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.
History always constitutes the relation between a present and its past. Consequently fear of the present leads to mystification of the past
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the connection between our current experiences and historical events, suggesting that fear can distort our understanding of the past.
John Berger's quote emphasizes the intricate relationship between the present and the past, indicating that our perceptions of history are often influenced by our current fears and anxieties. When individuals or societies are fearful of their present circumstances, they may romanticize or distort their understanding of history, leading to a misunderstanding of past events and their significance. This observation encourages a critical examination of how our emotions and experiences shape our interpretations of history.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a history class discussing how current events shape our interpretations of past eras.
More from John Berger
All quotes βUnlike 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.
We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
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.
Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
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.
Similar quotes
Come away, O human child: To the waters and the wild with a fairy, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.
In a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility.
The unvarnished truth is that we have spent the last decade funding the machinery of war, and our children have been sacrificed.
It's not that humans and non-humans are identical... but the lack of understanding that led to the slave trade is the same lack of understanding many people have about animals today. When slaves were brought over from Africa, many people believed they were not humans, that they didn't have feelings. Many people believe that primates and other animals don't have feelings, too, but they do.
Naturally, for a person who finds his identity in something other than his full organism is less than half a man. He is cut off from complete participation in nature. Instead of being a body, he 'has' a body. Instead of living and loving he 'has' instincts for survival and copulation.
Food is about agriculture, about ecology, about man's relationship with nature, about the climate, about nation-building, cultural struggles, friends and enemies, alliances, wars, religion. It is about memory and tradition and, at times, even about sex.