The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.
John BergerRead
So time doesn't count, and place does?' I said this to tease her. When I was a man, I liked teasing her and she went along with it, consenting, for it reminded us both of a sadness that had passed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the nature of relationships and how shared moments can evoke both joy and sadness.
John Berger's quote reveals the complexities of human connections, suggesting that time and place lose significance when memories and emotions are intertwined. The act of teasing becomes a playful reminder of past sorrows, highlighting how relationships navigate through both joyful and melancholic experiences, reaffirming the bond between individuals.
Themes
RelationshipsMemoriesTeasingSadnessConnection
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of companionship, one might say, 'As Berger reflects, even teasing can bring us closer together during difficult times.'
More from John Berger
All quotes βUnlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.
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We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
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The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.
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Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
John BergerRead
Being a unique superpower undermines the military intelligence of strategy. To think strategically, one has to imagine oneself in the enemy's place. If one cannot do this, it is impossible to foresee, to take by surprise, to outflank. Misinterpreting an enemy can lead to defeat. This is how empires fall.
John BergerRead
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