. Her profound work – which appeared as recently as the early fifties to a world convinced that feminism was dead – for the first time attempted to ground feminism in its historical base. Of all feminist theorists De Beauvoir is the most comprehensive and far-reaching, relating feminism to the best ideas in our culture.
 * p. 7

 * Women throughout history before the advent of birth control were at the continual mercy of their biology - menstruation, menopause, and "female ills," constant painful childbirth, wetnursing and care of infants, all of which made them dependent on males (whether brother, father, husband, lover, or clan, government, community-at-large) for physical survival.
 * p. 8

 * To grant that the sexual imbalance of power is biologically based is not to lose our case. We are no longer just animals. And the Kingdom of Nature does not reign absolute.
 * p. 9

 * Though the sex class system may have originated in fundamental biological conditions, this does not guarantee once the biological basis of their oppression has been swept away that women and children will be freed.
 * p. 10

Chapter Two

 * In the radical feminist view, the new feminism is not just the revival of a serious for . It is the second wave of the most important revolution in history. Its aim: overthrow of the oldest, most rigid class/caste system in existence, the class system based on sex – a system consolidated over thousands of years, lending the archetypal male and female roles an undeserved legitimacy and seeming permanence. In this perspective, the pioneer Western  was only the first onslaught, the fifty-year ridicule that followed it only a first counter-offensive – the dawn of a long struggle to break free from the oppressive power structures set up by nature and reinforced by man.
 * p. 15

 * The fifties was the bleakest decade of all, perhaps the bleakest in some centuries for women.
 * p. 27

 * Feminism, in truth, has a cyclical momentum all its own. In the historical interpretation we have espoused, feminism is the inevitable female response to the development of a technology capable of freeing women from the tyranny of their sexual-reproductive roles – both the fundamental biological condition itself, and the sexual class system built upon, and reinforcing, this biological condition.
 * p. 31

 * The goals of feminism can never be achieved through evolution, but only through revolution. Power, however it has evolved, whatever its origins, will not be given up without a struggle.
 * p. 31

 * Radical Feminism. The two positions we have described usually generate a third, the radical feminist position: The women in its ranks range from disillusioned moderate feminists from NOW to disillusioned leftists from the women's liberation movement., and include others who had been waiting for just such an alternative, women for whom neither conservative bureaucratic feminism nor warmed-over leftist dogma had much appeal.
 * p. 37

 * The contemporary radical feminist position is the direct descendant of the radical feminist line in the old movement, notably that championed by Stanton and Anthony, and later by the militant Congressional Union subsequently known as the Woman’s Party. It sees feminist issues not only as women’s first priority, but as central to any larger revolutionary analysis. It refuses to accept the existing leftist analysis not because it is too radical, but because it is not radical enough: it sees the current leftist analysis as outdated and superficial, because this analysis does not relate the structure of the economic class system to its origins in the sexual class system, the model for all other exploitative systems, and thus the tapeworm that must be eliminated first by any true revolution.
 * p. 37

 * Radical feminist movement has many political assets that no other movement can claim, a revolutionary potential far higher, as well as qualitatively different, from any in the past.
 * p. 38

 * A revolutionary in every bedroom cannot fail to shake up the status quo. And if it’s your wife who is revolting, you can’t just split to the suburbs.
 * p. 38

 * The feminist movement is the first to combine effectively the ‘personal’ with the ‘political’. It is developing a new way of relating, a new political style, one that will eventually reconcile the personal – always the feminine prerogative – with the public, with the ‘world outside’, to restore that world to its emotions, and literally to its senses.
 * p. 38

 * Most revolutionary movements are unable to practise among themselves what they preach. Strong leadership cults, factionalism, ‘ego-tripping’, backbiting are the rule rather than the exception.
 * p. 39

 * If any revolutionary movement can succeed at establishing an egalitarian structure, radical feminism will.
 * p. 39

Chapter Three

 * If we had to name the one cultural current that most characterizes America in the twentieth century, it might be the work of Freud and the disciplines that grew out of it.

 * Freudianism has become, with its confessionals and penance, its proselytes and converts, with the millions spent on its upkeep, our modern Church. We attack only uneasily, for you never know, on the day of final judgement, whether might be right. Who can be sure that he is as healthy as he can get? Who is functioning at his highest capacity? And who not scared out of his wis? Who doesn't hate his mother and father? Who doesn't compete with his brother? What girl at some time did not wish she were a boy? And for those hardy souls who persist in their skepticism, there is always that dreadful persist in their skepticism, there is always that dreadful word resistance. They are the one who are sickest: it's obvious, they fight it so much.
 * p. 42

 * Freud captured the imagination of a whole continent and civilization for a good reason. Though on the surface inconsistent, illogical or "way out," his followers, with their cautious logic, their experiments and revisions have nothing comparable to say. Freudianism is so charted so impossible to repudiate because Freud grasped the crucial problem of modern life: Sexuality.
 * p. 43

 * Freudianism and Feminism grew from the same soil. It is no accident that Freud began his work at the height of the early feminist movement. We underestimate today how important feminist ideas were at the time. [...] The culture reflected prevailing attitudes and concerns: feminism was an important literary theme because it was then a vital problem. For writers wrote about what they saw: they described the cultural milieu around them. And in this milieu there was concern for the issues of feminism. The question of the emancipation of women affected every woman, whether she developed through the new ideas or fought them desperately. Old films of the time show the growing solidarity of women, reflecting their unpredictable behaviour, their terrifying and often disastrous testing of sex roles. No one remained untouched by the upheaval. And this was not only in the West: Russia at this time was experimenting at doing away with the family. At the turn of the century, then, in social and political thinking, in literary and artistic culture, there was a tremendous ferment of ideas regarding sexuality, marriage and family, and women’s role. Freudianism was only one of the cultural products of this ferment. Both Freudianism and feminism came as reactions to one of the smuggest periods in Western civilization, the Victorian Era, characterized by its family-centredness, and thus its exaggerated sexual oppression and repression. Both movements signified awakening: but Freud was merely a diagnostician for what feminism purports to cure.
 * pp. 43-44

 * Whether or not we can blame Freud personally, his failure to question society itself was responsible for massive confusion in the disciplines that grew up around this theory. Beset with the insurmountable problems that resulted from trying to put into practice a basic contradiction – the resolution of a problem within the environment that created it – his followers began to attack one component after another of his theory, until they had thrown the baby out with the bath.
 * p. 46

 * I believe Freud was talking about something real, though perhaps his ideas, taken literally, lead to absurdity – for his genius was poetic rather than scientific; his ideas are more valuable as metaphors than as literal truths.
 * p. 46

 * I submit that the only way that the can make full sense is in terms of power. We must keep in mind that Freud observed this complex as common to every normal individual who grows up in the  of a patriarchal society, a form of social organization that intensifies the worst effects of the inequalities inherent in the biological family itself. There is some evidence to prove that the effects of the Oedipus Complex decrease in societies where males hold less power, and that the weakening of patriarchalism produces many cultural changes that perhaps can be traced to this relaxation.
 * p. 47

Chapter Four

 * Contemporary slang reflects this animal state: children are "mice," "rabbits," "kittens," women are called "chicks," (in England( "birds," "hens," "dumb clucks," "silly geese," "old mares," "bitches." Similar terminology is used about males as a defamation of character, or more broadly only about pressed males males: stud, wold, cat, stag, jack - and then it is used much more rarely, and often with a specifically sexual connotation.

 * Because class oppression of women and children couched in the phraseology of "cute" it is much harder to fight than open oppression

 * Women and children are always mentioned in the same breath ("Women and children to the forts!"). The special tie women have with children is recognized by everyone. I submit, however, that the nature of this bond is no more than shared oppression. And that moreover this oppression i intertwined and mutually reinforcing in such complex ways that we will be an able to speak of the liberation of women without also discussing the liberation of children, and since versa. The heart of woman's oppressing is her childbearing and childrearing roles. And in turn children are defined in relation to this role and are psychologically formed by it; what they become as adults and the sorts of relationships they are able to form determine the society they will ultimately built.
 * p. 72

 * Matriarchy is a stage on the way to patriarchy, to man’s fullest realization of himself; he goes from worshipping Nature through women to conquering it. Though it’s true that woman’s lot worsened considerably under patriarchy, she never had it good; for despite all the nostalgia it is not hard to prove that matriarchy was never an answer to women’s fundamental oppression. Basically it was no more than a different means of counting lineage and inheritance, one which, though it might have held more advantages for women than the later patriarchy, did not allow women into the society as equals. To be worshipped is not freedom. For worship still takes place in someone else’s head, and that head belongs to Man. Thus throughout history, in all stages and types of culture, women have been oppressed due to their biological functions.
 * p. 74

 * In the Middle Ages there was no such thing as childhood. The medieval view of children was profoundly different from ours.
 * p. 76

 * We can also see the class basis of the emerging concept of child hood in the system of child education that came in along with it. If childhood was only an abstract concept, then the modern school was the institution that built it into reality.
 * p. 81

 * The ideology of school was the ideology of childhood. It operated on the assumption that children needed"discipline," that they were special creatures who had to be handled in a special way (child psych., child ed., etc.) and that to facilitate this they should be corralled in a special place with tie own kind, and with an age group as restricted to their own as possible.
 * p. 87

 * The myth of childhood has an even greater parallel in the myth of Femininity. Both women and children were considered asexual and thus"purer" than man. Their inferior status was ill-concealed under an elaborate "respect." One didn't discuss serious matters nor did one curse in from of women and children; one didn't openly degrade them, one did it behind their backs.
 * p. 88

 * Self-regulation is the basis of freedom, and dependence the origin of inequality.
 * p. 97

 * There is some irony in the fact that children imagine that parents can do what they want, and parents imagine that children do. "When I grow up..." parallels "Oh to be a child again..."
 * p. 102

 * Every person in his first trip to a foreign country, where he knows neither the people nor the language, experiences childhood.
 * p. 103

 * Children, then, are not freer than adults. They are burdened by a wish fantasy in direct proportion to the restraints of their narrow lives; with an unpleasant sense of their own physical inadequacy and ridiculousness; with constant shame about their dependence, economic and otherwise (‘Mother, may I?’); and humiliation concerning their natural ignorance of practical affairs. Children are repressed at every waking minute. Childhood is hell.
 * p. 103

Chapter Six

 * A book on radical feminism that did not deal with love would be a political failure. For love, perhaps even more than childbearing, is the pivot of women's oppression today.

 * Love has never been understood, though it may have been fully experienced, and that experience communicated.
 * p. 126

 * Women and love are underpinnings. Examine them and you threaten the very structure of culture.
 * p. 126

 * Contrary to popular opinion, love is not altruistic. [...] Love is the height of selfishness: the self attempts to enrich itself through the absorption of another being. Love is being psychically wide-open to another. It is a situation of total emotional vulnerability. Therefore it must be not only the incorporation of the other, but an exchange of selves. Anything short of a mutual exchange will hurt one or the other party. There is nothing inherently destructive about this process. A little healthy selfishness would be a refreshing change. Love between two equals would be an enrichment, each enlarging himself through the other: instead of being one, locked in the cell of himself with only his own experience and view, he could participate in the existence of another – an extra window on the world. This accounts for the bliss that successful lovers experience: lovers are temporarily freed from the burden of isolation that every individual bears.
 * p. 128

 * Bliss in love is seldom the case: for every successful contemporary love experience, for every short period of enrichment, there are ten destructive love experiences, post-love ‘downs’ of much longer duration – often resulting in the destruction of the individual, or at least an emotional cynicism that makes it difficult or impossible ever to love again.
 * p. 128

 * I submit that love is essentially a much simpler phenomenon – it becomes complicated, corrupted, or obstructed by an unequal balance of power. We have seen that love demands a mutual vulnerability or it turns destructive: the destructive effects of love occur only in a context of inequality. But because sexual inequality has remained a constant – however its degree may have varied – the corruption 'romantic' love became characteristic of love between the sexes.
 * p. 130

 * Being unable to love is hell.
 * p. 136

 * To live without love in the end proves intolerable to men just as it does to women.
 * p. 137

Chapter Seven

 * The beauty ideal. Every society has promoted a certain ideal of beauty over all others. What that ideal is is unimportant, for any ideal leaves the majority out; ideals, by definition, are modelled on rare qualities.
 * p. 151

 * Sex objects are beautiful. An attack on them can be confused with an attack on beauty itself. Feminists need not get so pious in their efforts that they feel they must flatly deny the beauty of the face on the cover of Vogue. For this is not the point. The real question is: is the face beautiful in a human way – does it allow for growth and flux and decay, does it express negative as well as positive emotions, does it fall apart without artificial props – or does it falsely imitate the very different beauty of an inanimate object, like wood trying to be metal? To attack eroticism creates similar problems. Eroticism is exciting. No one wants to get rid of it. Life would be a drab and routine affair without  at least that spark. That's just the point. Why has all joy and excitement been concentrated, driven into one narrow, difficult-to-find alley of human experience, and all the rest laid waste? When we demand the elimination of eroticism, we mean not the elimination of sexual joy and excitement but its diffusion over - there's plenty to go around, it increases with use - the spectrum of our lives.
 * p. 155

Chapter Nine

 * Culture is the attempt by man to realize the conceivable in the possible. Man’s consciousness of himself within his environment distinguishes him from the lower animals, and turns him into the only animal capable of culture. This consciousness, his highest faculty, allows him to project mentally states of being that do not exist at the moment. Able to construct a past and future, he becomes a creature of time – a historian and a prophet. More than this, he can imagine objects and states of being that have never existed and may never exist in the real world – he becomes a maker of art. Thus, for example, though the ancient Greeks did not know how to fly, still they could imagine it. The myth of Icarus was the formulation in fantasy of their conception of the state ‘flying’. But man was not only able to project the conceivable into fantasy. He also learned to impose it on reality: by accumulating knowledge, learning experience, about that reality and how to handle it, he could shape it to his liking. This accumulation of skills for controlling the environment, technology, is another means to reaching the same end, the realization of the conceivable in the possible.
 * p. 172

 * These two different responses, the idealistic and the scientific, do not merely exist simultaneously: there is a dialogue between the two. The imaginative construction precedes the technological though often it does not develop until the technological know-how is ‘in the air’. For example, the art of science fiction developed, in the main, only a half-century in advance of, and now co-exists with, the scientific revolution that is transforming it into a reality – for example (an innocuous one), the moon flight. The phrases ‘way out’, ‘far out’, ‘spaced’, the observation ‘it’s like something out of science fiction’ are common language.
 * p. 173

 * An artist can never know in advance just how his vision might be articulated in reality.
 * p. 173

 * Culture then is the sum of, and the dynamic between, the two modes through which the mind attempts to transcend the limitations and contingencies of reality. These two types of cultural responses entail different methods to achieve the same end, the realization of the conceivable in the possible. In the first, the individual denies the limitations of the given reality by escaping from it altogether, to define, create, his own possible. In the provinces of the imagination, objectified in some way – whether through the development of a visual image within some artificial boundary, say four square feet of canvas, through visual images projected through verbal symbols (poetry), with sound ordered into a sequence (music), or with verbal ideas ordered into a progression (theology, philosophy) – he creates an ideal world governed by his own artificially imposed order and harmony, a structure in which he consciously relates each part to the whole, a static (and therefore ‘timeless’) construction. The degree to which he abstracts his creation from reality is unimportant, for even when he most appears to imitate, he has created an illusion governed by its own – perhaps hidden – set of artificial laws. (Degas said that the artist had to lie in order to tell the truth.) This search for the ideal, realized by means of an artificial medium, we shall call the Aesthetic Mode.
 * pp. 173-174

 * In the second type of cultural response the contingencies of reality are overcome, not through the creation of an alternate reality, but through the mastery of reality’s own workings: the laws of nature are exposed, then turned against it, to shape it in accordance with man’s conception. If there is a poison, man assumes there is an antidote; if there is a disease, he searches for the cure: every fact of nature that is understood can be used to alter it. But to achieve the ideal through such a procedure takes much longer, and is infinitely more painful, especially in the early stages of knowledge. For the vast and intricate machine of nature must be entirely understood – and there are always fresh and unexpected layers of complexity – before it can be thoroughly controlled. Thus before any solution can be found to the deepest contingencies of the human condition, e.g., death, natural processes of growth and decay must be catalogued, smaller laws related to larger ones. This scientific method (also attempted by Marx and Engels in their materialist approach to history) is the attempt by man to master nature through the complete understanding of its mechanics. The coaxing of reality to conform with man’s conceptual ideal, through the application of information extrapolated from itself, we shall call the Technological Mode.
 * pp. 174-175

 * Now, in 1970, we are experiencing a major scientific breakthrough. The new physics, relativity, and the astrophysical theories of contemporary science had already been realized by the first part of this century. Now, in the latter part, we are arriving, with the help of the electron microscope and other new tools, at similar achievements in biology, biochemistry, and all the life sciences. Important discoveries are made yearly by small, scattered work teams all over the United States, and in other countries as well – of the magnitude of DNA in genetics, or of Urey and Miller’s work in the early fifties on the origins of life. Full mastery of the reproductive process is in sight, and there has been significant advance in understanding the basic life and death process. The nature of ageing and growth, sleep and hibernation, the chemical functioning of the brain and the development of consciousness and memory are all beginning to be understood in their entirety. This acceleration promises to continue for another century, or however long it takes to achieve the goal of Empiricism: total understanding of the laws of nature.
 * pp. 179-180

 * Empiricism itself is only the means, a quicker and more effective technique, for achieving technology’s ultimate cultural goal: the building of the ideal in the real world. One of its own basic dictates is that a certain amount of material must be collected and arranged into categories before any decisive comparison, analysis, or discovery can be made. In this light centuries of empirical science have been little more than the building of foundations for the breakthroughs of our own time and the future. The amassing of information and understanding of the laws and mechanical processes of nature (‘pure research’) is but a means to a larger end: total understanding of Nature in order, ultimately, to achieve transcendence.
 * p. 180

 * And just as the internal contradictions of capitalism must become increasingly apparent, so must the internal contradictions of empirical science – as in the development of pure knowledge to the point where it assumes a life of its own, e.g., the atomic bomb. As long as man is still engaged only in the means – the charting of the ways of nature, the gathering of ‘pure’ knowledge – to his final realization, mastery of nature, his knowledge, because it is not complete, is dangerous. So dangerous that many scientists are wondering whether they shouldn’t put a lid on certain types of research. But this solution is hopelessly inadequate. The machine of empiricism has its own momentum, and is, for such purposes, completely out of control. Could one actually decide what to discover or not discover? That is, by definition, antithetical to the whole empirical process that Bacon set in motion.
 * p. 181

 * Another internal contradiction in empirical science: the mechanistic, deterministic, ‘soulless’ scientific world-view, which is the result of the means to, rather than the (inherently noble and often forgotten) ultimate purpose of, Empiricism: the actualization of the ideal in reality.
 * p. 182

 * The first attempts to confront the modern world have been for the most part misguided. The, a famous example, failed at its objective of replacing an irrelevant easel art (only a few optical illusions and designy chairs mark the grave), ending up with a hybrid, neither art nor science, and certainly not the sum of the two. They failed because they didn’t understand science on its own terms: to them, seeing in the old aesthetic way, it was simply a rich new subject matter to be digested whole into the traditional aesthetic system. It is as if one were to see a computer as only a beautifully ordered set of lights and sounds, missing completely the function itself. The scientific experiment is not only beautiful, an elegant structure, another piece of an abstract puzzle, something to be used in the next collage – but scientists, too, in their own way, see science as this abstraction divorced from life – it has a real intrinsic meaning of its own, similar to, but not the same as, the ‘presence’, the ‘en-soi’, of modern painting. Many artists have made the mistake of thus trying to annex science, to incorporate it into their own artistic framework, rather than using it to expand that framework.
 * p. 187

Chapter Ten

 * New theories and new movements do not develop in a vacuum, they arise to spearhead the necessary social solutions to contradictions in the environment.
 * p. 192

 * As was demonstrated in the case of the development of atomic energy, radicals, rather than breast-beating about the immorality of scientific research, could be much more effective by concentrating their full energies on demands for control of scientific discoveries by and for the people. For, like atomic energy, fertility control, artificial reproduction, cybernation, in themselves, are liberating – unless they are improperly used.
 * p. 196

 * Let me then say it bluntly: Pregnancy is barbaric. I do not believe, as many women are now saying, that the reason pregnancy is viewed as not beautiful is due strictly to cultural perversion. The child’s first response, ‘What’s wrong with that Fat Lady?’; the husband’s guilty waning of sexual desire; the woman’s tears in front of the mirror at eight months – are all gut reactions, not to be dismissed as cultural habits. Pregnancy is the temporary deformation of the body of the individual for the sake of the species. Moreover, childbirth hurts. And it isn’t good for you. Three thousand years ago, women giving birth ‘naturally’ had no need to pretend that pregnancy was a real trip, some mystical orgasm (that far-away look). The Bible said it: pain and travail. The glamour was unnecessary: women had no choice. They didn’t dare squawk. But at least they could scream as loudly as they wanted during their labour pains. And after it was over, even during it, they were admired in a limited way for their bravery; their valour was measured by how many children (sons) they could endure bringing into the world.
 * pp. 198-199

 * The fact remains: childbirth is at best necessary and tolerable. It is not fun.
 * p. 199

 * Another scientific development that we find difficult to absorb into our traditional value system is the new science of cybernetics: machines that may soon equal or surpass man in original thinking and problem-solving. [...] In the hands of the present establishment there is no doubt that the machine could be used – is being used – to intensify the apparatus of repression and to increase established power. But again, as in the issue of population control, misuse of science has often obscured the value of science itself. In this case, though perhaps the response may not be quite so hysterical and evasive, we still often have the same unimaginative concentration on the evils of the machine itself, rather than a recognition of its revolutionary significance.
 * p. 200

 * Radical goals must be kept in sight at all times.
 * p. 206

 * Revolutionary feminism is the only radical programme that immediately cracks through to the emotional strata underlying ‘serious’ politics, thus reintegrating the personal with the public, the subjective with the objective, the emotional with the rational – the female principle with the male.
 * p. 210

 * Marriage is in the same state as the Church: both are becoming functionally defunct, as their preachers go about heralding a revival, eagerly chalking up converts in the day of dread. And just as God has been pronounced dead quite often but has this sneaky way of resurrecting himself, so everyone debunks marriage, yet ends up married.
 * p. 222

 * The family is neither private nor a refuge, but is directly connected to – is even the cause of – the ills of the larger society which the individual is no longer able to confront.
 * p. 224

 * The classic trap for any revolutionary is always, ‘What’s your alternative?’ But even if you could provide the interrogator with a blueprint, this does not mean he would use it: in most cases he is not sincere in wanting to know. In fact this is a common offensive, a technique to deflect revolutionary anger and turn it against itself. Moreover, the oppressed have no job to convince all people. All they need know is that the present system is destroying them.
 * p. 226

 * There are no precedents in history for feminist revolution – there have been women revolutionaries, certainly, but they have been used by male revolutionaries, who seldom gave even lip service to equality for women, let alone to a radical feminist restructuring of society.
 * pp. 226-227

 * The most important characteristic to be maintained in any revolution is flexibility.
 * p. 227

 * The economic independence and self-determination of all. Under a cybernetic communism, even during the socialist transition, work would be divorced from wages, the ownership of the means of production in the hands of all the people, and wealth distributed on the basis of need, independent of the social value of the individual’s contribution to society. We would aim to eliminate the dependence of women and children on the labour of men, as well as all other types of labour exploitation. Each person could choose his life style freely, changing it to suit his tastes without seriously inconveniencing anyone else; no one would be bound into any social structure against his will, for each person would be totally self-governing as soon as she was physically able.
 * p. 239

Quotes About

 * When Shulamith Firestone’s body was found late last August, in her studio apartment on the fifth floor of a tenement walkup on East Tenth Street, she had been dead for some days
 * Susan Faludi in Death of a Revolutionary (March 15, 2013)

Joyce Antler, Jewish Radical Feminism: Voices from the Women’s Liberation Movement (2020)

 * Jewish women in second-wave feminism helped to provide the theoretical underpinnings and models for radical action that were seized on and imitated throughout the United States and abroad. Their articles and books became classics of the movement and led the way into new arenas of cultural and political understanding in academe, politics, and grassroots organizing. Even a partial honor roll of Jewish women's liberation pioneers must include such figures as Shulamith Firestone, Ellen Willis, Robin Morgan, Alix Kates Shulman, Naomi Weisstein, Heather Booth, Susan Brownmiller, Marilyn Webb, Meredith Tax, Andrea Dworkin, Linda Gordon, Ellen DuBois, Ann Snitow, Marge Piercy, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, and Vivian Gornick. Despite historians' acknowledgment of the salience of Jewish women in earlier social movements, their prominence within radical feminism failed to attract much attention.

child-rearing roles. (about The Dialectic of Sex)
 * The book boldly takes on Marx and Freud for their neglect of gender as a system based on unequal power relations. For Firestone, the theorist closest to the truth was Simone de Beauvoir, but she believed that even her existentialist heroine missed the mark by failing to see that women's "Otherness" was founded in biology-from sex itself-women's childbearing and

 * Redstockings staged a public hearing at Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village, where a dozen women told a crowd of several hundred about their own abortions. The effect was electric, sending shock waves through the community and the nation and helping to lead a groundswell of action against illegal abortion, one that culminated a few years later in Roe v. Wade. This first speak-out, organized by Shulamith Firestone, Irene Peslikis, and others, inspired similar events elsewhere, including in France, where a number of prominent women, including Simone de Beauvoir (Ellen Willis's heroine as well as Firestone's), risked imprisonment by publicly declaring, "I have had an abortion."

title: Shulamith Firestone


text:
The Incredibles

The Incredibles is a 2004 Academy Award-winning computer animated feature film in which, while trying to lead a quiet suburban life, a family of undercover superheroes are forced into action to save the world. Incredibles 2 was a sequel in 2018.
 * Directed and written by Brad Bird.

Save The Day.taglines

Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible

 * Every superhero has a secret identity. I don't know a single one who doesn't. I mean, who wants the pressure of being super all the time?

 * No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved!! You know?! For a little bit. I feel like the maid: "I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for, for 10 minutes?! Please?!"

 * Sometimes, I think I just like the simple life, you know, relax a little and raise a family.

Helen Parr / Elastigirl

 * Of course I have a secret identity. [about her super-suit] Can you see me in this at the supermarket? Come on! Who did wanna go shopping as Elastigirl? You know what I mean?

 * Brace yourselves! Everybody calm down! Now, I will tell you what we are not going to do. We're not gonna panic, and we're not gonna... LOOK OUT!

 * Settle down? Are you kidding? I'm at the top of my game! I'm right up there with the big dogs! Girls, come on. Leave the saving of the world to the men? I don't think so! I don't think so.

 * Remember the bad guys on those shows you used to watch on Saturday mornings? Well, these guys are not like those guys. They won't exercise restraint because you're children. They will kill you if they get the chance. Do not give them that chance.

Lucius Best/Frozone

 * Super-ladies, they're always trying to tell you their secret identity. [whispers] Think it'll strengthen the relationship or something like that. I say, "Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

 * I don't see anyone from the old days, Bob. Just you. And we're pushing our luck as it is.

 * It means it's hot! And I'm dehydrated, Bob!

 * There is no water in this air! What's your excuse, run out of muscle?

 * We look like bad guys! Incompetent bad guys!

 * You tell me where my suit is, woman! We are talking about the greater good!

Dash Parr

 * [After a huge explosion destroys the Parrs' house] Does this mean we have to move again?

Violet Parr

 * I feel different. Is different okay?

Syndrome (Buddy Pine / IncrediBoy)

 * [After Elastigirl's plane is destroyed] Ah, you'll get over it. I seem to recall you prefer to work alone.

 * I knew you couldn't do it, even when you have got nothing to lose. You're weak! And I've outgrown you.

 * [has just caught the entire Parr family] What have we here? Matching uniforms? [sees Helen] Oh, no. Elastigirl? You married Elastigirl?! [laughs, then looks at Violet and Dash] And got busy! It's a whole family of Supers! Looks like I've hit the jackpot! [laughs] This is just too good!

 * [freezes the Parr family as they barge into the house while holding a sleeping Jack-Jack; quietly] Shh. The baby is sleeping. [snickers sinisterly] You took away my future. I'm simply returning the favor. Don't worry, I'll be a good mentor. Supportive, encouraging. Everything you weren't! And in time, who knows, he might make a good sidekick.

 * [last words before his death] This isn't the end of it! I will get your son, eventually! I'll get your son! [laughs and gasps as he sees Mr. Incredible hurling his car into the air] Oh, no.

Mirage

 * [on message computer] The Supers aren't gone, Mr. Incredible. You're still here. You can still do great things. Or… you can listen to police scanners. Your choice. You have 24 hours to respond. Think about it. [fades out]

 * [about Syndrome] He's attracted to power. So am I. It's a weakness we share.

 * [having had enough of Syndrome's evil after he taunted Mr Incredible with his family's apparent demise] Next time you gamble, bet your own life.

Edna Mode

 * I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now!

 * You will show him you remember that he is Mr. Incredible, and you will remind him who you are!

 * Do you remember Thunderhead? Tall, storm powers? Nice man. Good with kids. November 15th of '58! All was well, another day saved, when... his cape snagged on a missile fin.

 * Stratogale! April 23rd, '57! Cape caught in a jet turbine!

 * Meta Man, express elevator! Dynaguy, snag on takeoff! Splashdown, sucked into a vortex!

Underminer

 * Behold: The Underminer! I am always beneath you, but nothing is beneath me! I hereby declare war against peace and happiness! Soon, all will tremble before me!

Others

 * Mugger: Hey, look! The lady got me first.
 * Oliver Sansweet: Ow! I think you broke something.
 * Mrs. Hogenson: Denied? You're denying my claim?

Dialogue

 * [First lines; The movie begins with seated in front of a colored backing is a magnificent masked man in a superhero suit: early thirties, ruggedly handsome and powerfully built, he fiddles with a clip-on microphone. We're watching a faded documentary, shot in 16mm. A title fades in, identifying the man as Mr. Incredible]
 * Mr. Incredible: Is this on?
 * Interviewer: That's fine.
 * Mr. Incredible: [muttering to himself] I can break through walls, I just can't...
 * Interviewer: That's fine.
 * Mr. Incredible: I can't get this on.
 * [He finally gets the clip secured and settles in]
 * Interviewer: So, Mr. Incredible... do you have a Secret Identity?
 * Mr. Incredible: Every superhero has a Secret Identity. I don't know a single one who doesn't. Who wants the pressure of being super all the time?
 * [Resume documentary: Another striking, masked superhero, a woman this time. A title identifies her as Elastigirl]
 * Elastigirl: Of course I have a secret identity. Can you see me in this at the supermarket? Come on. Who'd want to go shopping as Elastigirl, you know what I mean?
 * Frozone: Super Ladies, they're always trying to tell you their secret identity. Think it'll strengthen the relationship or something like that. I said, "Girl, I don't want to know about your mild-mannered alter ego." or anything like that. I mean, you tell me you're a super-mega-ultra-lightning-babe, that's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.
 * Mr. Incredible: No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved, you know? For a little bit. I feel like the maid. "I just cleaned up this mess. Can we keep it clean for 10 minutes?"
 * Interviewer: I could get to that point.
 * Mr. Incredible: "Please?" [laughs, then sighs]
 * Interviewer: Wait, no, don't get up. We're not finished.
 * Mr. Incredible: Sometimes I think I'd just like the simple life, you know? Relax a little and raise a family.
 * Elastigirl: Settle down? Are you kidding? I'm at the top of my game! I'm right up there with the big dogs! Girls, come on. Leave the saving of the world to the men? I don't think so. I don't think so. [fades to black]

 * [Police and Paramedics have arrived and cordoned off the accident scene and treating the injured. Mr. Incredible arrests Buddy and hands him to the police]
 * Mr. Incredible: Take this one home, and make sure his Mom knows what he’s been doing.
 * Buddy Pine: I could help you, you’re making a mistake-HEY!!
 * Mr. Incredible: The injured jumper; did you send paramedics?
 * Police Officer #1: They've already picked him up.
 * Mr. Incredible: The blast in that building was caused by Bomb-Voyage who I caught in the act robbing the vault. Now we might be able to nab him if we setup a perimeter.
 * Police Officer #2: You mean he got away?
 * Mr. Incredible: Well yeah, Skippy here made sure of that.
 * Buddy Pine: IncrediBoy!
 * Mr. Incredible: [to Buddy] You're not affiliated with me!!
 * [A tiny alarm sounds. Mr. Incredible checks his wristwatch]
 * Mr. Incredible: Holy smokes, I'm late. Listen, I've gotta be somewhere.
 * [He signals the Incredi-Bile with a remote. It roars into view, squeals to a stop next to him]
 * Police Officer #1: What about Bomb-Voyage?
 * Mr. Incredible: Any other night, I'd go after him myself, but I really gotta go. But don't worry. We'll get him! Eventually!
 * [He fires the afterburners and the Police Officers watch in dismay as the Incredi-Bile roars off. Bob's car pulls up in front of a church, converting back into a sedan. Bob Parr enters, dressed smartly in a tux, fumbling with his tie]
 * Bob Parr: Hey, is the night still young?
 * Lucius Best: You're very late.
 * Bob Parr: How do I look? Good?
 * [His best man Lucius stops him before he enters]
 * Lucius Best: Oh, the mask! You still got the mask.
 * [Lucius reaches up and pulls off his Mr. Incredible's mask. Bob takes a deep breath and pushes open the chapel doors]
 * Bob Parr: Showtime!
 * [Bob stands at the altar with Elastigirl, who we see is the bride]
 * Minister: Robert Parr, will you have this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?
 * Helen Parr: You're late. When you asked me if I was doing anything later, I didn't realize you'd actually forgotten. I thought it was playful banter.
 * Bob Parr: It was playful banter.
 * Helen Parr: Cutting it kinda close, don't ya think?
 * Bob Parr: You need to be more... flexible.
 * Helen Parr: I love you, but if we're gonna make this work, you've gotta be more than Mr. Incredible. You know that. Don't you?
 * Minister: ...so long as you both shall live?
 * Bob Parr: I do.
 * Minister: I pronounce this couple husband and wife.
 * [They kiss, with an audience of superheroes and people cheering]
 * Helen Parr: As long as we both shall live. No matter what happens.
 * Bob Parr: Hey, come on. We're superheroes. What could happen?

 * Newsreel Narrator: In a stunning turn of events, a superhero is being sued for saving someone who, apparently, didn't want to be saved. The plaintiff, Oliver Sansweet, who was foiled in his attempted suicide by Mr. Incredible, has filed suit against the famed superhero in Superior Court.
 * [Oliver Sansweet's lawyer stands next to him on the crowded front steps, and speaks to a cluster of reporters]
 * Oliver Sansweet's Lawyer: Mr. Sansweet didn't ask to be saved, Mr. Sansweet didn't want to be saved, and the injuries received from Mr. Incredible's so-called "actions" cause him daily pain.
 * [The crowd stirs as Mr. Incredible appears and points a threatening finger at Oliver Sansweet]
 * Mr. Incredible: Hey, I saved your life!
 * Oliver Sansweet: You didn't save my life, you ruined my death, that's what you did!
 * Mr. Incredible: Listen, you little piece of...
 * Mr. Incredible's Lawyer: [cuts him off] My client has no further comment at this time.
 * [Shots of the train accident scene]
 * Newsreel Narrator: Five days later, another suit was filed by victims of the el train accident.
 * [Shots of a courtroom filled with neck-braced train-wreck victims. A lawyer goes through his paces, often gesturing toward a glowering Mr. Incredible]
 * Newsreel Narrator: Incredible's court losses cost the government millions. And opened the flood gates for dozens of superhero lawsuits the world over.
 * [A series of spinning newspaper headlines describing the succession of lawsuits brought against Superheroes: "DynaGuy sued!", "'SUPER' DAMAGES!", "X-RAY VISION PEEPING TOM?" Irate Taxpayers demonstrate, waving placards that read: "NO MORE SUPER BAILOUTS!", "$UPER EXPEN$IVE!", etc. A senator addresses his colleagues from the floor of the House of Representatives]
 * Senator: It is time for their secret identity to become their only identity. Time for them to join us, or go away.
 * Newsreel Narrator: Under tremendous public pressure, and the crushing financial burden of an ever mounting series of lawsuits, the government quietly initiated the superhero relocation program.
 * [Superheroes exiting the public stage, as they wave goodbye (ala Nixon), duck into cars in a shower of popping flashbulbs, cheered by supporters, jeered by opponents, etc]
 * Newsreel Narrator: The supers will be granted amnesty from responsibility for past actions, in exchange for the promise to never again resume hero work. Where are they now?
 * [A throng of people mill about the city streets in diverse anonymity]
 * Newsreel Narrator: They are living among us. Average citizens, average heroes. Quietly and anonymously continuing to make the world a better place.
 * [The music crescendoes as camera lifts up to the horizon and the sun streaming through the clouds]

 * [15 years later Mr. Incredible works for an insurance company under his real name, Bob Parr. Mrs. Hogenson sits across from him. Bob stamps a form with a “denied” stamp]
 * Mrs. Hogenson: Denied? You’re denying my claim? I don't understand. I have full coverage.
 * Bob Parr: I'm sorry, Mrs. Hogenson. But our liability is spelled out in paragraph sixteen. It states clearly...
 * Mrs. Hogenson: I can't pay for this.
 * Bob Parr: [phone rings] Excuse me. [answering the phone] Claims, Bob Parr.
 * [In the kitchen, Helen chats amiably as she bathes her baby Jack-Jack in the sink. Her hairstyle has changed, her hips have widened a little, but Motherhood and little else has changed from her Elastigirl days. A stack of empty moving boxes are stacked haphazardly near the door]
 * Helen: I'm calling to celebrate a momentous occasion. We're now officially moved in.
 * Bob: Yeah, well, that's great, honey. And the last three years don't count because...
 * Helen: Because I finally unpacked the last box. Now, it's official. Ha, ha, ha. Why do we have so much junk?
 * Bob: Listen, honey, I've got a client.
 * Helen: Say no more. Go save the world one policy at a time, honey. Oh! I gotta go pick up the kids from school. See you tonight.
 * Bob: Bye, honey. [hangs up, turns to Mrs. Hogenson] Excuse me. Where were we?
 * Mrs. Hogenson: [beginning to weep] I'm on a fixed income, and if you can't help me, I don't know what I'll do.
 * [Bob stares at her, empathizing completely. He stands up and leans out of his cubicle, looks down the hallway in both directions]
 * Bob Parr: [speaking softly] Alright, listen closely. I'd “like” to help you, but I “can't”. [handing her a pad and pencil] I'd “like“ to tell you to take a copy of your policy to Norma Wilcox on... [pointing to pad and paper] Norma Wilcox, W-I-L-C-O-X, on the third floor, but I “can't”. I also “do not” advise you to fill out and file a WS2475 form with our legal department on the 2nd floor. I would “not” expect someone to get back to you quickly to resolve the matter. I'd like to help, but there's nothing I can do.
 * Mrs. Hogenson: Oh thank you young man.
 * Bob: Shh, shh, shh. [shouting loudly] I'M SORRY MA'AM! I KNOW YOU'RE UPSET! [Whispering] Pretend to be upset.
 * [Mrs. Hogensen leaves Bob's cubicle, sobbing and Mr. Huph angrily marches in.]
 * Gilbert Huph: Paaaaaaaa AAAARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! You authorized payment on the Walker policy?!
 * Bob Parr: Someone broke into their house, Mr. Huph. Their policy clearly covers them against...
 * Gilbert Huph: I don't wanna know about their coverage, Bob! Don't tell me about their coverage! Tell me how you're keeping Insuricare in the black! Tell me how that's possible with you writing checks to every Harry Hardluck and Sally Sobstory THAT GIVES YOU A PHONE CALL! [storms out of Bob's cubicle]
 * Voice on PA: Morning break is over. Morning break is over.
 * [Bob’s pencil cup drops on the floor]

 * [Helen goes to the Principal's Office with the teacher--Bernie Kropp]
 * Principal: I appreciate you come down here, Mrs. Parr.
 * [Mrs. Parr looks at Dash]
 * Helen Parr: What is that about? Has Dash done something wrong?
 * Bernie Kropp: He's a disruptive influence and he openly mocks me in front of the class.
 * Dash Parr: He said.
 * Bernie Kropp: [looks at Dash] Look, I know it's you! [looks at Helen] He puts thumbtacks on my stool.
 * Helen: You saw him do this?
 * Bernie: Well, not real… No, actually not.
 * Helen: Oh. Then, how do you know it was him?
 * Bernie: I hid a camera. [has the videotape. Dash gasps and looks at Helen, glaring at him] And this time I got him. [the footage shows Bernie heads to his seat and when he's about to sit down, for a couple of frames, Dash is seen running to the seat and back to his desk] See? You see? [Helen and the principal squint in an attempt to try to see it] What, you don't see it? [facepalms, sighs, and rewinds the tape] He moves! RIGHT THERE! [pauses] Wait, wait! Right... there! Right as I'm sitting down! I don't know, I don't know how he does it but there's no tack on my stool before he moves and after he moves there's a tack! Coincidence? I think NOT?!
 * Principal: Uh, Bernie? [pats his shoulder]
 * Bernie Kropp: Don't Bernie me. [angrily points to Dash] THIS LITTLE RAT IS GUILTY!!!!!!!
 * Principal: You and your son can go now, Mrs. Parr, I'm sorry for the trouble.
 * Bernie Kropp: [last words; turns red in anger] You're letting him go again?! He's guilty! You can see it on his smug little face!! GUILTY, I SAY, GUILTY!!!!!!!!! GUILTY, GUILTY!!!! NO!!!!!

 * Helen: Don't think you avoided talking about your trip to the principal's office, young man. Your father and I are still going to discuss it.
 * Dash: I'm not the only kid who's been sent to the office, you know.
 * Helen: Other kids don't have superpowers. Now, it's perfectly normal for to you to—
 * Violet: Normal? What do you know about "normal"? What does anyone in this family know about "normal"?!
 * Helen: Now, wait a minute, young lady!
 * Violet: We act normal, Mom! I wanna be normal! The only one normal is Jack-Jack, and he's not even toilet-trained!
 * Jack-Jack: [giggles]
 * Dash: Lucky. [Helen gives him an angry look] I meant about being normal.

 * [Bob and Lucius are inside a building completely engulfed in flames rescuing people from the burning building.]
 * Lucius: Is that everybody?
 * Bob: Yeah, that's everyone!
 * [They duck down to avoid the crumbling ceiling.]
 * Lucius: It better be.
 * [Lucius attempts to generate ice to put out the fire, but to no avail, as he's not only dehydrated, but there's also no moisture in the air.]
 * Bob: Can't you put this out?
 * Lucius: I can't lay down a layer thick enough! It's evaporating too fast!
 * Bob: Well, what's that mean?
 * Lucius: It means it's hot! And I'm dehydrated, Bob!
 * Bob: You're out of ice?! You can't run out of ice! I thought you could use the water in the air!
 * Lucius: There is no water in this air! What's your excuse, you run out of muscle?!
 * Bob: I can't just go smashing through walls! The building's getting weaker by the second! It's gonna come down on top of us!
 * Lucius: I wanted to go bowling!
 * [More parts of the building come crumbling down. Bob eventually sees an open path ahead.]
 * Bob: All right! Stay right on my tail! It's gonna get hot!
 * [He and Lucius charge through the fire and smash through a wall on the side of the building, crashing through a wall into another building next to the burning building, causing the latter building to collapse, eventually putting out the fire. Bob and Lucius take notice from behind and then see the people they rescued moving and regaining consciousness, much to their relief.]
 * Bob: [fist bumps with Lucius] Yeah. [He gets up coughing, then realizes that he and Lucius are inside a jewelry store.] Uh-oh. [He unknowingly trips the alarm on accidentally. sarcastically] Oh, good.
 * [Suddenly, an alarm sounds and the lights turn on, startling the two superheroes.]
 * Lucius: [groans as he gets up] Oh, no. That ain't right.
 * [A police officer gets out of his car and sees Bob and Lucius inside the store. Inside, Bob and Lucius get into another argument.]
 * Lucius: We look like bad guys! Incompetent bad guys!
 * Bob: You can get water out of the air!
 * [The police officer breaks in and points his gun at the two Supers.]
 * Cop: Freeze!
 * [as the cops bursts into the jewelry store where Bob and Lucius are, Lucius notices a water cooler]
 * Cop: Freeze!
 * Lucius: I'm thirsty.
 * [Lucius reaches for a cup of water, which he starts filling]
 * Cop: I said "freeze"!
 * Lucius: I'm just getting a drink. [takes the cup to his mouth and drinks]
 * Cop: Okay, you had your drink! Now, I want you to ---
 * Lucius: [calmly, as he drops the cup] I know, I know. [directly] Freeze. [freezes the cop]
 * [More officers rush inside the store.]
 * Cops: Police officers!

 * [Bob returns home after his night out with Lucius. Helen is waiting to confront him in the living room.]
 * Helen: I thought you’d be back by 11:00.
 * Bob: I said I’d be back later.
 * Helen: I assumed you’d be back later. If you came back at all, you’d be back “later”.
 * Bob: Well I’m back. Ok?
 * Helen: [noticing a small piece of debris on Bob’s shirt] Is this rubble?
 * Bob: It was just a little workout. Just to stay loose.
 * Helen: You know how I feel about that Bob. Darn you! We can’t blow cover again!
 * Bob: The building was coming down anyway.
 * Helen: What? You knocked down a building!?
 * Bob: It was on fire, structurally unsound, it was coming down anyway.
 * Helen: Tell me you haven’t been listening to the police scanner again.
 * Bob: Look, I preformed a public service. You act like that’s a bad thing.
 * Helen: It is a bad thing Bob. Uprooting our family again so you can relive the glory days is a very bad thing!
 * Bob: Reliving the glory days is better than acting like they didn’t happen!
 * Helen: Yes, they happened. But this, our family is what’s happening now, Bob, and you’re missing this. I can’t believe you don’t want to go to your own son’s graduation.
 * Bob: It’s not a graduation. He’s moving from the fourth grade to the fifth grade.
 * Helen: It’s a ceremony.
 * Bob: It’s psychotic! They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity but if someone is genuinely exceptional then-
 * Helen: This is not about you Bob, this is about Dash.
 * Bob: You wanna do something for Dash? Then let him actually compete. Let him go out for sports.
 * Helen: I will not be made the enemy here! You know why we can’t do that.
 * Bob: Because he’d be great!
 * Helen: This is not. ABOUT. YOU!
 * [a soft ‘woosh’ is heard in the background]
 * Bob: All right Dash, I know you’re listening. Come on out.
 * Helen: Vi? You too young lady.
 * Bob: It’s okay kids we’re just having a discussion.
 * Violet: Pretty loud discussion.
 * Bob: Yeah. But that's okay, because what's important is that Mommy and I are always a team. We're always united, against, uh, uh, the forces of, uh--
 * Helen: Pig-headed-ness?
 * Bob: Uh, I was gonna say, "Evil" or something like that..
 * Helen: We're sorry we woke you. Everything's okay. Go back to bed. It's late. [looks at Bob] In fact, we should all be in bed.

 * Woman [on phone]: Request claim on claim numbers 158183....
 * [Bob presses his intercom button]
 * Gilbert Huph: HAVEN'T YOU GOT HIM YET, WHERE IS HE!? PLEASE!! RIGHT NOW!!
 * Huph's Secretary: [over the intercom] Mr. Huph would like to talk to you in his office.
 * Bob Parr: Now?
 * Huph's Secretary: Now...
 * [Huph angrily continues to yell indistinctly over the phone. Bob eventually gets up from his cubicle and heads to Huph's Office. Mirage slowly walks over, looks around and leaves something on his desk]
 * Gilbert Huph: [sharpens his pencil and aligns it with other three] Sit down, Bob.
 * [Bob sits and moves the 4th pencil]
 * Gilbert Huph: [re-aligns it and starts] I'm Not Happy, Bob. Not. Happy. Ask me why.
 * Bob Parr: Okay. Why?
 * Gilbert Huph: Why what? Be specific, Bob.
 * Bob Parr: Why are you unhappy?
 * Gilbert Huph: Your customers make me unhappy.
 * Bob Parr: What, you've gotten complaints?
 * Gilbert Huph: Complaints I can handle. What I can't handle is your customers' inexplicable knowledge of Insuricare's inner workings!! They're experts! EXPERTS, Bob! Exploiting every loophole, dodging every obstacle! They're PENETRATING the bureaucracy!
 * Bob Parr: Did I do something illegal?
 * Gilbert Huph: [begrudgingly] No...
 * Bob Parr: Are you saying we shouldn't help our customers?
 * Gilbert Huph: The law requires that I answer no.
 * Bob Parr: We're supposed to help people!
 * Gilbert Huph: We're supposed to help OUR PEOPLE! Starting with our stockholders, Bob! Who's helping them out, HUH?! [sighs and regains composure] You know, Bob.... [moves a letter that says: Memo: Policy Notification To: Employee From: Gilbert Huph Due to financial cut-backs, you will be expected to self-expense all office supplies, including but not limited to pencils, erasers, pens, paper, stationery, folders, staples, paper clips, brads, and photocopies. All parking will now be metered by the hour. Electricity consumption and all telephone charges will be deducted from your paycheck. The Board of Directors at Insuricare wishes to thank you for your selfless sacrifice through this time of financial uncertainty. It is because of you, the employee, that Insuricare has recorded its highest profit in years. Remember, a successful company makes for successful employees. Every penny you save is another penny that goes in... [the rest is covered by Huph's finger] Salutations, Gilbert Huph] ...a company...
 * Bob Parr: Is like an enormous clock.
 * Gilbert Huph: ...is like an enormous clo— Yes, precisely! It only works... if all the little cogs... mesh together! Now, a clock needs to be clean, well-lubricated and wound tight. The best clocks have jewel movements, cogs that fit, that cooperate by design. [chuckling] I'm being metaphorical, Bob...You know what I mean by cooperative cogs? Bob? Bob... [furiously grabs Bob by the chin and angrily pulls him toward him] LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU, PARR!!
 * [Outside the window, Bob sees the man is be mugged]
 * Bob Parr: That man out there, he needs help!
 * Gilbert Huph: Do NOT change the subject, Bob! We're discussing YOUR! ATTITUDE!
 * Bob Parr: He's getting mugged!
 * Gilbert Huph: Well, let's hope we don't cover him!
 * Bob Parr: [gets up out of his seat and heads for the door] I'll be right back. [puts his hand on the doorknob]
 * Gilbert Huph: [angrily threatens Bob] STOP RIGHT NOW, OR YOU'RE FIRED!!!!!!
 * Bob Parr: [stops, crushes The Doorknob and angrily turns his angry]
 * Gilbert Huph: [grins evilly] Close the door. Get over here... now. I'm not happy, Bob, not happy.
 * Bob Parr: He got away...
 * Gilbert Huph: [last words] Good thing, too, huh, you were this close to losing your j–LAAAGH!
 * Bob Parr: [furiously grabs Huph by the throat and angrily strangles him. Then he accidentally throws him through Five Office Walls that nearly kill him; Mr. Huph crashes into the filing cabinet, badly injured; Everyone stares at Bob in shock] Uh-oh.

 * [Through the window at the door we can glimpse Mr. Huph in a Full Body cast]
 * Voice on PA: Please report to operating room 722 immediately.
 * [Bob, seated on a Bench outside, looks up as Rick Dicker, a Haggard Faced Man in the Black Suit and Tie quietly exits Huph's room. He stops, looks at Bob, then turns away, heading to the elevator. Bob follows after him]
 * Bob Parr: How is he?
 * Rick Dicker: He'll live.
 * Bob Parr: I'm fired, aren't I?
 * Rick Dicker: Oh, you think?
 * Bob Parr: What can I said Rick?
 * Rick Dicker: Nothing you haven't said before.
 * Bob Parr: Someone's in Trouble.
 * Rick Dicker: Someone's always in Trouble?

 * [Edna shows Helen the other suits she has created for the Parrs]
 * Edna: I started with the baby.
 * Helen: Started?
 * Edna: Shh! Darling! Shh! I cut it a little roomy for the free movement. The fabric is comfortable for sensitive skin [flamethrowers throw fire at the suit without leaving burn marks], and it can also withstand a temperature of over 1,000 degrees! Completely bulletproof. [machine guns train on the suit and empty rounds into it without causing any damage] And machine-washable, darling. That's a new feature.
 * Helen: What on earth do you think the baby will be doing?!
 * Edna: Well, I'm sure I don't know, darling. Luck favors the prepared. I didn't know the baby's powers, so I covered the basics.
 * Helen: Jack-Jack doesn't have any powers.
 * Edna: No? He'll look fabulous anyway. [moves on to Dash's suit] Your boy's suit I designed to withstand enormous friction without heating up or wearing out. A useful feature. [moves on to Violet's] Your daughter's suit was tricky, but I finally created a sturdy material that will disappear completely as she does. [it briefly disappears and then reappears] [moves on to Helen's new suit] Your suit can stretch as far as you can, without injuring yourself [the suit gets stretched], and still retain its shape. Virtually indestructible. [two missiles fire at the suit, but the suit sustains no damage] Yet it breathes like Egyptian cotton. As an extra feature, each suit contains a homing device, giving you the precise global location of the wearer at the touch of a button. [hands Helen one, showing the tracking location of one of the suits] Well, darling? What do you think?
 * Helen: What do I think?! Bob is retired! I'm retired! Our family is underground!! You helped my husband resume secret hero-work behind my back?!
 * Edna: Well, I assumed you knew, darling! Why would he keep secrets from you?
 * Helen: He wouldn't. Didn't-- D-Doesn't.
 * Edna: [sighs] Men at Robert's age are often unstable. Prone to weakness.

 * [In Edna's kitchen, Helen is sobbing as she takes grief from possibly losing Bob.]
 * Helen: Oh, I am such an idiot. I let this happen, you know. The new sports car, the getting in shape, the blond hair, the lies...
 * Edna: [coldly] Yes, he attempts to relive the past.
 * Helen: Now I'm losing him! [crying] What'll I do?
 * Edna: What are you talking about?
 * Helen: [Stops sobbing; looks at Edna] Hmm?
 * Edna: You are Elastigirl! My God, pull yourself together! [whacks Helen with a rolled up newspaper] What will you do? Is this a question? You will show him you remember that he is Mr. Incredible, and you will remind him who you are! Well, you know where he is. Go, confront the problem, fight, WIN! [pause] And call me when you get back, darling, I enjoy your visits.

 * Helen: There's plenty of leftovers you can reheat, make sure Dash does his homework, and both of you get to bed on time. I should be back tonight, late. You can be in charge that long, can't you?
 * Violet: Yeah, but why am I in charge again?
 * Helen: Nothing. Just a little trouble with Daddy.
 * Violet: You mean Dad's in trouble, or Dad is the trouble?
 * Helen: I mean he's either in trouble, [darkly] or he's going to be. [leaves]

 * [Helen emerges from the lavatory dressed in her super suit. She throws her duffel bag roughly at a passenger seat]
 * Violet: Ow!
 * Elastigirl: Violet!
 * Violet: [as she materializes] It's not my fault! Dash ran away, and I knew I'd get blamed for it...
 * [Dash pops up from behind the seats at the back of the cabin, immediately engaging at the top of his lungs]
 * Dash: That's not true!
 * Elastigirl: Dash?!
 * Violet & Dash: ...and I thought he'd try to sneak on the plane so I came here and you closed the doors before I could find him and then you took off and it's not my fault! You said, "Something's up with Mom. We have to find out what!" It was your idea! Your idea! Hundred percent all-yours, all-the-time idea!
 * Elastigirl: Wait a minute, wait a minute. You left Jack-Jack alone?!
 * Violet & Dash: Yes, mom, I'm completely stupid... of course we got a sitter! Do you think I'm totally irresponsible? Thanks a lot! No, we got someone, Mom. Someone great. We wouldn't do that.
 * Elastigirl: All right! Well, who'd you get?

 * Helen: [via headset] Friendlies! At 2,0 miles south-south west of your position. Angels 10, track east. Disengage, over. [To Violet] Vi! You have to put a force field around the plane.
 * Violet: But you said we weren't supposed to use our powers!
 * Helen: I know what I said! Listen to what I'm saying now! [via headset] Disengage, repeat, disengage!
 * Dash: [fearfully] Mom?
 * Helen: VIOLET! [Violet gets startled; via headset] Mayday, mayday! India Golf Niner-Niner is buddy-spiked! Abort, abort! There are children aboard, [heard through intercom] say again, there are children aboard the plane.
 * Bob: NO!
 * Helen: Put a field around us NOW!!!
 * Violet: But, Mom, I've never done one that big before!
 * Helen: Violet, do it now! [via headset] Abort, abort, abort! [Violet weakly tries to create a force field in a short period of time] Abort, abort, abort! [She tries again unsuccessfully, then Helen rushes to protect her children from the explosion]

 * [Mirage enters the room where Bob is still being held in the suspension chamber. She pushes a button, causing Bob to fall to the floor.]
 * Mirage: [Walks up to Bob] There isn't much time.
 * Bob: [Grabs Mirage by the throat and lifts her up] No, there isn't. In fact, there's no time at all.
 * Mirage: [Tries to free herself from Bob's hold] Please...
 * Bob: Why are you here? How can you possibly bring me lower? What more can you take away from me?
 * Mirage: Family... survived the crash. They're here on the island!
 * Bob: [Surprised] They are alive?
 * [Bob drops Mirage to the floor, where she coughs. He picks her up and hugs her. Mirage looks relieved, but then notices Helen standing at the doorway.]
 * Bob: Helen?
 * Mirage: Hello. You must be Mrs. Incre-! [Get punched in the face by Helen and faints]
 * Bob: [Grabs Helen's outstretched arm] She was helping me to escape!
 * Helen: No, that's what I was doing! [Bob starts pulling her in closer] Let go of me! Let go, you lousy, lying, unfaithful creep-
 * Bob: [Kisses Helen] How could I betray the perfect woman?
 * Helen: Oh, you're referring to me now?
 * Bob: Where are the kids?
 * Mirage: They might have have triggered the alert.
 * Helen: What?!
 * Mirage: Security's been sent into the jungle. [Bob helps her up] You better get going.
 * Helen: Now our kids are in danger?!
 * [Bob and Helen run out of the room.]
 * Bob: If you suspected danger, why'd you bring them?
 * Helen: I didn't bring them, they stowed away! And I don't think you're striking the proper tone here!

 * [Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl are running through the jungle, trying to get to their kids]
 * Mr. Incredible: I should've told you I was fired, I admit it. But I didn't want you to worry!
 * Elastigirl: You didn't want me to worry?! And now, we're running for our lives through some godforsaken jungle?
 * Mr. Incredible: You keep trying to pick a fight, but I'm still just happy you're alive!

<hr width="50%"/>
 * Dash: Are we there yet?!
 * Bob: We will get there when we get there!! [opens the window; to Helen, who is suspended from the Omnidroid's lander, clutching its sides and holding the van in place] HOW YOU DOING, HONEY?!
 * Helen: DO I HAVE TO ANSWER?!

<hr width="50%"/>
 * Parrot: Identification, please.
 * Dash: Huh? Hey, hey Vi, c'mere, look, look it talks! There, that one.
 * Parrot: Voice key incorrect.
 * Violet: Voice key?
 * Parrot: Voice key incorrect.
 * Violet: [realises something is wrong] Wait a second...
 * [Parrot sounds alarm]
 * Dash: What do we do?
 * Violet: Run!
 * Dash: Where are we going?
 * Violet: Away from here!

<hr width="50%"/>
 * [Last lines, the family crosses the parking lot, Dash sitting atop Bob's shoulders, clutching his second-place trophy. Everyone is happy and together]
 * Helen Parr: Dash, I'm so proud of you.
 * Dash Parr: I didn't know what the heck you wanted me to do.
 * [The ground begins to quake. The Incredibles stop as the low rumble grow louder. On the far side of the lot, cars begin to be thrown into the air, tossed about like toys. A gargantuan drill spirals out of the ground, throwing dirt and chunks of asphalt in all directions. People run screaming as the enormous metallic vehicle crests and crashes to earth. A door opens on top and a hulking figure in dirty overalls emerges atop a rising platform. His ragged voice amplified through a loudspeaker, the Underminer speaks]
 * Underminer: Behold the Underminer! I am always beneath you, but nothing is beneath me! I hereby declare war on peace and happiness! Soon all will tremble before me!
 * [Camera pans off Bob as he glances at his family. They've already donned their masks, ready as they'll ever be. Camera returns to Bob, revealing that he too has put on his mask. He turns toward their new nemesis and smiles, rips his shirt open to reveal the "i" insignia on the chest of his super suit underneath, the logo of The Incredibles, and then the credits roll]

Taglines

 * Save the day.

 * Discover the Side of Superheroes You've Never Seen Before

 * Expect The Incredible

 * Twice the hero he used to be

 * Super cool

 * No gut, no glory

 * Sock'er Mom

Voice Cast (in Order of Appearance)

 * Craig T. Nelson – Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible
 * Holly Hunter – Helen Parr/Elastigirl
 * Samuel L. Jackson – Lucius Best/Frozone
 * Jason Lee – Buddy Pine/Syndrome
 * Dominique Louis – Bomb Voyage
 * Teddy Newton – Newsreel Narrator
 * Jean Sincere – Mrs. Hogenson
 * Eli Fucile Maeve Andrews – Jack-Jack Parr
 * Wallace Shawn – Gilbert Huph
 * Spencer Fox – Dashiell "Dash" Parr
 * Lou Romano – Bernie Kropp
 * Wayne Canney – Principal
 * Sarah Vowell – Violet Parr
 * Michael Bird – Tony Rydinger
 * Elizabeth Peña – Mirage
 * Bud Luckey – Rick Dicker
 * Brad Bird – Edna "E" Mode
 * Bret Parker – Kari
 * Kimberly Clark – Honey
 * John Ratzenberger – Underminer

Additional Voices

 * Nicholas Bird – Rusty McAllister
 * Frank Thomas – Himself
 * Ollie Johnston – Himself
 * Teddy Newton – Jet's Automated Captain/Robotic Security Bird/Probe
 * Phil Proctor – Guard #1
 * Jack Angel – Guard #2
 * Randy Nelson – Police Officer #1
 * Mark Andrews – Police Officer #2/Radio Voice
 * Peter Sohn – Mugger
 * Patrick Pinney – Oliver Sansweet
 * Bill Farmer – Oliver Sansweet's Lawyer
 * Rodger Bumpass – Mr. Incredible's Lawyer
 * Pete Docter – Police Officer #3
 * Mickie McGowan – Citizen Mother
 * Sherry Lynn – Citizen #1
 * Kath Soucie – Citizen #2
 * Deirdre Warin – Old Lady
 * John Walker – Minister
 * Corey Burton
 * Rick Miller

Teaser Trailer

 * [the screen shows Disney and Pixar logos, the text puts up "Walt Disney Pictures presents" and "a Pixar Animation Studios film", fades to the camera zooms by the picture frames, then hearing a phone ringing, then Bob picks up the phone]
 * Telephone: Mr. Incredible, we need your help.
 * Mr. Incredible: [grabs the outfit, putting black shoes on, then putting long black gloves on, then putting a black mask on] Showtime.
 * [tries to put the belt on]
 * Helen: [off-screen] Honey, come to dinner!
 * Mr. Incredible: I can't come to dinner! I've got the... I gotta go!
 * [continues trying to put the belt on]
 * Mr. Incredible: Maybe just a salad, and uh, yeah. Ooh, and some rice cakes!
 * [continues trying to put the belt on, then trying to put the belt on, slamming the desk, then trying to put the belt on, then trying to put the belt on, sitting on a chair, then trying to put the belt on, stamping on the ground, then looking at the belt, then trying to put the belt on, hitting the chair]
 * Mr. Incredible: Come on.
 * [takes a deep breath, putting the belt on, the belt breaks off of him, blowing the lights out, then the film's title, then the text puts up "SAVE THE DAY" and "11 - 5 - 2004", the film website, labled "Incredibles.com", is bellow]

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title: The Incredibles


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