America's Facebook generation shows a submission to standardization that I haven't seen before. The American adventure has always been about people forgetting their former selves - Samuel Clemens became Mark Twain, Jack Kerouac went on the road. If t...
I don't think the Bonzo Dog could have evolved in America, nor could the old Nice: because of their musical discipline. This is one thing that British groups do have, a sort of discipline. Sometimes it can get a bit soulless, but on the whole I think...
Yes, but another writer I read in high school who just knocked me out was Theodore Dreiser. I read An American Tragedy all in one weekend and couldn't put it down - I locked myself in my room. Now that was antithetical to every other book I was readi...
Ever since I came to Congress in 1992, there are those who have been trying to silence my voice. I've been told to 'sit down and shut up' over and over again. Well, I won't sit down and I won't shut up until the full and unvarnished truth is placed b...
Sylvie: That's no reason to get a divorce! With a rich husband and this year's clothes, you won't find it difficult to make some new friends. Reggie Lampert: Look, I admit I came to Paris to escape American Provincial, but that doesn't mean I'm ready...
Calvin Candie: Your boss looks a little green around the gills. Django: He just ain't used to seein' a man ripped apart by dogs is all. Calvin Candie: But you are used to it? Django: I'm just a little more used to Americans than he is.
Forrest Gump: There was this man giving a little talk, and for some reason he was wearing an American flag for a shirt. And he liked to say the 'F word' a lot. "F this" and "F that". And everytime he said the 'F word' people, for some reason, well, t...
[during a press conference in the Vatican] Archbishop Gilday: The Pope, is gravely ill. Until he recovers, I am powerless. B.J. Harrison: What if he dies? Frederick Keinszig: Then, as you Americans say, all bets are off.
Edith Piaf: Americans want beauties, not me. I'm not the Parisian bombshell they expected. Can you see me as a chorus girl? Where's my feather up the ass? They think I'm sad, they're dumb. I don't connect to them.
Frank: Protecting the Queen's safety is a task that is gladly accepted by Police Squad. No matter how silly the idea of having a queen might be to us, as Americans, we must be gracious and considerate hosts.
Capt. Oskar Steiger: [inside the German bunker] Sir, the Americans have taken Palermo! General Alfred Jodl: Damn! Messenger: [after pulling up to Monty's command post] Sir, Patton's taken Palermo! Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery: Damn!
Robert 'Butch' Haynes: You know, Phillip, you have a goddamned red, white and blue American right to eat cotton candy and ride roller coasters. Phillip 'Buzz' Perry: I do? Robert 'Butch' Haynes: Hell, yes, you do!
[last title card] Title card: As celebrated as he became, he never forgot his roots, contributing over $20 million to African-American Colleges and charities for the blind and deaf. Title card: Ray kept his promise. He never touched heroin again.
I think it is immensely difficult to get the U.S. interested in non-U.S. topics. I don't think this is because the average American reader is disinterested, but more because of publishers playing it safe: if a thriller based in L.A. is a sure winner,...
In Sweden, I went to an English school, where there was a mishmash of people from all over the world. Some were diplomatic kids with a lot of money, some were ghetto kids who came up from the suburbs, and I grew up in between. There's a community of ...
In Australia, I grew up watching 'The Mickey Mouse Club,' my son grew up watching 'Sesame Street,' my grandson's growing up watching 'Dora The Explorer.' So we are sort of saturated with American culture from the day we're born, and to those of those...
By 'flat' I did not mean that the world is getting equal. I said that more people in more places can now compete, connect and collaborate with equal power and equal tools than ever before. That's why an Indian in Bangalore can take care of the office...
When I was a kid, politicians wanted to avoid talking about religion if they could. John F. Kennedy couldn't duck the issue, being Catholic and all. So how did he address it? By reminding Americans that religion shouldn't be an issue, that he was con...
At the high school level, the coaches get these kids in revenue-driven sports and take them away from baseball. There's so much pressure on these kids to even play spring football. We need to get the African-American players back in the game, which I...
I want to challenge myself to see where my limit is and experiment with a lot of different films. A lot of artists from Asia focus too much on their Asian background. I don't want to let go of my background, but to be a success in the U.S., which is ...
I would argue that we have a generation of young people, particularly minorities, who are no longer putting up with the kinds of things their parents put up with. They're much more self-confident. It's no longer acceptable to make fun of people becau...
