QuoteProject
Irony ruined everything Even the best exploitation movies were never meant to be `so bad they were good`. They were not made for the intelligentsia. They were made to be violent for real, or to be sexy for real. But now everybody has irony. Even horror films now are ironic. Everybody's in on the joke now. Everybody's hip. Nobody takes anything at face value anymore.
John Waters
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects on how irony has changed our perception of art and entertainment, particularly in film.

John Waters expresses concern over the pervasiveness of irony in modern culture, suggesting that it has tainted our ability to appreciate art, especially exploitation and horror films, for their intended emotional impact. He laments that instead of engaging with films authentically, audiences now view them through a lens of detachment, ironically laughing at their flaws instead of embracing their original intentions of violence or sensuality.

Themes

IronyArtFilmCultureEntertainment

In practice

Example use cases

During a film criticism seminar discussing the evolution of horror films, this quote could illuminate the shift in audience perception.

More from John Waters

My idea of rich is that you can buy every book you ever want without looking at the price and you're never around assholes. That's the two things to really fight for in life.
John WatersRead
I don't like rules of any kind. And I seek people who break rules with happiness - and not bringing pain to themselves.
John WatersRead
I believe if you come out of a movie and the first thing you say is, 'The cinematography was beautiful,' it's a bad movie.
John WatersRead
To understand bad taste one must have very good taste.
John WatersRead
To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits while watching one of my films, it's like getting a standing ovation. But one must remember that there is such a thing as good bad taste and bad bad taste.
John WatersRead
'Hairspray' maybe did change people's minds, and that's how you get your political enemies to change their minds - by making them laugh and making them look at something in a way they haven't seen it. Not by preaching and cutting them off and being a separatist.
John WatersRead

Similar quotes

Someone accompanies every soul from the other side when it enters this place. Usually it is an ancestor with whom that child shares traits and gifts
Joy HarjoRead
If one could conclude as to the nature of the Creator from a study of creation it would appear that God has an inordinate fondness for stars and beetles.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
No one imagines that a symphony is supposed to improve as it goes along, or that the whole object of playing is to reach the finale. The point of music is discovered in every moment of playing and listening to it. It is the same, I feel, with the greater part of our lives, and if we are unduly absorbed in improving them we may forget altogether to live them.
Alan WattsRead
It is only by questioning what people take for granted, what people hold to be true, that we can break through the hypnosis of social conditioning.
Deepak ChopraRead
Adding to your list of enemies is never a sound strategy, yet ISIS' ferocious campaign against the Shia, Kurds, Yazidis, Christians, and Muslims who don't precisely share its views has united every ethnic and religious group in Syria and Iraq against them.
Peter BergenRead
The answer is, who you are cannot be defined through thinking or mental labels or definitions, because it's beyond that. It is the very sense of being, or presence, that is there when you become conscious of the present moment. In essence, you and what we call the present moment are, at the deepest level, one.
Eckhart TolleRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.