The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.
John BergerRead
That we find a crystal or a poppy beautiful means that we are less alone, that we are more deeply inserted into existence than the course of a single life would lead us to believe.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The beauty we perceive in the world connects us to existence and each other, suggesting a deeper unity beyond individual lives.
John Berger highlights the profound connection humans have with the beauty of nature, represented by a crystal or a poppy. He suggests that such beauty not only alleviates our sense of isolation but also engages us with a larger existence, implying that our lives are intertwined with the broader tapestry of life, extending beyond our singular experiences.
Themes
BeautyExistenceConnectionNatureLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about existentialism, this quote could be used to demonstrate the interconnectedness of life.
More from John Berger
All quotes →Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.
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We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
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The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.
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Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
John BergerRead
Being a unique superpower undermines the military intelligence of strategy. To think strategically, one has to imagine oneself in the enemy's place. If one cannot do this, it is impossible to foresee, to take by surprise, to outflank. Misinterpreting an enemy can lead to defeat. This is how empires fall.
John BergerRead
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And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.
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One loves ultimately one's desires, not the thing desired.
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