“The '60s was really stupid … It was a type of merchandising”

—  Frank Zappa

"My Pet Theory" on the second disc of the twin CD version
The MOFO Project/Object (2006)
Context: The '60s was really stupid … It was a type of merchandising, Americans had this hideous weakness, they had this desire to be OK, fun guys and gals, and they haven't come to terms with the reality of the situation: we were not created equal. Some people can do carpentry, some people can do mathematics, some people are brain surgeons and some people are winos and that's the way it is, and we're not all the same. This concept of one world-ism, everything blended and smoothed out to this mediocre norm that everybody downgrades themselves to be is stupid. The '60s was merchandised to the public at large... My pet theory about the '60s is that there is a sinister plot behind it... The lessons learnt in the '60s about merchandising stupidity to the American public on a large scale have been used over and over again since that time.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 27, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The '60s was really stupid … It was a type of merchandising" by Frank Zappa?
Frank Zappa photo
Frank Zappa 129
American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and fil… 1940–1993

Related quotes

Frank Zappa photo

“The lessons learnt in the '60s about merchandising stupidity to the American public on a large scale have been used over and over again since that time.”

Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer

"My Pet Theory" on the second disc of the twin CD version
The MOFO Project/Object (2006)
Context: The '60s was really stupid … It was a type of merchandising, Americans had this hideous weakness, they had this desire to be OK, fun guys and gals, and they haven't come to terms with the reality of the situation: we were not created equal. Some people can do carpentry, some people can do mathematics, some people are brain surgeons and some people are winos and that's the way it is, and we're not all the same. This concept of one world-ism, everything blended and smoothed out to this mediocre norm that everybody downgrades themselves to be is stupid. The '60s was merchandised to the public at large... My pet theory about the '60s is that there is a sinister plot behind it... The lessons learnt in the '60s about merchandising stupidity to the American public on a large scale have been used over and over again since that time.

Patrick Rothfuss photo

“That’s a whole new type of stupid.”

Source: The Name of the Wind (2007), Chapter 73, “Pegs” (p. 580)

Temple Grandin photo

“You simply cannot tell other people they are stupid, even if they really are stupid.”

Temple Grandin (1947) USA-american doctor of animal science, author, and autism activist

Source: The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism & Asperger's

Baltasar Gracián photo

“Better to be cheated by the price than by the merchandise.”

Más vale ser engañado en el precio que en la mercadería.
Maxim 157 (p. 89)
The Art of Worldly Wisdom (1647)

Ronald Reagan photo

“If more government is the answer, then it was a really stupid question.”

Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
Steven Brust photo

“A stupid person can make only certain, limited types of errors; the mistakes open to a clever fellow are far broader.”

Source: Iorich (2010), p. 172 <!-- (goodreads) http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/6874180 -->
Context: A stupid person can make only certain, limited types of errors; the mistakes open to a clever fellow are far broader. But to the one who knows how smart he is compared to everyone else, the possibilities for true idiocy are boundless.

Joanne K. Rowling photo

“It would be one way to kill off the merchandising.”

Joanne K. Rowling (1965) British novelist, author of the Harry Potter series

On the possibility of killing Harry in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as quoted in 'Harry is a lot, lot, lot angrier in this book' in The Telegraph (20 June 2003)
2000s

Woody Allen photo

“I'm not really the heroic type. I was beat up by Quakers.”

Woody Allen (1935) American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, playwright, and musician

Sleeper (1973)

“For a genius thief you really are a stupid girl aren't you?”

Ally Carter (1974) American writer

Source: Uncommon Criminals

Related topics