Killing a man in defense of an idea is not defending an idea; it is killing a man.
Jean-Luc GodardRead
Cinema is not a series of abstract ideas, but rather the phrasing of moments.
Interpretation
Cinema captures tangible moments rather than just abstract concepts.
Jean-Luc Godard emphasizes that cinema is a medium rooted in real experiences and moments, suggesting that films convey emotions and narratives through concrete instances rather than merely theoretical ideas. This perspective invites viewers to appreciate the artistry of filmmaking as a reflection of life itself, where powerful moments shape our understanding and connection to the story being told.
In practice
This quote can open discussions in a film studies class about the nature of cinema.
Killing a man in defense of an idea is not defending an idea; it is killing a man.
I don't think you should feel about a film. You should feel about a woman, not a movie. You can't kiss a movie.
Sometime reality is too complex. Stories give it form.
More or less, I am always saying, 'Give me more. Let's do what has not been done.'
Objects exist and if one pays more attention to them than to people, it is precisely because they exist more than the people. Dead objects are still alive. Living people are often already dead.
Suddenly, I don't know what to say. It happens often to me. I know what I want to say, I think about whether it is what I mean, but when the moment comes to speak, I can't say it. - Nana Kleinfrankenheim, Vivre Sa Vie.
A poet's autobiography is his poetry. Anything else can only be a footnote.
I don't think it's about playing and singing, to be honest. That seems like old news, you know? I wasn't thinking about that. I just think that's in my body now. Dancers don't think about their legs moving one way and their arms moving another. Over time, you incorporate that into your instrument.
A hint - don't paint too much direct from nature. Art is an abstraction! study nature then brood on it and treasure the creation which will result, which is the only way to ascend towards God - to create like our Divine Master.
Writing is a lonely job. Even if a writer socializes regularly, when he gets down to the real business of his life, it is he and his type writer or word processor. No one else is or can be involved in the matter.
Once it happened, as I lay awake at night, that I suddenly spoke in verses, in verses so beautiful and strange that I did not venture to think of writing them down, and then in the morning they vanished; and yet they lay hidden within me like the hard kernel within an old brittle husk.
The artist's job is to be a witness to his time in history.
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