Quotes about TV

A collection of quotes on the topic of tv, likeness, people, watch.

Quotes about TV

Michael Jackson photo

“Just because you read it in a magazine,
Or see it on a TV screen
Don't make it factual.”

Michael Jackson (1958–2009) American singer, songwriter and dancer

Tabloid Junkie
HIStory: Past, Present & Future, Book I (1995)

Ville Valo photo
Tupac Shakur photo
Zig Ziglar photo
Wangari Maathai photo

“The people are starving. They need food; they need medicine; they need education. They do not need a skyscraper to house the ruling party and a 24-hour TV station.”

Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) Kenyan environmental and political activist

On her opposition to the construction of a skyscraper in Nairobi, Kenya, as quoted in the article Wangari Maathai:"You Strike The Woman ..." by Priscilla Sears in the quarterly In Context #28 (Spring 1991)

Frank Zappa photo

“If you wind up with a boring, miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on TV telling you how to do your shit, then YOU DESERVE IT.”

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

Variant: If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.
Source: The Real Frank Zappa Book (1989), p. 233.

Marilyn Manson photo
Sharon Tate photo
Nam June Paik photo

“I want to shape the TV screen canvas
as precisely as Leonardo,
as freely as Picasso,
as colorfully as Renoir,
as profoundly as Mondrian,
as violently as Pollock
and as lyrically as Jasper Johns.”

Nam June Paik (1932–2006) American video art pioneer

Paik (1969) Versatile Color TV Synthesizer, Manifesto, cited in: Edith Decker-Phillips. Paik Video, Barrytown, Limited, 1998. p. 154
1960s

Sukirti Kandpal photo
Roald Dahl photo

“So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookshelf on the wall.”

Variant: So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books.
Source: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Katherine Paterson photo
Leonard Ravenhill photo
Steve Martin photo
Jacques Derrida photo

“If,­ there is a tendency in all Western democracies no longer to respect the professional politician or even the party member as such, it is no longer only because of some personal insufficiency, some fault, or some incompetence, or because of some scandal that can now be more widely known, amplified, and in fact often produced, if not premeditated by the power of the media. Rather, it is because politicians become more and more, or even solely characters in the media's representation at the very moment when the transformation of the public space, precisely by the media, causes them to lose the essential part of the power and even of the competence they were granted before by the structures of parliamentary representation, by the party apparatuses that were linked to it, and so forth. However competent they may personally be, professional politicians who conform to the old model tend today to become structurally incompetent. The same media power accuses, produces, and amplifies at the same time this incompetence of traditional politicians: on the one hand, it takes aways from them the legitimate power they held in the former political space (party, parliament, and so forth), but, on the other hand, it obliges them to become mere silhouettes, if not marionettes, on the stage of televisual rhetoric. They were thought to be actors of politics, they now often risk, as everyone knows, being no more than TV actors.”

Wear and Tears (tableu of a ageless world)
Specters of Marx (1993)

Mikhail Kalashnikov photo

“Whenever I look at TV and I see the weapon I invented to defend my motherland in the hands of these bin Ladens, I ask myself the same question: "How did it get into their hands?" I didn't put it in the hands of bandits and terrorists, and it's not my fault that it has mushroomed uncontrollably across the globe. Can I be blamed that they consider it the most reliable weapon?”

Mikhail Kalashnikov (1919–2013) Soviet and Russian small arms designer

"The Man Who Invented The AK-47 Has Died — Here's His Greatest Regret" by Adam Taylor, in Business Insider (23 December 2013) http://www.businessinsider.com/mikhail-kalashnikovs-death-and-his-greatest-regret-2013-12#ixzz2oW7igOTn

Kurt Vonnegut photo
Mariah Carey photo

“Whenever I watch TV and see those poor, starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean, I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff.”

Mariah Carey (1970) American singer-songwriter

This was actually taken from a phony satirical interview on a site called "Cupcake" that has been widely circulated as an actual quotation since its appearance in early 1996. See the Snopes http://www.snopes.com/quotes/carey.htm Urban Legends site for more information.
Misattributed

Jimmy Carr photo
Dana White photo
David Tennant photo
Nam June Paik photo

“By using TV as a bra… the most intimate belonging of a human being, we will demonstrate the human use of technology, and also stimulate viewers… to look for the new, imaginative and humanistic ways of using our technology.”

Nam June Paik (1932–2006) American video art pioneer

Statement on TV Bra for a Living Scultpure (1969), cited in: C. A. Xuan Mai Ardia, "[http://artradarjournal.com/2014/10/24/nam-june-paik-becoming-robot-new-york/ Nam June Paik: “Becoming Robot” in New York – in pictures," at Art Radar journal, posted on 24/10/2014
1960s

"Weird Al" Yankovic photo

“Look
If you had
one shot
to sit on your lazy butt
and watch all the TV you ever wanted
until your brain turned to mush
Would you go for it?
or just let it slip?
Yo”

"Weird Al" Yankovic (1959) American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist

"Couch Potato", Poodle Hat.
Song lyrics

“We have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways but narrower viewpoints; we spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy it less; we have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, yet less time; we have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; we have more gadgets but less satisfaction; more medicine, yet less wellness; we take more vitamins but see fewer results. We drink too much; smoke too much; spend too recklessly; laugh too little; drive too fast; get too angry; stay up too late; get up too tired; read too seldom; watch TV too much and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values; we fly in faster planes to arrive there quicker, to do less and return sooner; we sign more contracts only to realize fewer profits; we talk too much; love too seldom and lie too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice; we write more, but learn less; plan more, but accomplish less; we make faster planes, but longer lines; we learned to rush, but not to wait; we have more weapons, but less peace; higher incomes, but lower morals; more parties, but less fun; more food, but less appeasement; more acquaintances, but fewer friends; more effort, but less success. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; drive smaller cars that have bigger problems; build larger factories that produce less. We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, but short character; steep in profits, but shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure and less fun; higher postage, but slower mail; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are the days of two incomes, but more divorces; these quick trips, disposable diapers, cartridge living, throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies and pills that do everything from cheer, to prevent, quiet or kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stock room.”

"The Paradox of Our Age"; these statements were used in World Wide Web hoaxes which attributed them to various authors including George Carlin, a teen who had witnessed the Columbine High School massacre, the Dalai Lama and Anonymous; they are quoted in "The Paradox of Our Time" at Snopes.com http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/paradox.asp
Words Aptly Spoken (1995)

Shigeru Miyamoto photo
Jimmy Carr photo
Saul Bellow photo
Steven Spielberg photo

“Watching violence in movies or TV programs stimulates the spectators to imitate what they see much more than if seen live or on TV news. In movies, violence is filmed with perfect illumination, spectacular scenery, and in slow motion, making it even romantic. However, in the news, the public has a much better perception of how horrible violence can be, and it is used with objectives that do not exist in the movies.”

Steven Spielberg (1946) American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur

In an interview by the Brazilian magazine Veja (1993). Spielberg adds that so far he has not permitted his young son to watch some of his well-known movies (Jaws, the Indiana Jones series) because of the amount of blood and violence shown.

Sukirti Kandpal photo
Bill Hicks photo
Barack Obama photo
Madeleine K. Albright photo
Frank Zappa photo

“I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I'm the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I'm the slime oozin' out
From your TV set.”

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

"I'm the Slime"
Over-Nite Sensation (1973)

Barack Obama photo

“None of us can or should expect a transformation in race relations overnight. Every time something like this happens, somebody says we have to have a conversation about race. We talk a lot about race. There’s no shortcut. And we don’t need more talk. None of us should believe that a handful of gun safety measures will prevent every tragedy. It will not. People of goodwill will continue to debate the merits of various policies, as our democracy requires -- this is a big, raucous place, America is. And there are good people on both sides of these debates. Whatever solutions we find will necessarily be incomplete. But it would be a betrayal of everything Reverend Pinckney stood for, I believe, if we allowed ourselves to slip into a comfortable silence again. Once the eulogies have been delivered, once the TV cameras move on, to go back to business as usual -- that’s what we so often do to avoid uncomfortable truths about the prejudice that still infects our society. To settle for symbolic gestures without following up with the hard work of more lasting change -- that’s how we lose our way again. It would be a refutation of the forgiveness expressed by those families if we merely slipped into old habits, whereby those who disagree with us are not merely wrong but bad; where we shout instead of listen; where we barricade ourselves behind preconceived notions or well-practiced cynicism.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2015, Eulogy for the Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney (June 2015)

Saul Bellow photo
Barack Obama photo

“The more that TV pundits reduce serious debates into silly arguments, and big issues into sound bites, our citizens turn away.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2010, State Of The Union (January 2010)

Saul Bellow photo
Conor McGregor photo
Frank Zappa photo
Douglas Adams photo

“Radio did not kill books and television did not kill radio or movies — what television did kill was cinema newsreel. TV does it much better because it can deliver it instantly. Who wants last week's news?”

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English writer and humorist

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future (2001)
Context: It's important to remember that the relationship between different media tends to be complementary. When new media arrive they don't necessarily replace or eradicate previous types. Though we should perhaps observe a half second silence for the eight-track. — There that's done. What usually happens is that older media have to shuffle about a bit to make space for the new one and its particular advantages. Radio did not kill books and television did not kill radio or movies — what television did kill was cinema newsreel. TV does it much better because it can deliver it instantly. Who wants last week's news?

Kurt Vonnegut photo
Eleanor Roosevelt photo
Kurt Vonnegut photo

“Even crazier than golf, though, is modern American politics, where, thanks to TV and for the convenience of TV, you can only be one of two kinds of human beings, either a liberal or a conservative.”

Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) American writer

Cold Turkey (2004)
Context: I have to say this in defense of humankind: No matter in what era in history, including the Garden of Eden, everybody just got there. And, except for the Garden of Eden, there were already all these crazy games going on, which could make you act crazy, even if you weren’t crazy to begin with. Some of the games that were already going on when you got here were love and hate, liberalism and conservatism, automobiles and credit cards, golf and girls’ basketball.
Even crazier than golf, though, is modern American politics, where, thanks to TV and for the convenience of TV, you can only be one of two kinds of human beings, either a liberal or a conservative.

Дэн Кеннеди photo
Barack Obama photo
Ozzy Osbourne photo
Jason Statham photo
John Lennon photo

“They keep you doped with religion and sex and TV,
And you think you're so clever, and classless and free,
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see.”

John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter

"Working Class Hero"
Lyrics, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970)

John Lennon photo

“When we say "War is over if you want it," we mean that if everyone demanded peace instead of another TV set, we'd have peace.”

John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter

During the Bed-In for Peace in Montreal, Canada (1 June 1969)

David Foster Wallace photo

“Calvin's Dad: It's going to be a grim day when the world is run by a generation that doesn't know anything but what it's seen on TV.
p100”

Bill Watterson (1958) American comic artist

Something Under the Bed Is Drooling
Source: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

Don DeLillo photo
Ellen DeGeneres photo
David Levithan photo
Zadie Smith photo
Ned Vizzini photo
Erica Jong photo

“Someday every woman will have orgasms- like every family has color TV- and we can all get on with the business of life.”

Erica Jong (1942) Novelist, poet, memoirist, critic

Source: How to Save Your Own Life

David Foster Wallace photo
Carrie Fisher photo
Douglas Coupland photo
Laurie Halse Anderson photo
Sherrilyn Kenyon photo
Ned Vizzini photo
Emma Donoghue photo
Dave Barry photo
Woody Allen photo

“In California, they don't throw their garbage away - they make it into TV shows.”

Woody Allen (1935) American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, playwright, and musician
Hunter S. Thompson photo
Chuck Palahniuk photo

“I haven't had a TV in 10 years, and I really don't miss it. 'Cause it's always so much more fun to be with people than it ever was to be with a television.”

Chuck Palahniuk (1962) American novelist, essayist

Interview with the San Francisco Bay Guardian (2002-10-30)

Bill McKibben photo

“TV makes it so easy to postpone living for another half hour.”

Bill McKibben (1960) American environmentalist and writer

Source: The Age of Missing Information

Francesca Lia Block photo
Jasper Fforde photo
Dr. Seuss photo

“Fame you'll be famous, as famous as can be, with everyone watching you win on TV, Except when they don't because sometimes they won't..”

Dr. Seuss (1904–1991) American children's writer and illustrator, co-founder of Beginner Books

Source: Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Greg Behrendt photo
Rick Riordan photo
William Shatner photo
Jean Baudrillard photo
Eoin Colfer photo
Bill McKibben photo

“we use TV as we use tranquilizers- to even things out, to blot out unpleasantness, to dilute confusion, distress, unhappiness, loneliness.”

Bill McKibben (1960) American environmentalist and writer

Source: The Age of Missing Information

Chuck Palahniuk photo
John Irving photo
Sara Shepard photo
Laurie Halse Anderson photo
David Sedaris photo
Ray Bradbury photo

“Watching TV Mum said, 'Do you miss your dad?' and I said, 'Who?”

Source: Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging

Rick Riordan photo
George Carlin photo
Ben Croshaw photo
Tina Fey photo

“We don't watch TV up there, we watch UFOs.”

James Gilliland (1952) American academic and author

James describing his Sattva Sanctuary.

Pat Condell photo