"Every generation deals with the breaking down of its tradition, and I think that they rediscovered the film"
- Norman Jewison
About this Quote
This quote by Norman Jewison speaks to the concept that each generation is faced with the difficulty of redefining and reinterpreting the traditions of the past. This is particularly real on the planet of film, where new technologies and altering tastes can make it difficult to preserve the same level of quality and significance as the generations before. Jewison recommends that, regardless of these difficulties, each generation has the ability to find a way to discover the movie and make it their own. This could imply anything from re-imagining classic stories to developing completely brand-new categories and styles. Jewison's quote is a reminder that, while the traditions of the past might be challenged, they can still be valued and celebrated in new and exciting methods.
"Homer's whole language, the language in which he lived, the language that he breathed, because he never saw it, or certainly those who formed his tradition never saw it, in characters on the pages. It was all on the tongue and in the ear"
"Monty Python crowd; half of them came from Cambridge, and half of them came from Oxford. But, there seems to be this jewel, this sort of two headed tradition of doing comedy, of doing sketches, and that kind of thing"
"I don't really know of the Jewish tradition of comedy, only the Jewish tradition of not keeping your mouth shut. Complaining about all that is hard, unfair or ridiculous in life-having strong feelings, and not being able to suppress them. That, to me, is Jewish"
"Jackass: The Movie is great. I think it's in the tradition of physical comedy, which I'm really interested in. Its relationship to gravity, and how gravity acts on the body"
"However, I began to submit poems to British magazines, and some were accepted. It was a great moment to see my first poems published. It felt like entering a tradition"
"I say it is indispensable to look ahead of and behind oneself in the present. If there is such a thing as tradition, and I believe there is, it can only exist in the sense of the most profound movements of culture"