“Violence shouldn't be presented as drama. I think people looking for an easy way out often write scenes where characters come into violent conflict as opposed to looking for the true drama in the situation. That's a shortcoming of a lot of films and television shows. I think certain presentations of violence are not immoral, but amoral.”

— David Fincher

Fightin Words (1999)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Violence shouldn't be presented as drama. I think people looking for an easy way out often write scenes where character…" by David Fincher?

David Fincher 22

American film director 1962

Related quotes

“Good drama (and comedy) often comes from the simple act of placing characters in a situation that is not usual nor comfortable for them.”

Lynn Shelton (1965–2020) American film director, screenwriter, film editor, actress and film producer (1965-2020)

HuffPost Article - Interview with Lynn Shelton, Director of Humpday - 25 May 2011 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/interview-with-lynn-shelt_b_227673 - Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20210727183525/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/interview-with-lynn-shelt_b_227673

“I write about violence as naturally as Jane Austen wrote about manners. Violence shapes and obsesses our society, and if we do not stop being violent we have no future. People who do not want writers to write about violence want to stop them writing about us and our time. It would be immoral not to write about violence.”

Edward Bond (1934) English writer best known as a dramatist

Preface to Lear (1972; London: Methuen, 1983) p. lvii

“What did I think about this movie? As a film critic, I liked it. I liked the in-jokes and the self-aware characters. At the same time, I was aware of the incredible level of gore in this film. It is *really* violent. Is the violence defused by the ironic way the film uses it and comments on it? For me, it was. For some viewers, it will not be, and they will be horrified. Which category do you fall in? Here's an easy test: When I mentioned Fangoria, did you know what I was talking about?”

Roger Ebert (1942–2013) American film critic, author, journalist, and TV presenter

Review http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/scream-1996 of Scream (20 December 1996)
Reviews, Three star reviews

“I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter. With the laugh comes the tears and in developing motion pictures or television shows, you must combine all the facts of life — drama, pathos and humor.”

Walt Disney (1901–1966) American film producer and businessman

Source: Year unknown, published in 2004, How to Be Like Walt : Capturing the Magic Every Day of Your Life (2004), Ch. 1 : It All Started with a Boy, p. 16

“I think there's a certain numbness in modern society, that accepts certain kinds of violence, but represses other kinds of violence.”

Nick Cave (1957) Australian musician

Politics, society and humanity

“You have to show violence the way it is. If you don't show it realistically, then that's immoral and harmful. If you don't upset people, then that's obscenity.”

Roman Polanski (1933) Polish-French film director, producer, writer, actor, and rapist

As quoted in Shakespearean Criticism : Excerpts from the Criticism of William Shakespeare's Plays and Poetry, from the First Published Appraisals to Current Evaluations (1985) by Laurie Lanzen Harris, p. 11

“It just seems like the most successful, iconic love stories are not so easy or escapist. I think the ones that stay with us and resonate are full of conflict, discord and misunderstandings 'cause that's what makes drama happen or tension even if it's a comedy. I think people who make movies and have invested a lot of money in them, get frightened that if they challenge an audience they are going to repel them. And I think the opposite, it's really true. It takes confidence and courage to know that and then commit to it.”

Claire Danes (1979) American actress

"Interview: Steve Martin and Claire Danes" by Jeff Otto at IGN.com (19 October 2005) http://movies.ign.com/articles/659/659752p1.html

“You cannot denounce violence in the present and encourage it in the past by glorifying violent historical figures.”

Yasser Harrak Canadian liberal writer, columnist and human rights activist

Yasser Harrak. 2015. "Understanding Why ISIS Burns People Alive". Youtube. Accessed December 24, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTc2KwANKX0

“I think so. I guess if I look back on it now, I don't think anybody anticipated the level of violence that we've encountered.”

Dick Cheney (1941) American politician and businessman

[In response to the question "Do you think that you underestimated the insurgency's strength?"] Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize Luncheon http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060619-10.html, June 19, 2006
2000s, 2006

“I really love seeing things go sour, because that’s the way dread creeps into life. A lot of horror films start with a great shock scene. I grew up on that model and it’s great fun, but very perversely, I’m interested in setting up something else, where you’re really engaged with the humanity of the characters — you could be in a normal drama with its own set of problems — and then something else develops. I like this philosophical question: what comes first, reality or your interpretation of it? However interesting that is, and whether it fits in with the horror genre, I don’t know, but I think it makes perfect sense.”

Larry Fessenden (1963) American actor, producer, writer, director, film editor, and cinematographer

Larry Fessenden’s Arty Horror Picture Show Continues with “Wendigo” http://www.indiewire.com/2002/02/interview-larry-fessendens-arty-horror-picture-show-continues-with-wendigo-80532/ (February 14, 2002)

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

David Fincher 22

Related quotes

Related topics