10 Most Profound Quotes From Regina Hall’s Master

Warning: This article contains mentions of racism and self-harm.

Master, a horror mystery by writer/director Mariama Diallo, is streaming now on Amazon. The story revolves around two women just arriving at Ancaster College, a fictional Ivy League — Jasmine Moore, one of only eight students of color on campus, and Gail Bishop, the first Black Master in the college’s history.

What unfolds both through cinematography and plot is simultaneously familiar and new. In an incredible performance by Regina Hall, she plays Gail, an outstandingly strong character whose world is slowly shaken. Newcomer Zoe Renee as Jasmine is phenomenal as well. The film’s genius is keeping what lies beneath every scene carefully hidden yet lurking in plain sight.

Gail Bishop Warns Students

“There’s No Returning To What Came Before.”

At an orientation for Belleville House, Gail Bishop, played by Regina Hall (Nine Perfect Strangers, Black Monday) in arguably one of her best movie roles, explains the importance of the legacy of attending a college that’s nearly as old as the country. The new House Master also warns the kids that they can’t go back — they can’t return to where they came from or who they were. They are new people. So is she.

Jasmine Moore really hears this both as a lesson to learn and a warning. Things lighten up as the entire campus joins in on a tradition to start out their first night on campus: a primal scream. It’s high energy and terrifying, the sound reverberating into the woods that surround them.

Liv And Gail Have A Heart-To-Heart

“You Think I Don’t Know? Us Sisters Are An Endangered Species On This Campus.”

In her time at Ancaster, Gail Bishop has a friendship with Dr. Liv Beckman, the only other Black professor on campus. They discuss whether or not they should even bother to stay at a school that is and always has been almost entirely white.

Their friendship seems close, and they lean on each other as the film progresses. However, they don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye on things. They have different goals and different reasons for being there, but they really need each other if they’re both going to survive.

The Librarian And Jasmine Have Complicated Chit-Chat

“Your Family Must Be Proud Of You.”

From the start of the film, Jasmine Moore is treated as an outsider. Even when upperclasspeople taunt her about her room assignment as being haunted, she shrugs it off. She’s a confident, intelligent woman who can handle harassment.

It begins to pile up, microaggression upon microaggression. Even the librarian insults her both by saying this quote and assuming Jasmine must have come from a poor family, then doubting that the alarm going off is a mistake and checking Jasmine’s backpack for stolen books.

Professor Beckman Lectures Jasmine On The Scarlet Letter

“Just Because You’re Not Seeing Something, Doesn’t Mean It’s Not There.”

Jasmine is enrolled in Dr. Liv Beckman’s English class in which they’re studying Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. In class, Jasmine’s comments are rebuffed by the professor, much to Jasmine’s confusion. She graduated top of her class and is very confident about her intelligence, so to be doubted in this way is throwing her off.

Jasmine then meets with Dr. Beckman in her office about the paper she wrote on the book, on which she received an F. She’s never received a grade close to that, so she goes to defend herself. Much to her shock, Dr. Beckman still disagrees with Jasmine’s paper, and included in the explanation is this eerie quote, which also applies to the film’s themes.

Gail In A Promotional Video For The School’s Diversity Initiative

“Now More Than Ever, Let’s Show The World Who We Really Are.”

Jasmine is not only having horrific nightmares, but she’s also being harassed and made fun of at every turn. Eventually, while she’s alone in the dorms during Thanksgiving break, she’s devastated to find a burning cross on the campus lawn. Someone has already carved ‘LEAVE’ in her dorm room door and hung a noose around the doorknob.

The scene then cuts to cheery footage for a promotional commercial touting the school’s diversity initiative. Gail Bishop smiles and speaks the quote, a chilly double meaning in the exposure of what is on the surface and what is below.

Liv Brings Up The Cross Burning At Her Tenure Battle

“This Isn’t An Incident. It’s An Emergency.”

Dr. Beckman is up for tenure. A committee of her peers gathers to evaluate her, including Dr. Bishop. Everyone is concerned about her lack of publications. They want to know about Jasmine’s formal complaint about her Scarlet Letter grade. Dr. Beckman, who’s been fairly calm until this point, turns the tables on the committee.

Dr. Beckman accuses all of them of minimizing the horrible statement that the cross speaks about their campus and community. As with numerous other instances of racism, this seems to be getting swept under the rug. Dr. Beckman is smart. She knows what she’s doing. She knows how to play their game.

Gail Fights To Keep Jasmine From Dropping Out

“No, Jasmine. Jasmine, You Can’t Quit. It’s Not Ghosts. It’s Not Supernatural. It’s…America.”

Jasmine’s nightmares — all tinged in red — are getting so terrible that she can’t keep them from slipping into her reality. She’s heavily researched the chilling 1968 supposed suicide of Ancaster’s first Black student, Louisa Weeks, who students claim haunts Jasmine’s room. Even Jasmine’s roommate got so disturbed that she dropped out.

After Jasmine starts reading Louisa’s journal, she has a nightmare so horrible that she jumps out her dorm window. Thankfully, she survives. At the hospital, Gail pleads with her through this terrifying quote. Unfortunately, a tragedy soon follows this.

Gail Loses All Hope

“I Always Thought This Was The Prize. Sticking It Out, Surviving, Enduring. What Are We Really Doing This For?”

Gail and Liv struggle to cope with Jasmine’s suicide, talking about their struggles no matter where they’ve lived. The two women talk about the hard work of academia and achieving goals, but Gail is doubting herself. After all, she’s struggling just to justify living in the Master’s house with its muddy footprints, ghost-like servant bells ringing, and maggot infestation.

Liv is chilling when she says yes, this is what she’s been fighting for. Though they apparently are good friends in the movie, they have two very different perspectives on their experiences. Gail is certainly doubting her own life goals after the loss of her student.

Gail Lets It All Loose On The Faculty

“It Might Not Be White Hoods And Minstrels, But It’s There. I Was Never A Master. I’m A Maid. You Brought Me Here To Clean Up.”

The faculty throw a party for Liv’s tenure acceptance while Gail meets a mysterious woman at a diner. Esther Bickert, wearing the garb of the villagers, tells Gail secrets about Liv, suddenly altering Gail’s already faltering life-view. Liv could very well be a smart villain in a plot twist in the movie.

Gail returns to the gathering numbed by shock. She stumbles through the party, noticing the grotesque details of the other professors, with similarities to the old photos on the wall reflecting how nothing ever changes. Suddenly, she has this epiphany and, in front of all her colleagues, announces this sad and frightening quote.

Gail Responds To A Suspicious White Security Guard

“I Was Just On My Way Out.”

At the very end of the movie, after she’s confronted the other faculty and specifically Liv about the truth, she walks out. She wanders across the campus in the dark. As with all the scenes in this movie, this one reflects so many moments in some of the best horror/thriller movies of all time where the main character sees reality clearly.

A white security guard gets a call that a suspicious woman is walking across campus and stops Gail. He questions her and asks if she belongs on campus. She thinks for a moment as an all-Black grounds crew begins to work behind her, then states this profound quote and switches directions, presumably to leave campus and never return.

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