--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Movies were never an art form, they were…" description: "\"Movies were never an art form, they were entertainment. It just evolved into an art form from there, and it's still evolving in different ways.\" — Davi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/600/david-mamet-1178_art_movies-were-never-an-art-form-they-were_1617204.jpg" --- # Movies were never an art form, they were entertainment. It… ![“Movies were never an art form, they were entertainment. It just evolved into an art form from there, and it's still evolving in different ways.” quote by David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/600/david-mamet-1178_art_movies-were-never-an-art-form-they-were_1617204.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/600/david-mamet-1178_art_movies-were-never-an-art-form-they-were_1617204.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/600/david-mamet-1178_art_movies-were-never-an-art-form-they-were_1617204.jpg) > “Movies were never an art form, they were entertainment. It just evolved into an art form from there, and it's still evolving in different ways.” [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Notes that film started as entertainment, later gaining artistic status, and continues evolving. **In simple terms:** Films shifted from pure entertainment to art. Key Takeaway Recognize film’s artistic growth. Themes art entertainment evolution Mood reflective analytical Type cinematic philosophical When to use this quote - film criticism - media studies - creative projects Key Concepts culture media creativity Questions to Reflect On - How does entertainment shape art? - What defines artistic merit in movies? A Different Perspective Artistic status can be subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-form/) [Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [Movies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movies/) ## Related quotes > [Movies are the art form most like man's imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/movies-are-the-art-form-most-like-man-s-imagination/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [In America, people really love movies here and it's part of the culture. Even in Germany, still sometimes, the theater is always bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baran-odar/in-america-people-really-love-movies-here-and-it-s-part-of-the/) [Baran Odar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baran-odar/) > [Comedy is the only form of entertainment where the audience doesn't know what to expect. In an evening, you might get ten comics doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/comedy-is-the-only-form-of-entertainment-where-the-audience-doesn-t/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [I have always been a frustrated nightclub performer. I think that would be the most exciting form of entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-connors/i-have-always-been-a-frustrated-nightclub-performer-i-think-that/) [Mike Connors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-connors/) > [Creativity is an ode to life. It is not a form of entertainment. It is a form of joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynn-bullock/creativity-is-an-ode-to-life-it-is-not-a-form-of-entertainment-it-is/) [Wynn Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynn-bullock/) > [“More than any other form of entertainment, video games tend to divide rooms into Us and Them. We are, in effect, admitting that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/more-than-any-other-form-of-entertainment-video-games-tend-to-divide/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [Each generation wants their own form of entertainment and their own form of storytelling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-dubuc/each-generation-wants-their-own-form-of-entertainment-and-their-own/) [Nancy Dubuc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-dubuc/) > [I've never relegated the lip-synch to a lower form of entertainment. Lip-synching is an art unto itself. A lot of people can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-clark/i-ve-never-relegated-the-lip-synch-to-a-lower-form-of-entertainment/) [Dick Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-clark/) > [I was a very happy child, so to speak. But, since we didn't have video games or television, and very little radio, in terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mako/i-was-a-very-happy-child-so-to-speak-but-since-we-didn-t-have-video/) [Mako](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mako/) > [Human entertainment will have moved on to something new. Then the ultimate challenge for us is, can we figure out what that new form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/human-entertainment-will-have-moved-on-to-something-new-then-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Violence has been a part of films since the beginning of time. It's been a form of entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-hudgens/violence-has-been-a-part-of-films-since-the-beginning-of-time-it-s/) [Vanessa Hudgens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-hudgens/) > [For me, I would say that horror is my absolute favorite form of entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-hearst/for-me-i-would-say-that-horror-is-my-absolute-favorite-form-of/) [Lydia Hearst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-hearst/) > [ In this Western world that we have, culture risks being \[only\] a form of entertainment. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-neshat/in-this-western-world-that-we-have-culture-risks-being-only-a-form-of/) [Shirin Neshat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-neshat/) > [In short, if you have any question about whether a particular movie, book, or other form of entertainment is appropriate, don’t see it, don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/in-short-if-you-have-any-question-about-whether-a-particular-movie/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [I think professional sports, football, to use it as an example, it's fundamentally a form of entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/i-think-professional-sports-football-to-use-it-as-an-example-it-s/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) ## More by David Mamet > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Culture exists and evolves to relegate to habit categories of interactions the constant conscious reference to which would make human interaction impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/culture-exists-and-evolves-to-relegate-to-habit-categories-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [When I started out I was a failed actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-i-started-out-i-was-a-failed-actor/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-must-have-a-pie-stress-cannot-exist-in-the-presence-of-a-pie/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“We cannot live in peace without Law. And though law cannot be perfect, it may be just if it is written in ignorance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-cannot-live-in-peace-without-law-and-though-law-cannot-be-perfect/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/films-have-degenerated-to-their-original-operation-as-carnival/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The Oscars demonstrate the will of the people to control and judge those they have elected to stand above them (much, perhaps, as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-oscars-demonstrate-the-will-of-the-people-to-control-and-judge/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I know very well what it is to be out of work and to be cheated by employers and I know what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-know-very-well-what-it-is-to-be-out-of-work-and-to-be-cheated-by/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Hitchcock denigrated American films, saying they were all 'pictures of people talking' - as, indeed, most of them are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/hitchcock-denigrated-american-films-saying-they-were-all-pictures-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“Life in the movie business is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/life-in-the-movie-business-is-like-the-beginning-of-a-new-love-affair/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“How was her crumbcake? oh.. from the store... …”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/how-was-her-crumbcake-oh-from-the-store/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [A dramatic experience concerned with the mundane may inform but it cannot release; and one concerned essentially with the aesthetic politics of its creators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/a-dramatic-experience-concerned-with-the-mundane-may-inform-but-it/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The product of the artist has become less important than the fact of the artist. We wish to absorb this person. We wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-product-of-the-artist-has-become-less-important-than-the-fact-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [In a world we find terrifying, we ratify that which doesn't threaten us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/in-a-world-we-find-terrifying-we-ratify-that-which-doesn-t-threaten-us/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“As a youth I enjoyed — indeed, like most of my contemporaries, revered — the agitprop plays of Brecht, and his indictments of Capitalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-a-youth-i-enjoyed-indeed-like-most-of-my-contemporaries-revered/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) [Explore all 278 David Mamet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Movies were never an art form, they were entertainment. 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