--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like all great documentaries, The Act of…" description: "\"Like all great documentaries, The Act of Killing demands another way of looking at reality. It starts as a dreamscape, an attempt to allow the perpetra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/errol-morris-2512_another-way_like-all-great-documentaries-the-act-of_2969754.jpg" --- # Like all great documentaries, The Act of Killing demands… ![“Like all great documentaries, The Act of Killing demands another way of looking at reality. It starts as a dreamscape, an attempt to allow the perpetrators to reenact what they did, and then something truly amazing happens. The dream dissolves into nightmare and then into bitter reality. An…” quote by Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/errol-morris-2512_another-way_like-all-great-documentaries-the-act-of_2969754.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/errol-morris-2512_another-way_like-all-great-documentaries-the-act-of_2969754.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/errol-morris-2512_another-way_like-all-great-documentaries-the-act-of_2969754.jpg) > “Like all great documentaries, The Act of Killing demands another way of looking at reality. It starts as a dreamscape, an attempt to allow the perpetrators to reenact what they did, and then something truly amazing happens. The dream dissolves into nightmare and then into bitter reality. An amazing and impressive film.” [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The documentary forces viewers to confront reality from the perpetrators’ perspective, turning dreamlike scenes into harsh truth. **In simple terms:** Seeing reality through the eyes of perpetrators reveals hidden horrors. Key Takeaway Question uncomfortable truths. Themes reality perception truth documentary ethics Mood provocative introspective Type critical analytical When to use this quote - film analysis - education - human rights advocacy Key Concepts psychology memory collective denial Questions to Reflect On - How does perspective shift affect empathy? - Can art change collective memory? A Different Perspective The method may sensationalize trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-killing-408247/) [Another way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-way/) [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) [Documentaries Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries-act-4565932/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Impressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impressive/) [Impressive Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impressive-film-4565933/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Perpetrators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetrators/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“He who kills from afar knows nothing at all about act of killing. He who kills from afar derives no lesson from life or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/he-who-kills-from-afar-knows-nothing-at-all-about-act-of-killing-he/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [THE ACT OF KILLING invents a new form of cinematic surrealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/the-act-of-killing-invents-a-new-form-of-cinematic-surrealism/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/i-am-determined-not-to-kill-not-to-let-others-kill-and-not-to-support/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [To die in the act of killing is, in essence, to die defeated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/to-die-in-the-act-of-killing-is-in-essence-to-die-defeated/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [ Robert Nozick \[a Havard philosopher, famous for his book "Anarchy, State and Utopia"\] defined revenge as delivering the message that you know what someone… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/robert-nozick-a-havard-philosopher-famous-for-his-book-anarchy-state/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [Simply coming to the perpetrator and delivering the message is Nozick's definition of revenge. And in that sense, Adi is exacting revenge. When people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/simply-coming-to-the-perpetrator-and-delivering-the-message-is-nozick/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [God's grace and forgiveness, while free to the recipient, are always costly for the giver. From the earliest parts of the Bible, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/god-s-grace-and-forgiveness-while-free-to-the-recipient-are-always/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [But ice-crunching and loud gum-chewing, together with drumming on tables, and whistling the same tune 70 times in succession, because they indicate an indifference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/but-ice-crunching-and-loud-gum-chewing-together-with-drumming-on/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Sexual assault not a women's issue, this is a peace and security issue. And we have to make sure that we go after the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-wallstrom/sexual-assault-not-a-women-s-issue-this-is-a-peace-and-security-issue/) [Margot Wallstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-wallstrom/) > [No other work has more often been blamed for more heinous crimes by the perpetrators of such crimes. The Bible has been named as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-strossen/no-other-work-has-more-often-been-blamed-for-more-heinous-crimes-by/) [Nadine Strossen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-strossen/) > [“To identify the perpetrators, first know the crime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-princiotta/to-identify-the-perpetrators-first-know-the-crime/) [Josef Princiotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-princiotta/) > [The Children's Safety Act will help protect children from the perpetrators of these vile crimes by strengthening notification requirements for sex offenders and increasing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-walsh/the-children-s-safety-act-will-help-protect-children-from-the/) [James T. Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-walsh/) > [There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. With forgiveness, your victim identity dissolves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-is-only-one-perpetrator-of-evil-on-the-planet-human/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Food Throwers: Begun usually by estranged couples, once this victual flinging starts, everyone will do it...Should your dinner party have become an out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-donleavy-2/food-throwers-begun-usually-by-estranged-couples-once-this-victual/) [J. P. Donleavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-donleavy-2/) > [In the Goldstone Report, Israeli perpetrators of possible crimes against humanity were made subject to prosecution and punishment, although the geopolitical leverage of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-falk/in-the-goldstone-report-israeli-perpetrators-of-possible-crimes/) [Richard A. Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) ## More by Errol Morris > [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [In the case of The Thin Blue Line, I was surprised actually by many things. I was shooting down in Texas where the actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/in-the-case-of-the-thin-blue-line-i-was-surprised-actually-by-many/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [When 'The Thin Blue Line' came out, I was criticized by many people for using reenactments, as if I wasn't dedicated to the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/when-the-thin-blue-line-came-out-i-was-criticized-by-many-people-for/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [There is such a thing as truth, but we have a vested interest in not seeing it, in avoiding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/there-is-such-a-thing-as-truth-but-we-have-a-vested-interest-in-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [Simply coming to the perpetrator and delivering the message is Nozick's definition of revenge. And in that sense, Adi is exacting revenge. When people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/simply-coming-to-the-perpetrator-and-delivering-the-message-is-nozick/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [The proper route to an understanding of the world is an examination of our errors about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/the-proper-route-to-an-understanding-of-the-world-is-an-examination/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [The chance that any given sentence is a lie, rather than a truth, I think, is fairly great. An intentional lie, a self-deception, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/the-chance-that-any-given-sentence-is-a-lie-rather-than-a-truth-i/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [ Maybe \[killers\] is one of my real passions. Why deny it? ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/maybe-killers-is-one-of-my-real-passions-why-deny-it/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [I envy certain writers, because there are writers who do go into a kind of different zone, where the writing isn't controlled anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/i-envy-certain-writers-because-there-are-writers-who-do-go-into-a/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [Right now, we live in bad times in this country, and the fact that there are filmmakers addressing political and social issues is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/right-now-we-live-in-bad-times-in-this-country-and-the-fact-that/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [You can talk about a caption underneath a photograph being true or false, because there is a linguistic element. You can claim that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/you-can-talk-about-a-caption-underneath-a-photograph-being-true-or/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [The fact that the world is utterly insane makes it tolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/the-fact-that-the-world-is-utterly-insane-makes-it-tolerable/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [Appearing on the front page of the New York Times even given the state of papers today is still something that's seen by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/appearing-on-the-front-page-of-the-new-york-times-even-given-the/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [You can't tell by looking at a film-clip whether it is a drama or a documentary without knowing how it was produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/you-can-t-tell-by-looking-at-a-film-clip-whether-it-is-a-drama-or-a/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [Tell me what's wrong with this idea: If you're selling to somebody, find someone like that person to sell to them. 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I did at one time. I don't any more. I did when I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-ve-got-the-public-i-don-t-care-about-the-critics-i-did-at-one-time/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [... we need to interrogate "reverence," for idolization can be another way one is objectified and not really taken seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/we-need-to-interrogate-reverence-for-idolization-can-be-another-way/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [And after hearing what our Church can say, If still our reason runs another way, That private reason 'tis more just to curb, Than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/and-after-hearing-what-our-church-can-say-if-still-our-reason-runs/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [I'm really fascinated and you know I've been wondering about that usage of language, various breathing techniques and why in these practices language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-m-really-fascinated-and-you-know-i-ve-been-wondering-about-that/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [The fact that you are not sure means that it is possible that there is another way someday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/the-fact-that-you-are-not-sure-means-that-it-is-possible-that-there/) [Richard P. 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