I can never drive my car over a bridge without thinking of suicide. I can never look at a lake or an ocean without thinking of suicide.
Charles BukowskiRead
people see so many movies that when they finally see one not so bad as the others, they think it's great. an Academy Award means that you don't stink quite as much as your cousin.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the subjective nature of movie evaluation, implying that people often have lowered standards based on their experiences.
Charles Bukowski's quote reflects on the idea that people's perceptions of artistic works, such as movies, are heavily influenced by their prior experiences. When viewers have been exposed to many films that are subpar, a relatively decent one may appear exceptional in comparison. Furthermore, he uses humor to suggest that accolades like the Academy Award are not definitive indicators of quality but rather evidence of minimal failure in a relative context.
Themes
MoviesPerceptionArtCriticismQuality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used to start a discussion on film critiques during a movie club meeting.
More from Charles Bukowski
All quotes →when I am feeling low all i have to do is watch my cats and my courage returns
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The masses are always wrong...Wisdom is doing everything the crowd does not do. All you do is reverse the totality of their learning and you have the heaven they're looking for.
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I'm going to open another vottle. not a vottle, but a bottle. you open it and I'll drink it. and you try to write as much as I did without falling off of your chair.
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To experience real agony is something hard to write about, impossible to understand while it grips you; you're frightened out of your wits, can’t sit still, move, or even go decently insane.
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I lapsed into my pathetic cut-off period. Often with humans, both good and bad, my senses simply shut off, they get tired, I give up. I am polite. I nod. I pretend to understand because I don’t want anybody to be hurt. That is the one weakness that has lead me into the most trouble. Trying to be kind to others I often get my soul shredded into a kind of spiritual pasta. No matter. My brain shuts off. I listen. I respond. And they are too dumb to know that I am not there.
Charles BukowskiRead
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