When a documentary filmmaker, working in the style that I do, suggests that there has been a shooting ratio of 40 hours to every one hour of finished film, that doesn't mean that the other 39 are bad.
Ken BurnsRead
It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the intelligence of the past
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the importance of learning from past experiences and wisdom.
Ken Burns points out the danger of modern arrogance, where individuals or societies often overlook the valuable insights and intelligence accumulated throughout history. By ignoring the lessons of the past, we risk repeating mistakes and failing to build upon the knowledge that has shaped our present and future.
Themes
ArroganceIntelligencePastHistoryWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
In a history class discussion, a teacher might use this quote to emphasize the importance of learning from past events.
More from Ken Burns
All quotes βI record all of my music with authentic instruments in a studio before we start editing, doing many, many versions. The music shapes the film as we edit so it has an organic relationship to the content.
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Good history is a question of survival. Without any past, we will deprive ourselves of the defining impression of our being.
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In most films music is brought in at the end, after the picture is more or less locked, to amplify the emotions the filmmaker wants you to feel.
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Jazz is a very accurate, curiously accurate accompaniment to 20th century America.
Ken BurnsRead
You need, as a historian, essential triangulation from your subject and the only way you get that triangulation is through time.
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Ideas are nothing. They're irrelevant. If you think your idea is so important, you're doomed. The reality is if you don't like one idea, I've got 299 more. If I tell you my idea, and you can execute better against that idea than I can - great; I get to play a terrific game.
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Acquaint yourself with your own ignorance.
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It has forever been thus: So long as men write what they think, then all of the other freedoms - all of them - may remain intact. And it is then that writing becomes a weapon of truth, an article of faith, an act of courage.
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