Killing a man in defense of an idea is not defending an idea; it is killing a man.
Through most of my career, I've made a decent living making movies no one wants to see.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the irony of creating art that may not be commercially successful, yet still brings fulfillment to the creator.
Jean-Luc Godard's quote reflects the struggle and dedication of artists who produce films that may not resonate with mainstream audiences. It underscores the notion that creating art is not solely about financial success, but also about personal expression and passion. Godard's acknowledgment of this reality speaks to the complicated relationship between art, popularity, and the fulfillment an artist derives from their craft, regardless of public reception.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about independent filmmaking, this quote might illustrate the often overlooked passion behind less mainstream projects.
More from Jean-Luc Godard
All quotes βI don't think you should feel about a film. You should feel about a woman, not a movie. You can't kiss a movie.
Sometime reality is too complex. Stories give it form.
More or less, I am always saying, 'Give me more. Let's do what has not been done.'
Objects exist and if one pays more attention to them than to people, it is precisely because they exist more than the people. Dead objects are still alive. Living people are often already dead.
Cinema is not a series of abstract ideas, but rather the phrasing of moments.
Similar quotes
Drawing is a kind of hypnotism: one looks in such a way at the model, that he comes and takes a seat on the paper.
Fiction cannot recite the numbing numbers, but it can be that witness, that memory. A storyteller can attempt to tell the human tale, can make a galaxy out of the chaos, can point to the fact that some people survived even as most people died. And can remind us that the swallows still sing around the smokestacks.
The considerations of a corporation, especially now, have nothing to do with art or music.
...What is the use of beauty? i have lived my life surrounded by painters, and still I do not know the answer. But i suspect, some days, that beauty helps protect the spirit of mankind, swaddle it and succor it, so that we might survive. Beauty is no end in itself, but if it makes or lives less miserable so that we might be more kind-well, then, lets have beauty, painted on our porcelain, hanging on our walls, ringing through our stories.
Everyone is a virtuoso on his own instrument, but together they add up to an intolerable cacophony.
For his heart was in his work, and the heart giveth grace unto every art.