--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm generally pessimistic about the…" description: "\"I'm generally pessimistic about the dumbing down of America - especially with summer movies.\" — Elmer Bernstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/elmer-bernstein-33564_america_i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumb_895718.png" --- # I'm generally pessimistic about the dumbing down of… ![“I'm generally pessimistic about the dumbing down of America - especially with summer movies.” quote by Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/elmer-bernstein-33564_america_i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumb_895718.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/elmer-bernstein-33564_america_i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumb_895718.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/elmer-bernstein-33564_america_i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumb_895718.png) > “I'm generally pessimistic about the dumbing down of America - especially with summer movies.” [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He is pessimistic about cultural decline, especially in summer movies. **In simple terms:** Worries about cultural decline. Key Takeaway Seek quality over hype. Themes culture media pessimism entertainment quality Mood critical concerned Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - film selection - media literacy - supporting indie films - critical viewing Key Concepts media studies cultural criticism public perception Questions to Reflect On - How can you support better media? - What criteria define quality for you? A Different Perspective Not all media are low quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Dumbing down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumbing-down/) [Optimist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/) [Pessimistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimistic/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) ## Related quotes > [The dumbing down of America is evident in the slow decay of substantive content, a kind of celebration of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-dumbing-down-of-america-is-evident-in-the-slow-decay-of/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30-second sound bites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-dumbing-down-of-america-is-most-evident-in-the-slow-decay-of/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The ability to convince people of the wackiest notions - and both parties can do it - it's part of the dumbing down of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ackerman/the-ability-to-convince-people-of-the-wackiest-notions-and-both/) [Gary Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ackerman/) > [“If you constantly allow negative statements into your life, you run the risk of adopting such negative statements as your convictions and principles. Generally,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-s-mashego/if-you-constantly-allow-negative-statements-into-your-life-you-run/) [D.S. Mashego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-s-mashego/) > [Summer movies are all about things blowing up and you going, 'Yeah!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-scheer/summer-movies-are-all-about-things-blowing-up-and-you-going-yeah/) [Paul Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-scheer/) > [It's a fallacy, long rebuffed by science, that humans use only about 10% of their brainpower. But it is true about most summer movies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/it-s-a-fallacy-long-rebuffed-by-science-that-humans-use-only-about-10/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [Summer movies are spectacles; that's what you pay 10 dollars to see. You want to get teased by effects sometimes. I think that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-de-bont/summer-movies-are-spectacles-that-s-what-you-pay-10-dollars-to-see/) [Jan de Bont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-de-bont/) > [After the 'Scream' movies, I started watching all of the 'Final Destination' movies and then the 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' movies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-barrera/after-the-scream-movies-i-started-watching-all-of-the-final/) [Melissa Barrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-barrera/) > [For me, I always loved summer movies. I love indie movies, foreign films, but there's definitely a part of me that loves summer movies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lin/for-me-i-always-loved-summer-movies-i-love-indie-movies-foreign-films/) [Justin Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lin/) > [The summer movies are coming out. My advice: just stay home and burn a good book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/the-summer-movies-are-coming-out-my-advice-just-stay-home-and-burn-a/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [ True literacy is becoming an arcane art and the nation \[United States\] is steadily dumbing down. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/true-literacy-is-becoming-an-arcane-art-and-the-nation-united-states/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [At the core of what I'm doing is a belief in the audience, a belief that populism doesn't mean dumbing down theater, but rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-paulus/at-the-core-of-what-i-m-doing-is-a-belief-in-the-audience-a-belief/) [Diane Paulus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-paulus/) > [Popular culture, on average, has been growing more cognitively challenging over the past thirty years, not less. Despite everything you hear about declining standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/popular-culture-on-average-has-been-growing-more-cognitively/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [And I can see that everything about this God has been purposely designed to poison our experience of life on earth, not to enhance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-condell/and-i-can-see-that-everything-about-this-god-has-been-purposely/) [Pat Condell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-condell/) > [The big problem in the long process of dumbing down the schools is that you can reach a point of no return. How are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-big-problem-in-the-long-process-of-dumbing-down-the-schools-is/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More by Elmer Bernstein > [I thought in terms of the enthusiasm of doing it. I didn't think about whether I was ready.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/i-thought-in-terms-of-the-enthusiasm-of-doing-it-i-didn-t-think-about/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [When you stop to think about it, so many films today where we don't have that kind of contact are films about alienation. About…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/when-you-stop-to-think-about-it-so-many-films-today-where-we-don-t/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [There's no way I can compete with someone who can write rap or rock and roll. Nor do I wish to. But I've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/there-s-no-way-i-can-compete-with-someone-who-can-write-rap-or-rock/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [I would do the occasional score. I thought it was the most thrilling thing. It was instant. You made the music and they played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/i-would-do-the-occasional-score-i-thought-it-was-the-most-thrilling/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [I made my way on to a grey list, a black list even. That's something I'm very proud of, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/i-made-my-way-on-to-a-grey-list-a-black-list-even-that-s-something-i/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [Today you have something like A Film by Joe Harry. That is patently asinine and ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/today-you-have-something-like-a-film-by-joe-harry-that-is-patently/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [It was a great way to work. In those days, you had to be there. It was your world. It was your club. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/it-was-a-great-way-to-work-in-those-days-you-had-to-be-there-it-was/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [All of a sudden I found myself doing things like 'Robot Monster' and 'Cat-Women of the Moon,' and I didn't know what the devil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/all-of-a-sudden-i-found-myself-doing-things-like-robot-monster-and/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [I did 10 years of comedies and 10 years of Westerns. I really like to stay away from car chases. I prefer the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/i-did-10-years-of-comedies-and-10-years-of-westerns-i-really-like-to/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [You wouldn't think it would but my parents were really balanced about that. When it came time for me to be out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/you-wouldn-t-think-it-would-but-my-parents-were-really-balanced-about/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [One of the things that happens in the business is that success is a very strange thing in that if you are involved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/one-of-the-things-that-happens-in-the-business-is-that-success-is-a/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [Jerry Goldsmith is the #1 composer working now. He's open to new ideas and always inventing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/jerry-goldsmith-is-the-1-composer-working-now-he-s-open-to-new-ideas/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) > [Victor Young had been hired to write the score for the dances of The Ten Commandments but he became very ill. You were then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/victor-young-had-been-hired-to-write-the-score-for-the-dances-of-the/) [Elmer Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) [Explore all 14 Elmer Bernstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm generally pessimistic about the dumbing down of America - especially with summer movies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elmer Bernstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumbing-down-of-america/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumbing-down-of-america/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/elmer-bernstein-33564_america_i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumb_895718.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/elmer-bernstein-33564_america_i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumb_895718.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/elmer-bernstein-33564_america_i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumb_895718.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm generally pessimistic about the dumbing down of America - especially with summer movies.” — Elmer Bernstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elmer Bernstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-bernstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm generally pessimistic about the dumbing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumbing-down-of-america/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-bernstein/i-m-generally-pessimistic-about-the-dumbing-down-of-america/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```