"Many filmmakers pretend that they never see anything, which has always seemed odd to me"

Jacques Rivette, a prominent French filmmaker and a considerable figure in the French New Wave, often used important insights into the nature of movie theater and its developers. His quote, "Numerous filmmakers pretend that they never see anything, which has always seemed odd to me", shows a hesitation towards a particular state of mind prevalent amongst some filmmakers who declare to be untouched or uninfluenced by external cinematic works and social observations.

Rivette's assertion can be analyzed as a review of filmmakers who proclaim a sort of creative purity or creativity, suggesting that they run in a vacuum, uninfluenced by the rich tapestry of existing films or the world around them. This pretense, in Rivette's view, is puzzling, as it overlooks the inherent interconnectedness within the arts. Cinema, like any art form, belongs to a broader cultural discussion, influenced by and affecting its predecessors and contemporaries. By claiming never ever to "see anything", filmmakers might try to distance their work from this web of interconnectivity, promoting the notion of isolated genius.

Rivette might discover this stance odd because, as a cinephile, he understood the value of being engaged with cinematic history and today cultural milieu. He likely thought that direct exposure to other works and the world can improve a filmmaker's viewpoint, enabling a more profound exploration of styles, designs, and stories. Confessing impact does not reduce a filmmaker's creativity however rather positions their work within a dynamic and progressing dialogue with the past and the present.

In addition, Rivette's quote might likewise suggest a criticism of filmmakers who deny recognizing the wider societal and political contexts in their works. In pretending not to "see", these filmmakers might claim neutrality or detachment from the world's truths, which Rivette, an artist attentive to socio-political subtleties, discovered to be an implausible and somewhat reckless position. In essence, by acknowledging the act of "seeing", filmmakers accept the complex dance of influence, observation, and analysis that specifies the cinematic art type.