--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don’t think it’s overstating it to say…" description: "\"“I don’t think it’s overstating it to say that my religion of choice became VHS rentals, and that its messages came in Technicolor and musical montages..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/emily-m-danforth-16858_good-guy_i-don-t-think-it-s-overstating-it-to-say_3097757.jpg" --- # I don’t think it’s overstating it to say that my religion… ![“I don’t think it’s overstating it to say that my religion of choice became VHS rentals, and that its messages came in Technicolor and musical montages and fades and jump cuts and silver-screen legends and B-movie nobodies and villains to root for and good guys to hate. But Ruth was wrong, too…” quote by Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/emily-m-danforth-16858_good-guy_i-don-t-think-it-s-overstating-it-to-say_3097757.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/emily-m-danforth-16858_good-guy_i-don-t-think-it-s-overstating-it-to-say_3097757.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/emily-m-danforth-16858_good-guy_i-don-t-think-it-s-overstating-it-to-say_3097757.jpg) > ““I don’t think it’s overstating it to say that my religion of choice became VHS rentals, and that its messages came in Technicolor and musical montages and fades and jump cuts and silver-screen legends and B-movie nobodies and villains to root for and good guys to hate. But Ruth was wrong, too. There was more than just one other world beyond ours; there were hundreds and hundreds of them, and at 99 cents apiece I could rent them all.”” [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator’s devotion to VHS rentals becomes a vivid, colorful escape, highlighting how media can shape identity. **In simple terms:** VHS rentals offered a vibrant, immersive escape. Key Takeaway Explore media that fuels your imagination. Themes identity nostalgia media influence Mood reflective nostalgic Type literary personal When to use this quote - teen self-discovery - budget entertainment - collecting habits Key Concepts cultural studies media theory Questions to Reflect On - What media shaped your worldview? - How does nostalgia affect your choices? A Different Perspective Relying on cheap media may limit exposure to diverse perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice Vhs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-vhs-2306746/) [Good guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-guy/) [Good guys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-guys/) [Hate Ruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate-ruth-5355153/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-choice-1466980/) [Ruth Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruth-wrong-2306749/) [Vhs Rentals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vhs-rentals-5355152/) ## Related quotes > [“I lifted the remote control, pushed the Play button, and started the video. I guess, in that moment, I also started my new life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/i-lifted-the-remote-control-pushed-the-play-button-and-started-the/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“But Ruth was wrong, too. There was more than just one other world beyond ours; there were hundreds and hundreds of them, and at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/but-ruth-was-wrong-too-there-was-more-than-just-one-other-world/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“It's long been a point of mine that the freedom of religion, which this country alleges to support, works two ways. We're not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-s-long-been-a-point-of-mine-that-the-freedom-of-religion-which/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [For Shakespeare, in the matter of religion, the choice lay between Christianity and nothing. He chose nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/for-shakespeare-in-the-matter-of-religion-the-choice-lay-between/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [You are free to follow the religion of your choice, but you are not allowed to tie people up and drag them behind you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/you-are-free-to-follow-the-religion-of-your-choice-but-you-are-not/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [All religions try to benefit people, with the same basic message of the need for love and compassion, for justice and honesty, for contentment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/all-religions-try-to-benefit-people-with-the-same-basic-message-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [In pluralistic, democratic societies, there is the freedom to adopt the religion of your choice. This is good. This lets curious people like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/in-pluralistic-democratic-societies-there-is-the-freedom-to-adopt-the/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Religious freedom should work two ways: we should be free to practice the religion of our choice, but we must also be free from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/religious-freedom-should-work-two-ways-we-should-be-free-to-practice/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Playing a bad guy is always a freeing experience, because you don't have the same envelope of restrictions as you have playing a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-travolta/playing-a-bad-guy-is-always-a-freeing-experience-because-you-don-t/) [John Travolta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-travolta/) > [“They do the twenty-one-gun salute for the good guys, right? So I brought this.” Beckett pointed the gun in the sky. “For Mouse.” One,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/they-do-the-twenty-one-gun-salute-for-the-good-guys-right-so-i/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“We fall into the fallacy of believing we can litigate the complicated story before us into a black-and-white binary of good guys and bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-lowery/we-fall-into-the-fallacy-of-believing-we-can-litigate-the-complicated/) [Wesley Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-lowery/) > [“You’re the fucking good guys,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-roux/you-re-the-fucking-good-guys/) [Abigail Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-roux/) > [Good guys need to be a little dirty otherwise they're just boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-cassel/good-guys-need-to-be-a-little-dirty-otherwise-they-re-just-boring/) [Vincent Cassel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-cassel/) > [“Of course, the Grimnoir thought they were the good guys. Everybody thought they were in the right. The evilest bastards he had ever met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-course-the-grimnoir-thought-they-were-the-good-guys-everybody/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This is what is called "honor among thieves," for the really dangerous people are those who do not recognize that they are thieves— the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/this-is-what-is-called-honor-among-thieves-for-the-really-dangerous/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) ## More by Emily M. Danforth > [“Now there was photographic evidence of me with a girl. Lindsey pack the camera in her duffel while I contemplated the film inside it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/now-there-was-photographic-evidence-of-me-with-a-girl-lindsey-pack/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“We were good at this game: We could make it go on for days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/we-were-good-at-this-game-we-could-make-it-go-on-for-days/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“I've got the weed," Jane said, and we all laughed the way you laugh when you're trying to be brave in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/i-ve-got-the-weed-jane-said-and-we-all-laughed-the-way-you-laugh-when/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“It felt really good to do something that made no sense at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/it-felt-really-good-to-do-something-that-made-no-sense-at-all/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“What is it that I’m doing again?” “You know that already,” she said. “You just think that you don’t, but you do. It’s what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/what-is-it-that-i-m-doing-again-you-know-that-already-she-said-you/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“But Ruth was wrong, too. There was more than just one other world beyond ours; there were hundreds and hundreds of them, and at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/but-ruth-was-wrong-too-there-was-more-than-just-one-other-world/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“Let's rock this shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/let-s-rock-this-shit/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [In the embrace's release I caught the scent again. Unmistakable. Marijuana. These homos were high as kites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/in-the-embrace-s-release-i-caught-the-scent-again-unmistakable/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“Everything was heightened the way it always is when summer is slipping away to fall, and you're younger than eighteen, and all you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/everything-was-heightened-the-way-it-always-is-when-summer-is/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [You can't catch somebody doing something when they're not hiding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/you-can-t-catch-somebody-doing-something-when-they-re-not-hiding/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“...when I closed my eyes and saw her drinking tea and opened them and still could see her, and I wanted so much to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/when-i-closed-my-eyes-and-saw-her-drinking-tea-and-opened-them-and/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“I felt like I needed something official to show me how all of this should feel, how I should be acting, what I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/i-felt-like-i-needed-something-official-to-show-me-how-all-of-this/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“I lifted the remote control, pushed the Play button, and started the video. I guess, in that moment, I also started my new life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/i-lifted-the-remote-control-pushed-the-play-button-and-started-the/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“But whatever we once were we weren’t anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/but-whatever-we-once-were-we-weren-t-anymore/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [“In that moment I was as jealous of her getting to leave Montana as I'd ever been of anything or anyone in my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/in-that-moment-i-was-as-jealous-of-her-getting-to-leave-montana-as-i/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) [Explore all 38 Emily M. Danforth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) ## More Good guy quotes > [“This is what is called "honor among thieves," for the really dangerous people are those who do not recognize that they are thieves— the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/this-is-what-is-called-honor-among-thieves-for-the-really-dangerous/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [“The self-conscious feedback mechanism of the cortex allows us the hallucination that we are two souls in one body -a rational soul and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-self-conscious-feedback-mechanism-of-the-cortex-allows-us-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [My wife and kids maybe beg to differ, but I am generally a good guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-macchio/my-wife-and-kids-maybe-beg-to-differ-but-i-am-generally-a-good-guy/) [Ralph Macchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-macchio/) > [“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”—Charles Baudelaire “The second greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-greatest-trick-the-devil-ever-pulled-was-convincing-the-world-he/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [In order to have your best good guy, you have to be that bad guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/in-order-to-have-your-best-good-guy-you-have-to-be-that-bad-guy/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Of course, the Grimnoir thought they were the good guys. Everybody thought they were in the right. The evilest bastards he had ever met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-course-the-grimnoir-thought-they-were-the-good-guys-everybody/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Good guys need to be a little dirty otherwise they're just boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-cassel/good-guys-need-to-be-a-little-dirty-otherwise-they-re-just-boring/) [Vincent Cassel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-cassel/) > [I love Crowley for being an audacious man at certain point in time. I think he's greatly misunderstood. He was a good guy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-renck/i-love-crowley-for-being-an-audacious-man-at-certain-point-in-time-i/) [Johan Renck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-renck/) > [“You’re the fucking good guys,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-roux/you-re-the-fucking-good-guys/) [Abigail Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-roux/) > [“We fall into the fallacy of believing we can litigate the complicated story before us into a black-and-white binary of good guys and bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-lowery/we-fall-into-the-fallacy-of-believing-we-can-litigate-the-complicated/) [Wesley Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-lowery/) > [Playing a bad guy is always more fun than playing the good guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-robbie/playing-a-bad-guy-is-always-more-fun-than-playing-the-good-guy/) [Margot Robbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-robbie/) > [“you'd literally lie, cheat, and steal -hell, kill- to convince people you are a good guy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/you-d-literally-lie-cheat-and-steal-hell-kill-to-convince-people-you/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“They do the twenty-one-gun salute for the good guys, right? So I brought this.” Beckett pointed the gun in the sky. “For Mouse.” One,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/they-do-the-twenty-one-gun-salute-for-the-good-guys-right-so-i/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [When a man does not live with his children and does not get along with the mother of his children, his fatherhood becomes essentially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blankenhorn/when-a-man-does-not-live-with-his-children-and-does-not-get-along/) [David Blankenhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blankenhorn/) > [Playing a bad guy is always a freeing experience, because you don't have the same envelope of restrictions as you have playing a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-travolta/playing-a-bad-guy-is-always-a-freeing-experience-because-you-don-t/) [John Travolta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-travolta/) [Browse all 864 Good guy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-guy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I don’t think it’s overstating it to say that my religion of choice became VHS rentals, and that its messages came in Technicolor and musical montages and fades and jump cuts and silver-screen legends and B-movie nobodies and villains to root for and good guys to hate. 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