You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.
David Foster WallaceRead
We will, of course, without hesitation use art to parody, ridicule, debunk, or criticize ideologies.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art can serve as a powerful tool to challenge and critique societal beliefs and ideologies.
David Foster Wallace emphasizes the role of art as a means of expressing dissent against various ideologies. By using satire and criticism, art can shine a light on the flaws and absurdities within these beliefs, encouraging deeper reflection and dialogue.
Themes
ArtCritiqueIdeologyParodySatire
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the function of art in society, this quote can highlight how artists often use their work to challenge established norms.
More from David Foster Wallace
All quotes →Everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence.
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It seems important to find ways of reminding ourselves that most 'familiarity' is meditated and delusive.
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Under fun's new administration, writing fiction becomes a way to go deep inside yourself and illuminate precisely the stuff you don't want to see or let anyone else see, and this stuff usually turns out (paradoxically) to be precisely the stuff all writers and readers share and respond to, feel.
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Acceptance is usually more a matter of fatigue than anything else.
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Bliss - a-second-by-second joy and gratitude at the gift of being alive, conscious - lies on the other side of crushing, crushing boredom. Pay close attention to the most tedious thing you can find (Tax Returns, Televised Golf) and, in waves, a boredom like you’ve never known will wash over you and just about kill you. Ride these out, and it’s like stepping from black and white into color. Like water after days in the desert. Instant bliss in every atom.
David Foster WallaceRead
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