but ignorance is a kind of insanity in the human animal. People who delight in torturing defenseless children or tiny creatures are in reality insane. The terrible thing is that people who are madmen in private may wear a totally bland and innocent expression in public.
Interpretation
Ignorance can lead to inhumane behavior, masking true madness behind a facade of normalcy.
This quote by Akira Kurosawa explores the idea that ignorance can blind individuals to their own moral compass, leading to cruel actions towards innocent beings. It suggests that some people may hide their true nature under a guise of normalcy, making it difficult to recognize the insanity that lies beneath their surface. The quote challenges us to confront the darker aspects of human behavior and reflect on the societal implications of ignorance and inhumanity.
In practice
This quote can be used in discussions about moral responsibility in society.
Of all my films, people wrote to me most about this one... ...I had wanted to make The Idiot long before Rashomon. Since I was little I've liked Russian literature, but I find that I like Dostoevsky the best and had long thought that this book would make a wonderful film. He is still my favourite author, and he is the one - I still think - who writes most honestly about human existence.
I can't afford to hate anyone. I don't have that kind of time.
For me, filmmaking combines everything. That's the reason I've made cinema my life's work. In films, painting and literature, theatre and music come together. But a film is still a film.
A truly good movie is enjoyable too. There’s nothing complicated about it.
The role of the artist is to not look away.
The root of any film project for me is this inner need to express something. What nurtures this root and makes it grow into a tree is the script. What makes the tree bear flowers and fruit is the directing.
Your image isn't your character. Character is what you are as a person.
There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.
What white man can say I never stole his land or a penny of his money? Yet they say that I am a thief.
Men have been obliged to make for themselves a notion of what religion is, long before the science of religions started its methodical comparisons.
If you're going to have a story, have a big story, or none at all.
Crimes are not to be measured by the issue of events, but by the bad intentions of men.
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