All good, clean stories are melodrama, it's just the set of devices that determines how you show or hide it.
Interpretation
The essence of storytelling often lies in drama, regardless of how it is presented.
Baz Luhrmann's quote emphasizes that at the core of effective storytelling is melodrama, which highlights the emotional stakes and conflicts. The variation comes from the techniques and devices utilized in telling the story, suggesting that the way a narrative is constructed can either reveal or obscure its emotional depth.
In practice
This quote can be used in a film class discussion about narrative techniques.
If you wanted to show a mirror to people that says, 'You've been drunk on money,' they're not going to want to see it. But if you reflected that mirror on another time they'd be willing to. People will need an explanation of where we are and where we've been, and 'The Great Gatsby' can provide that explanation.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself
People will never understand the patience a photographer requires to make a great photograph, all they see is the end result. I can stand in front of a leaf with a dew drop, or a rain drop, and stay there for ages just waiting for the right moment. Sure, people think I'm crazy, but who cares? I see more than they do!
When we talk to somebody and we want to be nice or polite or show our more beautiful side, we try to use the best words that we know. This is what poets are doing. They are cleaning the words, they are inventing the sentiments, they are giving us a way to communicate.
There is also poetry written to be shouted in a square in front of an enthusiastic crowd. This occurs especially in countries where authoritarian regimes are in power.
One difference between poetry and lyrics is that lyrics sort of fade into the background. They fade on the page and live on the stage when set to music.
On stage, you're not limited at all because you're free in language: language is the source of the imagination. You can travel farther in language than you can in any film.
When I write, I make my memories tangible, and in this way I can get rid of them.
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