Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Ben Katchor

Quote by Ben Katchor

“Really interesting novels, they always are so demanding of you on some level that you don't fall asleep.”

Quote by Ben Katchor

Create image

Author

Ben Katchor
Ben Katchor

Ben Katchor, born on November 19, 1951, is a renowned cartoonist. His work is known for its unique style and profound themes, often exploring urban life, social structures, and human nature. more

You May Also Like

“I think a lot of these terms, nationalistic things, somebody is an American, or somebody is a Frenchman, or somebody is a Jew, I don't know, it doesn't mean anything to me. You really should start augmenting these words, saying what kind. If you want to say somebody is a Jew, what do you mean by that? Does he have blonde hair? I think a lot of these ancient nationalistic and ethnic terms have kind of lost their meaning, or their meaning is so broad, it's nothing. It's like he's connected to the ancient world. Everybody is.”

IfsThinkingKnowsWorldWantShouldKindMeanDoeLostTermHairAncientJewConnectedBroadsBlondeFrenchmenBlonde HairNationalisticAncient World
Author:Ben Katchor
Create image

“The funny thing is, nationalism only could have come about in Europe after the invention of printing. You could have this thing that was a book in a vernacular language, and you could imagine there were other readers of this book who you couldn't see, but they were a theoretical union of readers who all use the same language. That is kind of a prerequisite for a national fantasy. You need that thing, and it's a strange thing.”

NeedsKindBookUseLanguageFantasyImagineStrangeReaderEuropeUnionsInventionNationalismTheoreticalFunny ThingsPrintingStrange ThingsPrerequisitesVernacular
Author:Ben Katchor
Create image

“There's a real connection between the history of print in Europe and nationalism, and how those two things could be formed. I think they may both now be ending, for good and bad, but I think mainly for good. Either globalism was supposed to make people all realize this is one big business going on and we should know what's going on everywhere, or it makes people say, "I don't want to become part of this thing. I want to be incredibly different from you and I want to uphold my local behavior." Dress a certain way.”

PeopleThinkingKnowsWayWantShouldMayTwoDifferentRealBigsCertainRealizingBehaviorEuropeConnectionsDressesLocalsTwo ThingsNationalismPrintGood And BadBig BusinessGlobalismReal Connection
Author:Ben Katchor
Create image

“The basis of national identity is to say, "This is authentic to me or my forebears," and is there even such a thing? How authentic is it to your life? Just because your grandfather did it, what does that have to do with you? If I say I'm working in the style of Rembrandt, so what? You can say it, but are you really? No, because when you try to literally copy a cultural artifact, you change it. It dissolves, and then who's looking at it? People who appreciate that kind of drawing, or people it means nothing to?”

PeopleIfsTryingKindMeanDoeStyleIdentityAppreciateBasesDrawingCopiesGrandfatherArtifactsNational Identity
Author:Ben Katchor
Create image

“These days, more than any other time, we are worried about our personal life, our private life. When we talk about our private life, it means our home, our body even. It seems that when we want to have calmness in this world, we make a wall around us. This gives us a very calm environment, and when we feel that somebody is intruding into that, it makes us very angry and we feel we have to do something about it.”

WorldWantGivingFeelsMeanHomeBodySeemsEnvironmentThis WorldWallAngryCalmWorriedThese DaysPersonal LifePrivate LifeCalmness
Author:Asghar Farhadi
Create image