The film drama is the opium of the people…down with bourgeois fairy-tale scenarios…long live life as it is!
Interpretation
The quote critiques cinematic portrayals of life, advocating for authentic representation over romanticized narratives.
Dziga Vertov's quote emphasizes the need for films to reflect the true nature of life rather than creating unrealistic or idealized scenarios that cater to bourgeois tastes. He suggests that such representations serve to sedate the audience, distracting them from the realities of their existence and the struggles they face. By rejecting fairy-tale scenarios, Vertov advocates for a cinema that embraces the raw, unembellished essence of life, promoting a deeper understanding of the human experience.
In practice
During a film critique class discussing the impact of cinema on society.
I've spent so much of my life examining the smallest details. In some ways, it's where I feel most at home. For me, it's super-important to understand all of the different nuances of light and shade. But if you can't paint in primary colours, no one's going to listen to your songs, because they need to feel like something.
Life is short and art is long.
Everybody was wearing rhinestones, all those sparkly clothes, and cowboy boots. I decided to wear a black shirt and pants and see if I could get by with it. I did and I've worn black clothes ever since.
An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness.
When I first heard the minstrel banjo - I played a gourd first - I almost lost my mind. I was like, Oh, my god. And then I went to Africa, to the Gambia, and studied the akonting, which is an ancestor of the banjo, and just that connection to me was just immense.
It is not enough to photograph the obviously picturesque.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.