In this age of consumerism film criticism all over the world - in America first but also in Europe - has become something that caters for the movie industry instead of being a counterbalance.
Wim WendersRead
The most political decision you make is where you direct people's eyes. In other words, what you show people, day in and day out, is political...And the most politically indoctrinating thing you can do to a human being is to show him, every day, that there can be no change.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The way we direct attention shapes our perception of reality and possibilities for change.
Wim Wenders emphasizes the power of visual representation and the influence it has on people's beliefs and understanding of their world. By controlling what people see, there is a significant political impact, as it can foster a sense of hopelessness or belief in stagnation, thereby limiting their perspective on the potential for change in society.
Themes
PoliticsPerceptionChangeVisual RepresentationInfluence
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on media influence, this quote can highlight the importance of critical thinking.
More from Wim Wenders
All quotes →But I think that the spirit of protectionism would be the grave of European cinema. You cannot protect something by building a fence around it and thinking that this will help it survive.
Wim WendersRead
Every photo, every 'ONCE' in time is also the beginning of a story starting 'once upon a time...' Every photo is the first frame of a movie.
Wim WendersRead
Any film that supports the idea that things can be changed is a great film in my eyes.
Wim WendersRead
Similar quotes
REPRESENTATIVE, n. In national politics, a member of the Lower House in this world, and without discernible hope of promotion in the next.
Ambrose BierceRead
There are times in politics when you must be on the right side and lose.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
Nothing can be more evident, than that an exclusive power of regulating elections for the National Government, in the hands of the State Legislatures, would leave the existence of the Union entirely at their mercy . . . . It is to little purpose to say that a neglect or omission of this kind [not letting the feds have elections], would be unlikely to take place. The constitutional possibility of the thing, without an equivalent for the risk, is an unanswerable objection.
Alexander HamiltonRead
It is amazing how soon one becomes accustomed to the sound of ones voice, when forced to repeat a speech five or six times a day. As election day approaches, the size of the crowds grows; they are more responsive and more interested; and one derives a certain exhilaration from that which, only a few weeks before, was intensely painful. This is one possible explanation of unlimited debate in the Senate.
J. William FulbrightRead
Democracy and socialism are means to an end, not the end itself.
Jawaharlal NehruRead
I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.
Ronald ReaganRead