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I feel like in telling stories, there are the things the audience thinks are important, and then there are the things that are actually important.
J. J. Abrams
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the difference between audience perceptions and the underlying truths in storytelling.

J. J. Abrams emphasizes that in storytelling, there often exists a gap between what the audience perceives as important and the deeper, more significant elements that truly shape the narrative. This insight encourages storytellers to look beyond surface-level details and focus on the deeper messages that resonate with audiences on a more profound level.

Themes

StorytellingAudienceImportanceNarrativeTruth

In practice

Example use cases

Discussing the deeper meanings in literature class.

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When you work on something that combines both the spectacular and the relatable, the hyperreal and the real, it suddenly can become supernatural. The hypothetical and the theoretical can become literal.
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I try to push ideas away, and the ones that will not leave me alone are the ones that ultimately end up happening.
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