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
I believe if you come out of a movie and the first thing you say is, 'The cinematography was beautiful,' it's a bad movie.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that focusing on technical aspects of a film indicates a lack of emotional engagement with its core narrative.
John Waters is implying that when viewers leave a movie and prioritize the technical elements, such as cinematography, over the storyline, it often means that the film failed to connect with them on a deeper level. A truly impactful movie resonates emotionally and thematically, making viewers more likely to discuss its characters and plot rather than its visual presentation.
Themes
CinemaArtStorytellingEmotionalNarrative
In practice
Example use cases
In a film critique discussion highlighting viewer engagement.
More from John Waters
All quotes βIrony 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.
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I don't like rules of any kind. And I seek people who break rules with happiness - and not bringing pain to themselves.
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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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