Context Quotes

No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.

Treason is a matter of dates.

The world isn't black and white, Annie, it's shades of grey.

Right time, right place, right people equals success. Wrong time, wrong place, wrong people equals most of the real human history.

Cultural appropriation is a big problem, but the thing is, I didn't invent my life. I really lived in Africa.

You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says 'Morning, boys. How's the water?' And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes 'What the hell is water?'

In terms of preparation, if there's some historical context that's needed, I do like to read a lot. Working on Joe Kennedy for 'Boardwalk,' I read a couple of biographies on him. It's nice to have a broader context of the man outside of where the show is coming from.

I study history in order to give an interpretation.

Something that works for one person could be a disadvantage to another.

All history is contemporary history.

The word morality, if we met it in the Bible, would surprise us as much as the word telephone or motor car.

One man's opportunism is another man's statesmanship.

I see things about the present more clearly when I'm looking through the frame of the past: I think it's very hard to assess the present moment that we are in.

When it comes down to, it's not about the form, it's about the content.

For me, the subject of the picture is always more important than the picture.

You do have to keep in mind as you're going through extraordinarily difficult circumstances, that if you stay true, true to your values, if you stay true to your principles, if you believe in these values, then you can work in that context to right policies that may not be working.

Losing has nothing to do with geography.

Even when “both sides” are presented in the media, seldom are the reasons for each side presented.

It is circumstance and proper timing that give an action its character and make it either good or bad.

Without a possibility of change in meanings human communication could not perform its present functions.

Military action without political context is ineffective.

There are no foodies at funerals.

What Time Is It? You Mean Now?

The riot isn't seen in the movie, but it is alluded to. He has this one speech that gives a great sense of texture and paints a picture of what was happening in Harlem then.