When you do not know what you are doing and what you are doing is the best - that is inspiration.
Robert BressonRead
Cinema, radio, television, magazines are a school of inattention: people look without seeing, listen in without hearing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Bresson critiques mass media for promoting superficial engagement with the world.
In this quote, Robert Bresson expresses his concern that various forms of media, such as cinema, radio, and television, contribute to a pervasive culture of distraction and superficiality. He argues that these mediums often encourage individuals to consume content passively, leading to a lack of true understanding and awareness of what is being presented, thereby numbing their senses and critical thinking.
Themes
MediaDistractionPerceptionAwarenessEngagement
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about media consumption, this quote highlights the importance of being mindful of what we engage with.
More from Robert Bresson
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Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.
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The most ordinary word, when put into place, suddenly acquires brilliance. That is the brilliance with which your images must shine.
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For me, film-making is combining images and sounds of real things in an order that makes them effective. What I disapprove of is photographing things that are not real. Sets and actors are not real.
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The future of cinematography belongs to a new race of young solitaries who will shoot films by putting their last penny into it and not let themselves be taken in by the material routines of the trade.
Robert BressonRead
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