Quotes About Authenticity

I'm a historian by training, Jimmy. Telling the truth has become a habit.

She loved her parents – of course she did – but when they were with her, she had to put on a show.

It seems to me that in the western world, culture has something to do with appearance. A person that's out creating good stuff has got to appreciate someone when they take the time to have an appearance that goes with what they're doing.

In the '70s, with movies like 'Little Big Man,' westerns began to have a little different flavor, and I think casting people and filmmakers began to realize, 'Hey, maybe we can get a little more authentic in terms of who we cast here.' That kind of opened up the gates.

When you're young, you want to make every kind of film: musicals, Westerns, horror. Slowly you begin to hear your own voice. I hope people receive what I do as small, personal films that are somewhat contrarian about their main characters.

Westerns were always my favorite things when I was little. And it always bothered me when cowboys were too clean in movies, or when they wore their guns like they had an outfit on. It always worked better when a guy looked sweaty and smelly; I hadda believe, I hadda believe that.

No matter what your hair looks like once it's wet, it's about embracing it and loving yourself for you and all that that entails.

For a shot, I had to look like I've slipped on wet floor and hurt my back. My director wanted me to just act it out, but I insisted on doing it with water on the floor to make it look authentic. He was against the idea, but I did it and almost broke my back.

Put someone on a horse looking cold and wet, and they don't have to act. They just are cold and wet.

That's my real name. That's not like a gimmick or anything, that's my government name, Tierra Whack.

I don't want any gimmicks. The fact that people think that Whack is a gimmick is so crazy.

Whale Rider' was a very authentic and specific movie about the indigenous culture from where I come. Amazingly, by the fact it was so authentic and so specific, it became really powerfully universal.

I made 'Whale Rider', I saw that to be specific and authentic is to be universal, and I've continued to work in an identical way ever since.

I never believed that U2 wanted to save the whales. I don't believe that The Beastie Boys are ready to lay it down for Tibet.

What if someone created some sort of eyebrow pencil that was revolutionary and that was made specifically to help eyebrows look more realistic?

When you're choosing furniture for your home that's supposed to express who you are, what you are also saying is you want other people to infer what you want them to infer. What if they see something different? Wouldn't it be really depressing if you're trying to be bohemian and instead they see you as Rush Limbaugh?

Being a black lesbian myself, I roll my eyes a little bit when I see black lesbian characters on shows where it's purely there for decoration. You can just hear it in the writers room... 'What if we make her a lesbian?'

People have mentioned, 'Maybe you should try to be more sexy. Look at how this butt stuff propelled this person to the top of the chart; it's amazing!' And I'm like, 'What if I really want to sing something to people?' I speak my mind. I want to be that person people feel they can listen to.

The issue is sometimes when people are themselves, like, what if you suck, you know? There's a good chance you're not gonna resonate and not be relatable to people. You gotta be a goodhearted, positive person. And a lot of YouTubers I've met anyways are.

You know what, if you compromise and do stuff that's not becoming to you as an artist, that's your fault.

I've been telling my students, 'Imitate, imitate.' And they say, 'Well, what if I plagiarize, or what if I'm not original? I want to be myself.' And I always tell them, 'Your self will shine through'... If you allow yourself to feel deeply and honestly, what you say won't be like anyone else.

I have to make sure that I don't silence myself about the things that I believe in, because sometimes the fear creeps in of 'What if fewer people watch the show or fewer people hire me because I express my politics?' For me, the commitment is to never be quiet just because I'm in the public eye.

What if everything I thought was wrong with me was actually right with me? You have to have the courage to show who you are to the world.

Sometimes I think about, 'What if I'm not the person everyone idealizes me to be? Maybe I'm just a regular old Joe. What if I can't live up to all these expectations? Maybe I'm just not who they think I am or who they want me to be.