--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Realism is a bad word. In a sense…" description: "\"Realism is a bad word. In a sense everything is realistic. I see no line between the imaginary and the real.\" — Federico Fellini" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/federico-fellini-4845_imaginary_realism-is-a-bad-word-in-a-sense-everyth_3162937.jpg" --- # Realism is a bad word. In a sense everything is realistic… ![“Realism is a bad word. In a sense everything is realistic. I see no line between the imaginary and the real.” quote by Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/federico-fellini-4845_imaginary_realism-is-a-bad-word-in-a-sense-everyth_3162937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/federico-fellini-4845_imaginary_realism-is-a-bad-word-in-a-sense-everyth_3162937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/federico-fellini-4845_imaginary_realism-is-a-bad-word-in-a-sense-everyth_3162937.jpg) > “Realism is a bad word. In a sense everything is realistic. I see no line between the imaginary and the real.” [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that realism is overused; everything is already realistic, blurring the line between imagination and reality. **In simple terms:** Reality and imagination blend together. Key Takeaway Accept that both real and imagined coexist. Themes art perception reality imagination Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - film criticism - creative writing - visual arts - philosophical debate Key Concepts postmodernism subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect artistic creation? - Can we still critique realism? A Different Perspective It may ignore the value of distinguishing fact from fiction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imaginary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary/) [Imaginary Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary-real-498378/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism/) [Realism Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism-bad-5724949/) [Realistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realistic/) ## Related quotes > [“The difference between imaginary and real object creates a continuos desire”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-fr-h-svendsen/the-difference-between-imaginary-and-real-object-creates-a-continuos/) [Lars Fr. H. Svendsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-fr-h-svendsen/) > [The substance of grief is not imaginary. It's as real as rope or the absence of air, and like both those things, it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-substance-of-grief-is-not-imaginary-it-s-as-real-as-rope-or-the/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [There are two kinds of Arctic problems, the imaginary and the real. Of the two, the imaginary are the most real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilhjalmur-stefansson/there-are-two-kinds-of-arctic-problems-the-imaginary-and-the-real-of/) [Vilhjalmur Stefansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilhjalmur-stefansson/) > [... people made the imaginary real all the time: taking the music they heard in their head and recording it, seeing a house in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/people-made-the-imaginary-real-all-the-time-taking-the-music-they/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [“A good novel is the biography of an imaginary person--and when the biography is completed, the person is no longer imaginary; he is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-edmund-barrett/a-good-novel-is-the-biography-of-an-imaginary-person-and-when-the/) [William Edmund Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-edmund-barrett/) > [An interlude of false innocence has passed. Today, as we enter the post-photographic era, we must face once again the ineradicable fragility of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/an-interlude-of-false-innocence-has-passed-today-as-we-enter-the-post/) [William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/) > [True knowledge of good and evil as we possess is merely abstract or general, and the judgment which we pass on the order of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/true-knowledge-of-good-and-evil-as-we-possess-is-merely-abstract-or/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [Even the very youngest children already are perfectly able to discriminate between the imaginary and the real, whether in books or movies or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/even-the-very-youngest-children-already-are-perfectly-able-to/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Actors speak of things imaginary as if they were real, while you preachers too often speak of things real as if they were imaginary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-betterton/actors-speak-of-things-imaginary-as-if-they-were-real-while-you/) [Thomas Betterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-betterton/) > [Once you realize that the world is your own projection, you are free of it. You need not free yourself of a world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/once-you-realize-that-the-world-is-your-own-projection-you-are-free/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [“enjoying the danger—more imaginary than real, yet still sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-iossel/enjoying-the-danger-more-imaginary-than-real-yet-still-sweet/) [Mikhail Iossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-iossel/) > [In early childhood, children develop a set of symbols that 'stand for' things they see in the world around them... Children are happy with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/in-early-childhood-children-develop-a-set-of-symbols-that-stand-for/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. Here the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-is-realistic-when-it-strives-to-express-an-ethical-ideal-realism/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I think that it's important to try to keep reality. I think that Gabriel Garcia Marquez speaks a lot about reality in his magical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-think-that-it-s-important-to-try-to-keep-reality-i-think-that/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) ## More by Federico Fellini > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Even if I set out to make a film about a fillet of sole, it would be about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/even-if-i-set-out-to-make-a-film-about-a-fillet-of-sole-it-would-be/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/when-work-commitment-and-pleasure-all-become-one-and-you-reach-that/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [As a writer and director, I want to know what is behind the good manners and soft voice. Who is inside the silhouette?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/as-a-writer-and-director-i-want-to-know-what-is-behind-the-good/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Don't forget that costumes, like dreams, are symbolic communication. Dreams teach us that a language for everything exists - for every object, every color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/don-t-forget-that-costumes-like-dreams-are-symbolic-communication/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [It is only when I am doing my work that I feel truly alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/it-is-only-when-i-am-doing-my-work-that-i-feel-truly-alive/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [We must get beyond passions, like a great work of art. In such miraculous harmony. We should learn to love each other so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/we-must-get-beyond-passions-like-a-great-work-of-art-in-such/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [We can all pretend to be cynical and scheming, but when we’re faced with purity and innocence, the cynical mask drops off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/we-can-all-pretend-to-be-cynical-and-scheming-but-when-we-re-faced/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [The public has lost the habit of movie-going because the cinema no longer possesses the charm, the hypnotic charisma, the authority it once commanded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/the-public-has-lost-the-habit-of-movie-going-because-the-cinema-no/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Everyone knows that time is Death, that Death hides in clocks. Imposing another time powered by the Clock of the Imagination, however, can refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/everyone-knows-that-time-is-death-that-death-hides-in-clocks-imposing/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Our duty as storytellers is to bring people to the station. There each person will choose his or her own train...But we must at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/our-duty-as-storytellers-is-to-bring-people-to-the-station-there-each/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [What's important is the way we say it. Art is all about craftsmanship. Others can interpret craftsmanship as style if they wish. Style is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/what-s-important-is-the-way-we-say-it-art-is-all-about-craftsmanship/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/there-is-no-end-there-is-no-beginning-there-is-only-the-passion-of/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [My work has always been the thing that justifies my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/my-work-has-always-been-the-thing-that-justifies-my-life/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [My relationship with my body has changed. I used to consider it as a servant who should obey, function, give pleasure. In sickness, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/my-relationship-with-my-body-has-changed-i-used-to-consider-it-as-a/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) [Explore all 104 Federico Fellini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) ## More Imaginary quotes > [I realized I couldn't be a journalist because I like to take a side, to have an opinion and a point a view; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/i-realized-i-couldn-t-be-a-journalist-because-i-like-to-take-a-side/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [“this route is only one of several imaginary paths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/this-route-is-only-one-of-several-imaginary-paths/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [The hardest thing about being a guy is that women don't accept that you really are just a simple, pathetic, labrador retriever-like creature. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-hardest-thing-about-being-a-guy-is-that-women-don-t-accept-that/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/) [Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/) > [I was a loner as a child. I had an imaginary friend - I didn't bother with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-was-a-loner-as-a-child-i-had-an-imaginary-friend-i-didn-t-bother/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [What the nostalgic past and the imaginary future seem to share in common is a form of idealism, perhaps a dream of wholeness. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/what-the-nostalgic-past-and-the-imaginary-future-seem-to-share-in/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [The more science I studied, the more I saw that physics becomes metaphysics and numbers become imaginary numbers. The farther you go into science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-more-science-i-studied-the-more-i-saw-that-physics-becomes/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Dont let the imaginary person in your head keep you from loving the real one right in front of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dev/dont-let-the-imaginary-person-in-your-head-keep-you-from-loving-the/) [Dev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dev/) > [The point I wish plainly to bring before you on this occasion is the individuality of each human soul--our Protestant idea, the right of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-point-i-wish-plainly-to-bring-before-you-on-this-occasion-is-the/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Imaginary evils are incurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/imaginary-evils-are-incurable/) [Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/) > [When I start writing a new imaginary future, I have no idea what it is. The characters arrive first. They help me figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-i-start-writing-a-new-imaginary-future-i-have-no-idea-what-it-is/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Life is complex. It has real and imaginary components.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-potter/life-is-complex-it-has-real-and-imaginary-components/) [Tom Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-potter/) > [Why all these signs around us that make me doubt language and submerge me in meanings, drowning reality instead of extracting it from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/why-all-these-signs-around-us-that-make-me-doubt-language-and/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [“No knowledge comes from the outside world or an imaginary supernatural paradise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/no-knowledge-comes-from-the-outside-world-or-an-imaginary/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 902 Imaginary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Realism is a bad word. 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