My idea of rich is that you can buy every book you ever want without looking at the price and you're never around assholes. That's the two things to really fight for in life.
John WatersRead
Irony ruined everything Even the best exploitation movies were never meant to be `so bad they were good`. They were not made for the intelligentsia. They were made to be violent for real, or to be sexy for real. But now everybody has irony. Even horror films now are ironic. Everybody's in on the joke now. Everybody's hip. Nobody takes anything at face value anymore.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on how irony has changed our perception of art and entertainment, particularly in film.
John Waters expresses concern over the pervasiveness of irony in modern culture, suggesting that it has tainted our ability to appreciate art, especially exploitation and horror films, for their intended emotional impact. He laments that instead of engaging with films authentically, audiences now view them through a lens of detachment, ironically laughing at their flaws instead of embracing their original intentions of violence or sensuality.
Themes
IronyArtFilmCultureEntertainment
In practice
Example use cases
During a film criticism seminar discussing the evolution of horror films, this quote could illuminate the shift in audience perception.
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To understand bad taste one must have very good taste.
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To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits while watching one of my films, it's like getting a standing ovation. But one must remember that there is such a thing as good bad taste and bad bad taste.
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'Hairspray' maybe did change people's minds, and that's how you get your political enemies to change their minds - by making them laugh and making them look at something in a way they haven't seen it. Not by preaching and cutting them off and being a separatist.
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