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" I think art is much more valuable when it's honest. If it's not honest, it's just propaganda. "
Justin Simien
Honest
Art
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Related Quotes:
" There are a plethora of ways of being black, just like there's many ways to being white. "
Justin Simien
Ways
Being
Black
" For me it's just, I have too many ideas, man. It's a problem, actually. "
Justin Simien
Man
Many
Me
" I saw 'Beauty and the Beast' at eight years old in theatres and spent hours trying to recreate the majestic imagery of that story in a drawing notepad at home. "
Justin Simien
Story
Beauty
Drawing
" There is a difference between being offended and being prejudiced and even being bigoted against. There's a difference between that and racism. "
Justin Simien
Against
Offended
Racism
" Here's the thing: I come from a filmmaking background, so this concept of sort of overseeing a television show but not directing was, in general, not weird, but I had to get used to what that felt like. My initial instinct was, 'I want to direct as much of this as possible.' But the logistics of making of TV, that's just not possible. "
Justin Simien
Weird
Want
Television
" I often have to play a role to get what I want in my life. At the same time, I can't do that without also nourishing who I really am and being aware of my true self and the ways in which I'm not bound by my race or sexual orientation or class or country or whatever. "
Justin Simien
Life
Play
Race
" I know it's 'Dear White People,' and you can imprint all kinds of concessions about what the show might be about on the title, but my goal was never to, like, educate white people. My goal was always to create characters that you can relate to and fall in love with. "
Justin Simien
Goal
Love
You
" I tend to be collaborative, and I want to hear other people's ideas. Especially with actors, I want them to feel like they can breathe life into their characters. "
Justin Simien
People
Breathe
Feel
" Hip-hop isn't dead by any means, but it's not something I define my black identity with. "
Justin Simien
Dead
Black
Define
" Part of my struggle with being gay was that a lot of my homophobia was internalized because of the cues that I was - received. I didn't see anybody like myself in the culture. RuPaul was the closest to a gay, out black man that I had growing up. "
Justin Simien
Black
Struggle
Myself
" I'm not a big fan of shooting something that looks like it could belong in any movie. I'm not a fan of, okay, 'wide shot, wide shot, medium shot, close-up, close-up - we'll figure it out in post.' I hate that. "
Justin Simien
Okay
Big
Hate
" I see racism as institutional: the rules are different for me because I'm black. It's not necessarily someone's specific attitude against me; it's just the fact that I, as a black man, have a much harder time making an art-house movie and getting it released than a white person does about their very white point of view. That's racism. "
Justin Simien
Racism
Man
Time
" I love great prestige television, but because I make television, sometimes I don't want to, like, you know, fall into a very heavy cerebral drama. "
Justin Simien
You
Great
Fall
" Everybody else was quoting 2Pac, and I was running around with Green Day in my Walkman. Racially speaking, I wasn't cool or appropriate for any group. "
Justin Simien
Running
Group
Green
" America is a different country, and it will forever be a different country after the election of Donald Trump. "
Justin Simien
Donald Trump
Election
America
" I've been taught through life experience that, like, I'd better open my mouth and quickly define myself in a new space and with new people because, if I don't, I will be defined. "
Justin Simien
Life
Experience
Space
" To surrender your ego, you have to have one first. "
Justin Simien
First
Surrender
You
" I'm a lover of film and storytelling. I believe that I was put on earth to tell stories, and I'm not interested in telling the same stories over and over and over again. "
Justin Simien
Believe
Earth
I Believe
" Daring to make films of any kind and thus invite the possibility of ridicule was an internal battle of mine for many years as I worked on the screenplay for what would become 'Dear White People' beginning at the end of George W. Bush's second term. "
Justin Simien
People
White
End
" I think we all have identity crises throughout our lives. "
Justin Simien
Crises
Think
Our
" I want the Latino 'Do the Right Thing' to happen. I want filmmakers whose voices are not represented to get a shot. "
Justin Simien
Right
Latino
Want
" Balance, I think, and self-care is something I want people to really take to heart. "
Justin Simien
Want
Balance
Think
" You know what, man, that's part and parcel of being a black person in this country: everything's harder. It just is. "
Justin Simien
Black
You
Person
" Racism is systemic: It's oppression that's built into the laws, legislation, into the way neighborhoods are policed, and into job opportunities and health care and education. "
Justin Simien
Education
Care
Health
" When you're part of a society where you're constantly having to define your identity and sort of negotiate with what the mainstream culture thinks you are, you have less energy and time to figure out who you are when you go home at night. "
Justin Simien
Home
Go
Culture
" The way Hollywood and TV is, black people don't have any choice but to see ourselves in white-dominated television shows and stories and movies. "
Justin Simien
Choice
Hollywood
Movies
" I've always thought that 'Dear White People' should live on as a TV show, so I'll leave it at that. "
Justin Simien
Always
Live
TV
" I definitely have fun commenting on the real world and interpreting through the 'Dear White People' lens. "
Justin Simien
Have Fun
Fun
World
" I wanted to be a filmmaker since I was a kid. I always did things that took me a little closer to that. "
Justin Simien
Things
Wanted
Me
" Racism is over in the 'Star Trek' future, but they found a way to comment on sexism and racism in the present day in such a subversive and smart way, you know? "
Justin Simien
Know
Day
Future