QuoteProject
Maybe, as a Chinese woman, I was never told I would be a filmmaker, so I didn't have the ego set up.
Chloe Zhao
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Chloe Zhao reflects on the impact of societal expectations on her identity as a filmmaker.

In this quote, Chloe Zhao discusses how her identity as a Chinese woman influenced her journey in becoming a filmmaker. She suggests that the lack of expectation for her to pursue this path led to a more authentic self-discovery, devoid of the ego that might come from being conditioned to view oneself as a filmmaker from a young age. This speaks to broader themes of identity, societal roles, and the unshackling of preconceived notions.

Themes

IdentityFilmmakingSocietyExpectationsEgo

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech on diversity in film, one might quote Zhao to highlight the importance of authentic voices in storytelling.

Similar quotes

All novelists should live in two different worlds: a real one and an unreal one.
John FowlesRead
Fiction cannot recite the numbing numbers, but it can be that witness, that memory. A storyteller can attempt to tell the human tale, can make a galaxy out of the chaos, can point to the fact that some people survived even as most people died. And can remind us that the swallows still sing around the smokestacks.
Jane YolenRead
I honestly now know that I'm the physical embodiment of hip-hop on earth. That's my only purpose here on earth is to keep the culture together long enough for it to remain everything that we thought it could be when I was coming up.
Krs-OneRead
Jazz is a sideways glance at music. It's like being an architect, knowing the basis of design but understanding that the facade can be whatever you dream.
Melody GardotRead
If you have a story that seems worth telling, and you think you can tell it worthily, then the thing for you to do is to tell it, regardless of whether it has to do with sex, sailors or mounted policemen.
Dashiell HammettRead
I grew up in a drive-in theater, from the time I was 8, working in a snack bar watching four features every week. It was silent theater in the sense that this was a drive-in, which meant that I often saw the films going with no sound. But I learned to tell stories through action.
Twyla TharpRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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