The only thing a master can teach is how to learn about yourself. There are no secrets. They are only techniques to waken yourself.
Alejandro JodorowskyRead
What I am trying to do when I use symbols is to awaken in your unconscious some reaction. I am very conscious of what I am using because symbols can be very dangerous. When we use normal language we can defend ourselves because our society is a linguistic society, a semantic society. But when you start to speak, not with words, but only with images, the people cannot defend themselves.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the power of symbols and images to evoke deep emotional responses in people, often bypassing rational defenses.
Alejandro Jodorowsky highlights the profound influence of symbols and images on the subconscious mind. Unlike conventional language, which allows individuals to engage in critical thought and self-defense, symbols can provoke immediate reactions that are more visceral and difficult to control. This reflects the potential danger in using imagery, as it can manipulate emotions and perceptions in ways that are not overtly apparent.
Themes
SymbolsImagesUnconsciousLanguageEmotionsCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at an art exhibit discussing the impact of visual art on audience perception.
More from Alejandro Jodorowsky
All quotes →Revolutions are of no us;, it is necessary to work on transforming the brain: on sowing a different knowledge/awareness, on creating a new conscience, that is like a magic box full of brains.
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I didn't want to make cinema so a person forgets himself and has a lot of fun. 'I forget myself, I am a little poor consumer.' I wanted to make a picture where someone who sees it say, 'This is me! This is me!'
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I have an ambition to live 300 years. I will not live 300 years. Maybe I will live one year more. But I have the ambition. Why you will not have ambition? Why? Have the greatest ambition possible. You want to be immortal? Fight to be immortal. Do it. You want to make the most fantastic art or movie? Try. If you fail, is not important. We need to try.
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All the pictures I could never do, I'll do it in comics. All the comics I do are the pictures I could never do.
Alejandro JodorowskyRead
I ask of cinema what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs.
Alejandro JodorowskyRead
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