Quotes About Culture

Our criteria for deciding what's good and what's bad is very fickle, especially in this country.

The problem is Jewish-American fiction that always ends with assimilation back into the community.

I love when you get the feeling of some social reality with a fictional film.

My dad played fiddle as well.

As a child I'd sit at dinner parties with artists, authors and musicians, some of the best people in their fields. I couldn't avoid the path I took having grown up in such an artistic environment.

I'm fiercely proud to be Scottish.

I learned Romanian very late, when I was fifteen, in town, and I wanted to learn it. I like the language very much.

Bharatnatyam is defined in many ways and everyone has an opinion. But I see it as a consummate art - a kind of fifth Veda.

A lot of fighters come from Brazil. We've been doing this for long, long years.

I started very young... I learned my martial arts first in the street. There were always fights. That's the culture in Brazil.

Early on my career, I figured out that I just have to write the book I have to write at that moment. Whatever else is going on in the culture is just not that important. If you could get the culture to write your book, that would be great. But the culture can't write your book.

When I was younger, I thought that straight hair was, like, the only thing. So I was trying to be like Naomi Campbell or Tyra Banks. I didn't know that people would add hair for more length. I'm like, 'Oh all these people just have natural hair like this.' I obviously grew up and figured out that everyone does something to their hair.

I figured New York was the closest I'd get here in America to Scotland.

Figuring out a way to balance the Boxer story with the Chinese Christians was difficult.

It's in your DNA to be a Filipino; how can you just turn your back on it?

What I enjoy the most about being Filipino is our culture.

I was born in America, but I consider myself a Filipino.

How often, really, do you get a Filipino story line in a show? Not very often. I can't think of any.

You rarely see a Filipino family on TV.

All I know is that I'm proud to be Filipino.

There will presently be no room in the world for things; it will be filled up with the advertisements of things.

The world I was born into was one filled with music.

New York seems to be absolutely filled with brilliant people.

Although I'm aware of how under-represented we are, I sometimes forget how desperately Arabs who aren't in the film business wish for better stories about us.