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Quote by Gore Vidal

“What is there to say, finally, except that pain is bad and pleasure good, life all, death nothing.”

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American writer, playwright, screenwriter, and critic. Known for his sharp political satire and profound historical insight, Vidal's work spans a variety of genres including novels, plays, screenplays, and criticism. more

“The truth of literature and art has always been granted (if it was granted at all) as one of a "higher" order, which should not and indeed did not disturb the order of business. What has changed in the contemporary period is the difference between the two orders and their truths. The absorbent power of society depletes the artistic dimension by assimilating its antagonistic contents. In the realm of culture, the new totalitarianism manifests itself precisely in a harmonizing pluralism, where the most contradictory works and truths peacefully coexist in indifference.”

“Music begins where words are powerless to express. Music is made for the inexpressible. I want music to seem to rise from the shadows and indeed sometimes to return to them.”

Want Made Sometimes Seems Return Music Is Shadow Powerless

Author:Claude Debussy

“The flag is a symbol of the fact that man is still a herd animal.”

Men Stills Facts Animal Symbols Flags Herds

Author:Albert Einstein

“The masses need something that will give them a thrill of horror.”

Needs Giving Horror Mass Thrill

Author:Joseph Goebbels

“Propaganda's content increasingly resembles information. It has even clearly been proved that a violent, excessive, shock-provoking propaganda texts leads ultimately to less conviction and participation. The listeners critical powers decrease if the propaganda message is more rational and less violent.”

Ifs Information Messages Conviction Critical Violent Rational Propaganda Shock Listeners Provoking Participation Decrease

Author:Jacques Ellul

“If the ruler wants to play the game by himself and follow secret policies, he must present a decoy to the masses. He cannot escape the mass; but he can draw between himself and that mass an invisible curtain, a screen, on which the mass will see projected the mirage of some politics, while the real politics are being made behind it.”

Ifs Want Made Real Play Games Secret Behinds Policy Mass Draws Screens Invisible Rulers Curtains Mirages Real Politics

Author:Jacques Ellul

“The person who imagined that he could not be the victim of propaganda because he could distinguish truth from falsehood, is extremely susceptible to propaganda, because when propaganda does tell the truth, he is then convinced that it is no longer propaganda: moreover, his self-confidence makes him all the more vulnerable to attacks of which he is unaware.”

Persons Doe Self Victim Convinced Self Confidence Vulnerable Propaganda Telling The Truth Falsehood Susceptible

Author:Jacques Ellul

“The propagandist must utilize all of the technical means at his disposal - the press, radio, TV, movies, posters, meetings, door-to-door canvassing...There is no propaganda as long as one makes use, in a sporadic fashion and at random, of a newspaper article here, a poster or radio program there.”

Mean Long Use Doors Fashion Tvs Program Presses Meetings Radio Newspapers Propaganda Articles Posters Propagandist Sporadic Canvassing

Author:Jacques Ellul

“Propaganda tries first of all to create conditioned reflexes in the individual so that certain words, signs, or symbols, even certain persons or facts, provoke unfailing reactions...The important thing is that when the time is ripe, the individual can be thrown into action by the utilization of the psychological levers that have been set up.”

Trying Firsts Persons Has Beens Important Facts Action Certain Individual Important Things Reactions Psychological Symbols Propaganda Thrown Provoking Ripe Reflexes Levers Utilization

Author:Jacques Ellul

Quote by Gore Vidal

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