For a culture that has such a problem with death, we seem to deal with it in a quite bizarre way. We see people shot, killed and blown up, and we find it funny and sexy and all those things. But, the reality of it is that every day people die, and people are really sad and they grieve and they go through a really difficult process with it.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the contrast between society's trivialization of death and the profound sorrow it brings to individuals.
Michael Sheen critiques societal attitudes towards death, suggesting that while we often portray death in a sensationalized and humorous way, the reality is that it brings deep sadness and grieving to those affected. He underscores the disconnect between the cultural fascination with violence and the genuine emotional pain experienced in the face of loss.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the portrayal of violence in media.
I find increasingly that the more extreme are the things going on in your life, the more cultural reference points fail you. More mythical reference points actually help, and you realise that's what myths are for. It's for human beings to process their experience in extremis.
Stories have always been the things that entertain me and make me feel happy and sad and move me and give me the experience of being able to live many lives in one lifetime. It's the best thing about being alive.
When I was at drama school, I wanted to change the world, and thought I had some great wisdom to impart to people about humanity. Now that I'm older, I know enough to realise that I know nothing at all.
Capitalism without failure is like religion without sin. Bankruptcies and losses concentrate the mind on prudent behavior.
Here is a man whose life and actions the world has already condemned - yet whose enormous fortune...has already brought him acquittal!
I care not where my body may take me as long as my soul is embarked on a meaningful journey.
The pagan loves the earth in order to enjoy it and confine himself within it; the Christian in order to make it purer and draw from it the strength to escape from it.
Ethics evolve naturally, and we trample upon them with laws created by reason and experience.
What do babies dream of? She must be dreaming of the before-life, just as I dream of the afterlife.
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