Debra Granik Quotes

I'm drawn to making films that in some way move the social conversation.

Films can't change the society; they can simply open the space for the discussion which can lead to social change and can start new forms of social activism.

Hollywood likes to boast that it can elevate the national conscience.

The cartoons which I enjoy have caused some kind of out rage, but they have got people talking about these issues out in the open and in essence that's what its all about.

I definitely feel that films and TV shows can bring about social change.

I think a culture can really be elevated through the arts, and it's always a dream come true when I come across roles that enable me to fuse my love of storytelling with my passion for activism and raising social awareness.

'Thrones' would be the perfect platform to send a progressive message because right now, our politicians aren't telling us any truths. It's hard to find a good, meaningful message, so I think it's up to storytellers, television shows, and films to have an impact on the world conversation. Is that not what film and television is for?

Now, I don't know whether a film can change the world, but I know that it starts - I know the power of it - I know that it starts people thinking about how to change the world.

It's often the case that great artists - people like Bruce Springsteen - tend to pick up the subterranean rumblings of profound social change long before the economic statisticians notice them. Changes start long before they become statistics.

You were doing a TV show - you don't realise that you're also making social commentary at the same time.

I want to use my music to deliver a political message and sometimes to denounce, but I don't want to be a politician.

Whether it's a popcorn movie or some really intellectual sociopolitical movie, I think to some degree they're all influenced by the social climate that we're living in.

A great byproduct of a TV show, movie, or play is when it can act as a catalyst for someone.

The power of pop culture stories should not be underestimated, and there is an enormous potential for inspirational stories that can have a positive, transformative effect on our lives.

I just try to write songs that people are going to have a dialogue about.

Can a film really change anything? I mean, what was the last time? Maybe the Italian neo-realists, where they became the voice and the heart and the soul of Italy, a nation that had been destroyed. I don't know.

Social change comes not only from the courtroom, but from talking to the media.

It really is true that when an issue becomes pop culture, it changes faster, and it's really great for the issue.

You can spread awareness through entertainment.

All good art should be political, I think, and inevitably it all becomes political really, in one way or another.

Nothing changes in the world because of cinema.

I like to do shows that open a dialogue.

All social change begins with a conversation.

It's crazy when you see very little reflection between what's played on the radio and what people are talking about in the streets. It lets you know how far off we are from a real movement.

If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter the chemistry of the moral matrix, then theater has a longer half-life.