Stanley Kubrick

school mistake children teach fear

“I think the big mistake in schools is trying to teach children anything, and by using fear as the basic motivation. Fear of getting failing grades, fear of not staying with your class, etc. Interest can produce learning on a scale compared to fear as a nuclear explosion to a firecracker.”

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

universe terrify hostile indifferent darkness light

“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent, but if we can come to terms with this indifference, then our existence as a species can have genuine meaning. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.”

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

know want not

“I do not always know what I want, but I do know what I don't want.”

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

talk brilliant problem illusion master

“If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered.”

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

great nation gangster small prostitute

“The great nations have always acted like gangsters, and the small nations like prostitutes.”

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

observation dying art

“Observation is a dying art.”

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

planet destruction significance cosmic scale

“The destruction of this planet would have no significance on a cosmic scale.”

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

everything done story scene job better

"Everything has already been done. every story has been told every scene has been shot. it’s our job to do it one better."

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

dangerous sure certainty

"Nothing is as dangerous as a sure thing."

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

learn life like perfect mediocrity individuality monster cradle

"You have not yet learned that in this life you have to be like everyone else: the perfect mediocrity--no better, no worse. Individuality is a monster and it must be strangled in its cradle to make our friends feel comfortable."

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

truth feel think

"The truth of a thing is in the feel of it, not in the think of it."

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

meaninglessness life man create meanng

"The very meaninglessness of life forces man to create his own meaning."

― Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)