35 Wesley Morris Quotes for You to Enjoy

Wesley Morris

American Critic

Black Me Men People White You

Related authors: George Steiner Henry Louis Gates James Wolcott Kimberly Guilfoyle Margaret Fuller Pauline Kael Roger Ebert bell hooks

'The Dictator' lands somewhere between wan Mel Brooks and good Adam Sandler, whose 'You Don't Mess With the Zohan,' about an Israeli Special Forces soldier at a hair salon, manages to strike better contrasts with vaguely similar culture differences - it's a nuttier movie, too. Wesley Morris

Good You Culture Better Somewhere Hair Differences Too Strike Mel Brooks Soldier Brooks About Similar Between Mess Forces Israeli Salon Dictator Movie Sandler Lands Special Special Forces Whose Adam Adam Sandler Vaguely

You didn't have to read 'Playboy,' visit the mansion, wear pajamas, or even be straight: The effects of its ideas about women on the American psyche were totalizing. Women were inferior to men because, for 'Playboy,' they were scenery - pretty, passive, usually white, often blonde, there. Wesley Morris

You Women Men White Visit Wear Pretty About Scenery Ideas Read Because Were Passive Blonde Effects Inferior American Often Psyche Straight Mansion Even Pajamas Playboy

Poor decisions and bad luck are contingencies of most horror films. Wesley Morris

Bad Luck Luck Films Bad Horror Horror Films Most Decisions Poor

There's power in turning to the past to illuminate the current state of things. Wesley Morris

Power Past State Current Current State Turning Illuminate Things

Anyone who watches a lot of television, or listens to pop music, is familiar with a certain vision of America. If not exactly colorblind, this America is one in which different races easily interact, in which a white person might have an Asian boss, Hispanic stepson, or African-American frenemy. Wesley Morris

Music Vision White Television Easily Exactly Boss Colorblind Hispanic Lot Familiar Person America Listens Interact Different African-American Anyone Which Asian Might Races Pop Certain Pop Music Who Watches

The bravery of Stanley Kramer's 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' amounted to two Hollywood legends - Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy - telling the world that a black son-in-law is something they can live with, and so should you, especially if he looks like Sidney Poitier and has degrees. Wesley Morris

You World Black Dinner Live Guess Spencer Spencer Tracy Telling Degrees Something Son-In-Law He Like Looks Tracy Coming Kramer Legends Bravery Hollywood Should Stanley Hepburn Two

'The Tree of Life' is a collection of conversations that lost souls and true believers have with themselves while keeping their heads to the sky. But the movie is church via the planetarium. Wesley Morris

Life Sky Church Life Is A Lost Tree Tree Of Life Collection True True Believers Heads Souls Via Movie While Conversations Themselves Believers Keeping

The enormous success of 2009's 'The Blind Side,' in which Sandra Bullock makes a black teenager one of the family, demonstrates that America isn't post-racial. It is thoroughly mired in race - the myths that surround it, the guilt it inspires, the discomfort it causes, the struggle to transcend it. Wesley Morris

Success Family Struggle Guilt Black Enormous Side Teenager Thoroughly Mired Inspires Myths Blind Makes Discomfort Causes Surround America Transcend Which Race Sandra Sandra Bullock

Computers are scary. They're nightmares to fix, lose our stuff, and, on occasion, they crash, producing the blue screen of death. Steve Jobs knew this. He knew that computers were bulky and hernia-inducing and Darth Vader black. He understood the value of declarative design. Wesley Morris

Death Value Black Lose Design Our Jobs Darth Darth Vader Scary Computers He Knew Stuff Steve Steve Jobs Occasion Understood Were Fix Blue Screen Crash Producing Vader Nightmares

Most Pixar films are better than most live action films. Wesley Morris

Better Action Live Films Most Than Pixar Action Films Live Action

Standing beneath the white light of an Apple store is like standing on a Stanley Kubrick movie set. His '2001: A Space Odyssey' predicted Jobs and a future where technology was our friend. Kubrick, of course, didn't like what he saw. And occasionally, I have my doubts. Wesley Morris

Future Technology Light Space White Beneath Our Saw Jobs He Like Occasionally Course Kubrick His Odyssey Friend Where Store Movie Predicted Movie Set Doubts Standing Stanley Stanley Kubrick Apple Set

Robert Pattinson has the face of a film-noir dupe. It's a face that is searching and open and kind. It's a face that a certain type of woman might want to fool because, in its intensely old-fashioned kindness, the face says, I love you. Fool me. Wesley Morris

My father didn't do a lot of direct education. My mother was the direct educator. She would put on these movies on American Movie Classics when we got cable, after my parents got divorced, which took like four or five years. Wesley Morris

Education Mother Father Parents Took Would Direct Classics Cable Put Divorced Like She Got Years Educator Lot Five American Movie After Which Movies American Movie Four

If Judge Steven T. O'Neill sent Mr. Cosby away for the rest of his life, that sentence couldn't undo what he's convicted of having done to Andrea Constand, his accuser in two trials. It also can't undo what he once did for me, which was to make me believe in myself. Wesley Morris

Life Myself Me Trials Judge Rest Believe Once Cosby Having He Also Steven Make His Undo Did Accuser Done Which Sent Sentence Convicted Away Two

'America's Dad' is what we called Bill Cosby. And we called him that because, well, what a revolutionary way to put it. Through him, we were thumbing our noses at the long, dreary history for black men in America by elevating this one to a paternal Olympus. In the 1980s, he made the black American family seem 'just like us.' Wesley Morris

Family History Black Made Men Long Our Way Cosby Dreary Seem Through He Put Like Well Him Because Were America Revolutionary American Paternal Just Noses American Family Us Bill Bill Cosby Dad Elevating

The Huxtables laughed and bonded and debated and lip-synced. They were glamorous and simple and extraordinarily human. And affluent. And educated. And so many different kinds of black. You'd think that all of that would make them the Howard University of African-American family life. But white people wanted to matriculate, too. Wesley Morris

Life Family You People Simple Black Different Kinds White Think Too Extraordinarily Laughed Would Kinds Glamorous Make Educated Were Debated Affluent Family Life Human Different African-American Wanted Them Many Bonded University

I couldn't have known how vertiginous the entire Huxtable project was. I was, like, 10, 13, 15 years old when the show was a thing. But eventually, I could see that Cliff became a play for respectability. 'This is how you comport yourself among white people, young black child. Take a little bit of Howard with you on your way to Harvard.' Wesley Morris

You Yourself People Old Black Young White Project Respectability Way Bit Harvard See Entire Could Take Like Known Became Cliff How Years Child Little Little Bit Your Show Eventually Play Among Thing

'Bloodlight and Bami' is all verite. The director Sophie Fiennes began filming Ms. Jones in the mid-2000s and simply observes her on stage and off. She follows her home to Jamaica, where the diva mellows, almost unconsciously, into a daughter, sister, and parishioner. Wesley Morris

Home Director Daughter Sister Stage Diva Follows Simply Almost She Off Began Where Jamaica Her Filming

The relief of 'Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami' is that it seeks to square the person with the provocateuse. Wesley Morris

Grace Relief Seeks Square Person

This country is rich with awful things to say about everybody. There's a slur for you and a slur for me - more than one. And because we're terrified of dealing with them head on, we've made them just as easy to warp and defang. Wesley Morris

'Savage' is a trait that might get you into business school or retweeted 10,000 times. It's what a kid might say after somebody does something awesome or gnarly or fierce: 'Oh, that's savage!' It's the skate park. It's the high-school cafeteria. It's the YouTube comments section. Wesley Morris

Savage You Business School Somebody YouTube Awesome Say Kid Section Something Park Does Gnarly Comments Times Get Trait Oh Skate After Fierce Might Business School

'Three Billboards,' which is not based on a true story but does have some reality flavoring, must appear worthy of elected office in some way. This was, at first, the illusion presented by the people running the campaigns and, in turn, over the years, has become the custom for lots of us. Wesley Morris

Reality People Illusion Three First Become Way Must Worthy Running Some True Over Does True Story Years Lots Campaigns Office Story Which Custom Turn Elected Us Billboards Appear Based Presented By The People

Lesley Manville comes at 'funny' from a totally different direction in 'Phantom Thread,' using snootiness and froideur. The effect of her performance - as the difficult manager of her difficult brother's couture dress business - stems in part from the chill she puts into her line readings. Wesley Morris

Funny Business Chill Difficult Thread Brother Dress Totally Direction Stems Part Puts Performance She Readings Couture Line Effect Manager Different Using Phantom Her

What about Hong Chau? In typical supporting-part fashion, she shows up halfway through 'Downsizing,' already shrunk, an imperious Vietnamese house cleaner with a limp and sharp angles. The movie's satirical cleverness upstages its rage; then Ms. Chau proves she's capable of managing both. Wesley Morris

Fashion Rage Typical About Angles Both Through Cleaner Sharp House She Cleverness Halfway Limp Proves Up Managing Movie Capable Then Vietnamese Shows Satirical Downsizing Shrunk

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