20th century

Explore 4282 quotes from the 20th century

So, the psychiatrist has a patient, draws a circle, what do you think of when you see this? He says, sex. That's not the joke, wait a second. He draws a picture of a tree, what do you think of when you see it? Sex. He draws a picture of a car, house, sex, sex, sex. The doctor says, you know, you're obsessed with sex. The patient says, well you're the one drawing all the dirty pictures!

What About Bob?

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Topic

Sex Freudian psychology

Speaker

Bob Wiley

Actor

Bill Murray

Source

What About Bob?

Medium

Film

Genre

Comedy (film) Comedy

Language

English

Time

1991 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

What About Bob? Directed by Frank Oz, Touchstone Pictures/Touchwood Pacific Partners, 1991.

Sisyphyus, proletarian of the gods, powerless and rebellious, knows the whole extent of his wretched condition: it is what he thinks of during his descent. The lucidity that was to constitute his torture at the same time crowns his victory. There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.

Albert Camus

The Myth of Sisyphus

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Topic

Absurdity of life The human condition

Author

Albert Camus

Source

The Myth of Sisyphus

Medium

Essay

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

French

Time

1942 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Camus, Albert. Le Mythe de Sisyphe [The Myth of Sisyphus]. Éditions Gallimard, 1942.

Men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.

Billy Crystal

When Harry Met Sally…

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Topic

Gender relations Friendship between men and women Sex

Speaker

Harry Burns

Actor

Billy Crystal

Source

When Harry Met Sally…

Medium

Film

Genre

Romantic comedy (film) Comedy (film) Romantic comedy Comedy

Language

English

Time

1989 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

When Harry Met Sally... Directed by Rob Reiner, Nelson Entertainment/Castle Rock Entertainment, 1989.

When making a business decision, the only color that matters, Jesus, is green.

He Got Game

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Topic

Money

Speaker

Dom Pagnotti

Actor

Al Palagonia

Source

He Got Game

Medium

Film

Genre

Sports (film) Drama (film) Sports Drama

Language

English

Time

1998 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

He Got Game. Directed by Spike Lee, Touchstone Pictures/40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, 1998.

Vitality in a woman is a blind fury of creation.

George Bernard Shaw

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Topic

Women

Speaker

Tanner

Author

George Bernard Shaw

Source

Man and Superman

Medium

Play

Genre

Drama (play)

Language

English

Time

1903 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Shaw, George Bernard. "Man and Superman." Man and Superman, John Bull's Other Island, and Major Barbara. Oxford University Press, 2021, act 1. Originally published by Archibald and Constable & Co., Ltd, 1903.

There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before; like the larks in this country, that have been singing the same five notes over for thousands of years.

Willa Cather

O Pioneers!

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Topic

Plus ça change Stories The human condition

Speaker

Carl (O Pioneers!)

Author

Willa Cather

Source

O Pioneers!

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

1913 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Cather, Willa. O Pioneers! Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913, pt. 2, ch. 4.

Current Citation

Cather, Willa. O Pioneers, edited by Sharon O'Brien. W. W. Norton & Company, 2007, pt. 2, ch. 4.

Today, you people are no longer maggots. Today, you are Marines. You're part of a brotherhood. From now on until the day you die, wherever you are, every Marine is your brother. Most of you will go to Vietnam. Some of you will not come back. But always remember this, marines die. That's what we're here for. But the Marine Corps lives forever and that means you live forever.

Gunnery Sargent Hartman

Full Metal Jacket

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Topic

Marines The military Individual vs. the collective

Speaker

Gunnery Sargent Hartman

Actor

Ronald Lee Ermey

Source

Full Metal Jacket

Medium

Film

Genre

War (film) War

Language

English

Time

1987 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Full Metal Jacket. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, Natant/Harrier Films, 1987.

Excuse me, excuse me, I don't mean to harass you, but I was very impressed with the capable and stylish manner in which you dealt with that situation. I was thinking to myself, now, this girl's special.

Trainspotting

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Speaker

Mark Renton

Actor

Ewan McGregor

Source

Trainspotting

Medium

Film

Genre

Comedy drama (film) Comedy drama

Statement Type

Compliment

Language

English

Time

1996 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Trainspotting. Directed by Danny Boyle, Channel Four Films/Figment Films/Noel Gay Motion Picture Company, 1996.

Sometimes people need a little help. Sometimes people need to be forgiven. And sometimes they need to go to jail.

Magnolia

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Topic

Forgiveness Prison

Speaker

Officer Jim Kurring

Actor

John C. Reilly

Source

Magnolia

Medium

Film

Genre

Psychological drama (film) Drama (film) Psychological drama Drama

Language

English

Time

1999 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Magnolia. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Ghoulardi Film Company/JoAnne Sellar Productions, 1999.

He's always attracted by the art he isn't practicing, the place he hasn't been, the girl he hasn't met.

An Affair to Remember

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Topic

Grass is always greener Dissatisfaction

Speaker

Grandmother Janou

Actor

Cathleen Nesbitt

Source

An Affair to Remember

Medium

Film

Genre

Romantic drama (film) Romantic drama

Language

English

Time

1957 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

An Affair to Remember. Directed by Leo McCarey, Jerry Wald Productions, 1957.

People live through such pain only once. Pain comes again-but it finds a tougher surface.

Willa Cather

The Song of the Lark

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Topic

Pain Thick skin Toughness

Author

Willa Cather

Source

The Song of the Lark

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

1915 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Cather, Willa. The Song of the Lark. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1915, pt. 2, ch. 11.

Current Citation

Cather, Willa. The Song of the Lark. Vintage, 1999, pt. 2, ch. 11.

And when they played they really played. And when they worked they really worked.

Dr. Seuss

The King's Stilts

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Topic

Being present Work and play Work Play

Author

Dr. Seuss

Source

The King's Stilts

Medium

Children's book

Genre

Children's literature

Language

English

Time

1939 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Dr. Seuss. The King's Stilts. Random House, 1939.

I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty-second street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade

W.H. Auden

September 1,1939

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More information about this quote

Topic

Disillusionment

Author

W.H. Auden

Source

September 1,1939

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1939 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Auden, W. H. "September 1, 1939." Another Time. Faber and Faber/Random House, 1940. Originally published in The New Republic, 18 Oct. 1939.

Surprised, Eddie? If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am right now.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

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Topic

Surprise

Speaker

Clark Griswold

Actor

Chevy Chase

Source

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Medium

Film

Genre

Christmas (film) Comedy (film) Christmas Comedy

Language

English

Time

1989 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, Hughes Entertainment, 1989.

We must push as hard as they push, and then push a little stronger.

Harvey Milk

More information about this quote

Topic

Fighting for justice Activism Politics

Speaker

Harvey Milk

Source

Bay Area Reporter

Medium

Interview

Language

English

Time

1977 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Milk, Harvey. "Harvey Speaks Out." Bay Area Reporter, 8 Dec. 1977.

We realize that the greatest things that remain to be done must be done with the whole world for stage and in cooperation with the wide and universal forces of mankind, and we are making our spirits ready for those things.

Woodrow Wilson

Second Inaugural Address of Woodrow Wilson

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Topic

Internationalism America and the world

Speaker

Woodrow Wilson

Source

Second Inaugural Address of Woodrow Wilson Presidential inaugural address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1917 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Wilson, Woodrow. "Second Inaugural Address." 5 Mar. 1917, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative on the day after the revolution.

Hannah Arendt

The New Yorker

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Topic

Revolutionaries Revolution Conservatism Political theory Politics

Author

Hannah Arendt

Source

Reflections on Civil Disobedience The New Yorker

Medium

Essay Magazine

Genre

Political literature

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

English

Time

1970 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Arendt, Hannah. "Civil Disobedience." Crises of the Republic. Vintage, 1972. Originally published as "Reflections on Civil Disobedience" by The New Yorker, 12 Sept. 1970.

Perhaps the only true dignity of man is his capacity to despise himself.

George Santayana

Introduction to Spinoza's Ethics

More information about this quote

Topic

Self-hatred

Author

George Santayana

Source

Introduction to Spinoza's Ethics

Medium

Essay

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Irony

Language

English

Time

1910 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Santayana, George. Introduction. Ethics, by Spinoza, translated by A. Boyle. Everyman's Library, 1910, introduction.

God made man, without man's consent, and made his nature, too; made it vicious instead of angelic, and then said, Be angelic, or I will punish you and destroy you. But no matter, God is responsible for everything man does, all the same; He can't get around that fact. There is only one Criminal, and it is not man.

Mark Twain

More information about this quote

Topic

God and man Nature of God God

Author

Mark Twain

Source

Little Bessie Fables of Man

Medium

Short story

Language

English

Time

1910 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Twain, Mark. "Little Bessie." Fables of Man. University of California Press, 1972, ch. 2.

Current Citation

Twain, Mark. "Little Bessie." The Devil's Race-Track: Mark Twain's "Great Dark" Writings. University of California Press, 2005, ch. 2.

What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.

Shunryu Suzuki

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Topic

The self Ego Consciousness

Author

Shunryu Suzuki

Source

Zen Mind, Beginnner's Mind

Genre

Philosophical literature Religious literature

Language

English

Time

1970 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Suzuki, Shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Weatherhill, 1970. Originally a talk given at his Zen center in c. 1969, Los Altos, CA, USA.