If I never saw another fistfight or car chase or Doberman attack, I wouldn't have any feeling of loss. And that goes for Rottweilers, too.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Kael expresses indifference toward common action tropes like fistfights and car chases, claiming no sense of loss would occur.
- In plain terms
- She would feel no loss if she never saw fistfights, car chases, or attacks again.
- What can you take from it?
- Common action tropes are unnecessary and easily replaceable.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Are some tropes worth keeping?
- Why do audiences expect violence?
Another view
Action tropes often serve a purpose in pacing and excitement.
More from Pauline Kael
Unlike storybook heroes and heroines but like many actual heroes and heroines, she was something of a social outcast. (As Simone Weil noted, it was the people …
Permalink to quote #40 It tackles a wonderful subject without preening, and brings it off unassertively - so unassertively that the movie is in danger of being overlooked. (Variety h…
Permalink to quote #42 In the sixties, the recycling of pop culture - turning it into Pop art and camp - had its own satirical zest. Now we're into a different kind of recycling. Mov…
Permalink to quote #39
Related quotes
The words 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,' which I saw on an Italian movie poster, are perhaps the briefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of movies. This appe…
Pauline KaelPauline Kael quote #8 By the end of this long film, I would have traded any given gladiatorial victory for just one shot of blue skies... Gladiator lacks joy. It employs depression …
Roger EbertRoger Ebert quote #55 Is xXx a threat to the Bond franchise? Not a threat so much as a salute. I don't want James Bond to turn crude and muscular on me; I like the suave style. But …
Roger EbertRoger Ebert quote #78