How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Men in Black.
Quote #1
KAY: Must have been for an assassination. Who's the target?
JEEBS: I don't know. I don't know!
KAY: All right. That's confiscated, and I want you on the next transport off this rock or I'm gonna shoot you where it don't grow back.
Doesn't Kay have to read Jeebs his Miranda warning? Isn't there any due process before confiscating Jeebs's property and deporting him? Nope. The Men in Black have free rein to govern the extraterrestrials on Earth as they see fit.
Quote #2
EDGAR BUG: You know, I've noticed an infestation here. Everywhere I look, in fact, nothing but undeveloped, unevolved barely conscious pond scum totally convinced of their own superiority as they scurry about their short, pointless lives.
EXTERMINATOR: Well, yeah. Don't you want to get rid of them?
EDGAR BUG: In the worst way.
In some ways, the Bug's power is similar to the Men in Black's. It doesn't answer to anybody. The difference is that it's only got one way of expressing it: killing people who get in its way.
Quote #3
KAY: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you knew that people were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll knew tomorrow.
Should the government use its power to protect its people from the worst of themselves? Are we really so dumb and panicky that we can't be trusted to self-govern? People who oppose "big government" often use this argument—that the government doesn't trust people to make decisions about what to feed their kids or whether to buy health insurance or how much money to save.
Quote #4
JAY: What branch of the government do we report to?
KAY: None. They ask too many questions.
Men in Black answer to no authority. This allows them to act quickly and decisively without the hassle of red tape. That might seem fine when the men are the virtuous Kay and Jay, but what about those Gotham Men in Black agents? You just know those guys are on the take.
Quote #5
KAY: Observation, the heart of our little endeavor. Meet the twins, Blblup and Bob. This map shows the location of every registered alien on Earth and any given time, some of them under constant surveillance. Everyone on those screens is an alien. In public, they are as normal as you are. In private, well… you'll get the idea.
If it isn't painfully obvious, Men in Black was made before 9/11, the Patriot Act, and Edward Snowden. Today the idea of government surveillance is a little more real than science fiction, and the debate continues about how many individual freedoms we should relinquish for security reasons. And NSA, if you're reading our texts, we were totally joking about Joe Biden.
Quote #6
JAY: Well, yeah, you know, because he never appreciated you anyway. In fact, you know what? You kicked him out. And now that he's gone, you're gonna go into town, you go to Bloomingdale's, find yourself some nice dresses, get yourself some shoes. You know, find somewhere that maybe you could get a facial. And, oh, hire a decorator to come in here quick, because, damn.
Beatrice had a rough life with Edgar, and Jay takes advantage of the situation to give her at least one pleasant memory out of the experience. Whether they should have this kind of power remains an open question, but you can't deny that's a better memory than a monster bug ate my husband and wore his skin 'round the house.
Quote #7
JAY: What the hell are they shooting at us for?
KAY: Arquillian battle rules, kid: first we get an ultimatum, then a warning shot, then we have a galactic standard week to respond.
JAY: A galactic standard week?
ZED: One hour.
JAY: One hour? Then what?
(Incoming Message on the screen reads, "MIB DELIVER THE GALAXY OR EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED")
The Men in Black have full run of Earth, but there are still some rules in the larger galaxy they have to play by. We aren't sure what treaty the Men in Black broke by having the Arquillian prince die and a Galaxy stolen on their watch, but apparently it wasn't very neighborly of them.