Hollywood is a strange place if you're in trouble. Everybody thinks it's contagious.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the perception of social stigma surrounding problems in Hollywood, suggesting that people distance themselves from those who are struggling.
Judy Garland's quote highlights the peculiar nature of Hollywood, where the troubles of individuals are often viewed as infectious. It suggests that instead of offering support or understanding, people may choose to avoid those in distress, reinforcing feelings of isolation and misunderstanding in a highly scrutinized environment. The statement underscores the broader human tendency to shy away from discomfort, which can exacerbate the struggles of those in difficult situations.
In practice
In a motivational speech about mental health in the entertainment industry.
My [singing] style really has no style, because I try to sing each number differently. I’ve always believed that if style takes precedent over the words and music, the audience get’s cheated. It’s like when people see a fine play or movie. They imagine themselves in the leading role. I want them to imagine that they’re singing - not just listening to someone else.
I try to bring the audience's own drama - tears and laughter they know about - to them.
I think there's something peculiar about me that I haven't died. It doesn't make sense but I refuse to die.
When you get to know a lot of people, you make a great discovery. You find that no one group has a monopoly on looks, brains, goodness or anything else. It takes all the people - black and white, Catholic, Jewish and Protestant, recent immigrants and Mayflower descendants - to make up America.
The greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but found by the heart.
I'm a woman who wants to reach out and take 40 million people in her arms.
When virtue has slept it will arise more vigorous.
Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn incomprehensibl e earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret, and holy, and fleet. There is nothing to be done about it, but ignore it, or see.
When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.
I mean, if Beethoven had been killed in a plane crash at twenty-two, the history of music would have been very different. As would the history of aviation, of course.
To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea.
Liberty, then, is the sovereignty of the individual, and never shall man know liberty until each and every individual is acknowledged to be the only legitimate sovereign of his or her person, time, and property, each living and acting at his own cost.
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