Quote Me on This

If you knew how much time I spend looking through quotes, it might surprise you. Okay, that was underwhelming; it would baffle you. I look forward to finishing movies so I can go back and read every quote that IMDb lists. I've read the full quote page for shows like Boy Meets World, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and The O.C. more times than I'm willing to admit. I've purchased two different movies based solely on the quotes I read on-line and word of mouth (Boondock Saints and Juno). Trust me, I completely understand this is bordering on an obsession. I almost called it an 'unhealthy obsession,' but that's kind of the purpose for this post, so I'm going to hold off passing self-judgment until I explore this a little further.

I use quotes as a muse. I've had posts in here that are centered around a quote, or that are the product of a quote launch pad, or that are attempting to disprove a quote I heard. When what I do is based on a snap shot of time, a moment, a picture, quotes offer that. They are complete and whole as they are. There is no 'well let's see how that plays out' type characteristic. There is a capital letter, a period, and will never been changed, only recreated. This makes them easy targets to write about. And since I began writing From Shore to Pschorr, I tend to look at quotes in a slightly different way. Now, I look for the story behind the words. I look for the meaning between the lines. I have deified quotes, as impossibly blasphemous as that sounds. I find it uplifting when someone can recognize and appreciate the work of others in their same genre. In a world built on individual competitiveness and an overwhelming desire to be the best, it's refreshing to hear compliments of the craft. Whether it's an opposing team member clapping after a dunk, or a rival band attending and appreciating a concert, I love when people can respect the art of their competition. In a small way, that's how I feel reading quotes (and lyrics get lumped in with those whole conversation, I just don't feel like typing 'quotes and lyrics' every time). No, I'm not a financially successful writer, but I have done more than I thought I would, and consider the experiment here to be a success. And even though I can go back to some of my manipulated words and sentences and find gold, I am frequently stricken by the talent of others.

This long intro sets the stage for this conversation: what are we to make of quotes? 3-part answer...

1.) Do we just appreciate them for the meticulously constructed formations of words, spelling, grammar, syntax, and style? Like I was just saying, there is a certain amount of poetry in a well scripted line, and really, to quote someone or something is an implied tip of the cap to the author. There was something inherently beautiful it what you repeated and the final form was enough to pass along. This can also include the meaning behind the words, but they're usually combined with several other tools of language. You would see this more in poems or fiction or songs, where there is a craft at stake. There is a level of artistic obligation that twists in analogies, alliterations, parodies, ironies, rhymes, metaphors, inferences, references, puns, and any other device that can raise the level of written language.

This side of the break down is relatively straight forward. Text can be appreciated for a work of art.

Example: "How could you leave me, I thought that you needed me, when the world got too much and you pleaded with me, who helped you immediately, how speedy of me, how could you deny me so vehemently?" (Jay-Z - I Know)

2.) Do we appreciate them for the personal way they affect our lives? I have been quoted as saying (ha) that the chills are the truest, rawest, purest form of emotion. Whether it's scared out of your mind or deeply connected, your body naturally reacts by making every hair on your body stick out. With my affinity towards getting them, it's no wonder to believe that it happens to me often. I used to get the chills 3, sometimes 4 different times while reading William Wallace's speech in Braveheart. Yes, often a movie is to blame for these emotional arrows, and like songs, music is also an integral part of the meaning. But it's almost inexplicable the times when our body reacts to something simply spoken. This might be my greatest fascination with quotes. How the right assembly of words on a line can produce such an emotional surge. Whether it's the key quote from one of your favorite movies, which rushes you back into the moment, or just the right trigger word that gets you all choked up, certain quotes at certain times can mean more than any of us realize.

This break down is also straight forward. For each person, a quote might mean the world, regardless of the meaning, who said it, or where they heard it. It's personal, and it's beautiful.

Example: "I love you. Very, very simple, very truly. You are the-the epitome of everything I have ever looked for in another human being." (Holden McNeil - Chasing Amy)

3.) Do we appreciate them for the meaning, the light, the knowledge they can bestow? Keeping this in the world of fiction, whether it written or filmed, what are we (am I) really doing when I quote an author or a movie like it’s some majestic discovery and holds the secret to life, love, and happiness? This was my main reason for exploring this topic, and this continues to challenge me. Not only do I love reading quotes, but I love finding ones that nail it. Ones that are so drastically smart, clever, on point, that I have no other reaction besides wanting to spread the words to everyone. Quotes that leave you thinking (shocking), quotes that create new ideologies, open your mind, cause you to rethink your mental foundation. Clearly, this is not surprising to anyone still reading.

But I assign these quotes as scriptures. I could find a list of quotes on the internet and create my own 10 commandments. I could line up enough quotes from books, from movies, from songs, and create a creed, a book to live by. But I’m using the quotes of characters. Of people who don’t exist in situations that aren’t real. Then again, the scripts had to be written by someone. So now I’m not quoting William Wallace, or Mel Gibson, but I’m quoting the English major sitting behind the curtain, pulling all the strings. Well what do they know? Am I really basing my life theories on six writers drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes 12 hours a day, churning out words for millionaire actors and actresses? Scary thought. I’m not ready to go that far yet. I still feel confident I can extract life meaning from movies and books without fear.

Break down: What we hear might not be written by experts, but they help you make a positive life change, then what’s the harm?

Example: "The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That’s the only lasting thing you can create.” (Chuck Palahniuk – Choke)

Final thought: I’m not ready to give up quotes quite yet. I consider it my continuing education. Not something that prepares me for a test, but that prepares me to identify challenges and build strategies to survive. An obsession, sure, but not unhealthy.