I never quite understand the way society decides who is beautiful and who is not. But an open face and a capacity for kindness always feel like reliable signifiers to me.
Interpretation
Society's standards of beauty are often unclear, yet kindness and an open demeanor are true indicators of beauty.
Tilda Swinton's quote reflects on the subjective and often arbitrary nature of societal beauty standards. She suggests that instead of adhering to conventional definitions of beauty, one should look to the qualities of kindness and openness as more reliable markers of a person's true beauty and worth.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about beauty standards in a classroom setting.
I believe that all great art holds the power to dissolve things: time, distance, difference, injustice, alienation, despair. I believe that all great art holds the power to mend things: join, comfort, inspire hope in fellowship, reconcile us to our selves. Art is good for my soul precisely because it reminds me that we have souls in the first place.
I don't have a career, I have a life. I don't have an exterior judgment on what would be good or bad for me.
For a lot of actors, there's a sort of code of honor around playing something other than yourself, which I just don't have. I love feeling like I'm - I won't even say acting out, but performing in some deep seam of my consciousness or my family's consciousness or my past. That's really amusing to me.
If we don't accept loneliness, then capitalism wins hands down. Because capitalism is all about trying to convince people that you can distract yourself, that you can make it better. And it ain't true.
I am not beautiful. My mother once called me an ugly duckling. But,listed separately, I have a few good features.
Even virtue is fairer when it appears in a beautiful person.
God forbid you be an ugly girl, 'course too pretty is also your doom, 'cause everyone harbors a secret hatred for the prettiest girl in the room.
Beauty isn't about looking perfect. It's about celebrating your individuality.
Unique and different is the next generation of beautiful.
I wear make-up, and it gets a little bit thicker every year.
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