For a long time, I bought into the idea that if you are a woman who is a storyteller and a lover of movies, then the best way to express that is as an actress. Obviously, there are women my age who are directors who didn't buy into that idea, but I did - and now I've broken that down inside myself.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a journey of self-discovery regarding the role of women in storytelling and filmmaking.
Maggie Gyllenhaal reflects on her personal journey of initially conforming to the stereotype that the best way for a woman who loves storytelling and film is to become an actress. Over time, she recognized that there are indeed multiple avenues for women in film, including directing, and she has begun to break free from the limitations she once accepted.
In practice
In a speech about women's empowerment in the arts, you could use this quote to emphasize the importance of breaking traditional stereotypes.
Inspiration comes unawares, from unaccountable sources that have nothing to do with planning or intelligence. Let it cool ever so slightly, and you are left, pen or brush in hand, with no inspiration at all. Gifted people need not, therefore, make a song and dance about being or supposing themselves superior. They simply happened to be born with that fortunate, subconscious equipment of theirs, and the mystery exists independently of intelligence or ambition.
The average Hollywood film star's ambition is to be admired by an American, courted by an Italian, married to an Englishman and have a French boyfriend.
All art is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up.
As ballerinas, we don't use our voices. Our voice is the body and the movement quality.
My job in this life is to give people spiritual ecstasy through music. In my concerts people cry, laugh, dance. If they climaxed spiritually, I did my job. I did it decently and honestly.
When the world becomes a massive mess with nobody at the helm, it's time for artists to make their mark.
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