--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The critics are like tourists who return…" description: "\"The critics are like tourists who return from a trip saying they've \"done\" Machu Picchu: \"Okay, we've done magical realism,\" so now we can throw it out..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/gore-vidal-466_critic_the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return_2814124.jpg" --- # The critics are like tourists who return from a trip… ![“The critics are like tourists who return from a trip saying they've "done" Machu Picchu: "Okay, we've done magical realism," so now we can throw it out.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/gore-vidal-466_critic_the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return_2814124.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/gore-vidal-466_critic_the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return_2814124.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/gore-vidal-466_critic_the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return_2814124.jpg) > “The critics are like tourists who return from a trip saying they've "done" Machu Picchu: "Okay, we've done magical realism," so now we can throw it out.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critics often claim mastery of a style after brief exposure, then dismiss it as irrelevant. **In simple terms:** Critics act like tourists who think they’ve mastered a place after a quick visit. Key Takeaway Beware of superficial judgments. Themes criticism literature authenticity Mood skeptical reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - book reviews - academic courses - creative writing workshops - travel writing Key Concepts postmodernism cultural appropriation Questions to Reflect On - How does depth of experience affect criticism? - When is it okay to discard a style? A Different Perspective Superficial familiarity can lead to misinterpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Machu picchu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machu-picchu/) [Magical realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magical-realism/) [Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism/) [Tourists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tourists/) ## Related quotes > [The Americans only like things they can label, even if it kills them. Think of those poor Latin American writers. Some of them are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-americans-only-like-things-they-can-label-even-if-it-kills-them/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I like tourists. I think it's nice to live in a town that people come from all over to visit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-thewlis/i-like-tourists-i-think-it-s-nice-to-live-in-a-town-that-people-come/) [David Thewlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-thewlis/) > [Prayer for many is like a foreign land. When we go there, we go as tourists. Like most tourists, we feel uncomfortable and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mcafee-brown/prayer-for-many-is-like-a-foreign-land-when-we-go-there-we-go-as/) [Robert McAfee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mcafee-brown/) > [“Quentin Schultze says that we have become like tourists who are so enamored by our mode of transportation that we cruise through nation after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-challies/quentin-schultze-says-that-we-have-become-like-tourists-who-are-so/) [Tim Challies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-challies/) > [If you are in Bangkok, you will find that people there will never speak to you without joining their hands. It's not that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/if-you-are-in-bangkok-you-will-find-that-people-there-will-never/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [“But mostly, finally, ultimately, I'm here for the weather. As a result of the weather, ours is a landscape in a minor key, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/but-mostly-finally-ultimately-i-m-here-for-the-weather-as-a-result-of/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The vanquished themselves prove that history has not lied; like tourists in hell, they took snapshots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-strauss/the-vanquished-themselves-prove-that-history-has-not-lied-like/) Theodore Strauss > [Like many other tourists, I'm afraid I fell in love with Paris at first sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvette-mimieux/like-many-other-tourists-i-m-afraid-i-fell-in-love-with-paris-at/) [Yvette Mimieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvette-mimieux/) > [It’s an irritating reality that many places and events defy description. Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, for instance, seem to demand silence, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/it-s-an-irritating-reality-that-many-places-and-events-defy/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [All man must live in Machu Picchu for some time! Over there, you will be closer to the universe and you will realise how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/all-man-must-live-in-machu-picchu-for-some-time-over-there-you-will/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“He keeps silent for several seasons. In my mind, hundreds of questions that I don’t ask. Instead, I go to Machu Picchu, explore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ryu/he-keeps-silent-for-several-seasons-in-my-mind-hundreds-of-questions/) [Alexandria Ryu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ryu/) > [I did the Kilimanjaro climb a few years ago, then the six-day trek to Machu Picchu in Peru so this bike ride to raise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-van-outen/i-did-the-kilimanjaro-climb-a-few-years-ago-then-the-six-day-trek-to/) [Denise Van Outen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-van-outen/) > [“We offer Peru adventure travel, Peru custom tours. We can make you the perfect tour of your dreams. Custom Peru tours for Inca Trail,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peruunbound/we-offer-peru-adventure-travel-peru-custom-tours-we-can-make-you-the/) Peruunbound > [So let's not pretend that travel is always fun. We don't spend 10 hours lost in the Louvre because we like it, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/so-let-s-not-pretend-that-travel-is-always-fun-we-don-t-spend-10/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [When I was in my twenties and just so sexually prolific, the first time I went to Machu Picchu, this guy, a spiritual teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-and-just-so-sexually-prolific-the-first/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Critic quotes > [I am absolutely my own biggest critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lando-norris/i-am-absolutely-my-own-biggest-critic/) [Lando Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lando-norris/) > [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/critics-are-biased-and-so-are-readers-indeed-a-critic-is-a-bundle-of/) Whitney Balliett > [I am my biggest critic. Even in films where people said they liked me, I have disliked myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-akkineni/i-am-my-biggest-critic-even-in-films-where-people-said-they-liked-me/) [Samantha Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-akkineni/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [If I weren't an actor, I'd either be a teacher or a critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/if-i-weren-t-an-actor-i-d-either-be-a-teacher-or-a-critic/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I remember the early 1980s, when I first got one of these fabulous film critic jobs. The downside was sitting through 'Splatteria III: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/i-remember-the-early-1980s-when-i-first-got-one-of-these-fabulous/) [Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/) > [The television critic, whatever his pretensions, does not labour in the same vineyard as those he criticizes; his grapes are all sour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/the-television-critic-whatever-his-pretensions-does-not-labour-in-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [To be a critic, you have to have maybe three percent education, five percent intelligence, two percent style, and 90 percent gall and egomania…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-crist/to-be-a-critic-you-have-to-have-maybe-three-percent-education-five/) [Judith Crist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-crist/) > [The critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/the-critic-is-the-only-independent-source-of-information-the-rest-is/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [The critic is a man who prefers the indolence of opinion to the trials of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/the-critic-is-a-man-who-prefers-the-indolence-of-opinion-to-the/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [“A good judge is not one who is impartial, but one who has prejudice for good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/a-good-judge-is-not-one-who-is-impartial-but-one-who-has-prejudice/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [A critic who uses new quotations is making important changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/a-critic-who-uses-new-quotations-is-making-important-changes/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My mother and my grandmother are pioneers of Mexican cuisine in this country, so I grew up in the kitchen. My mom, Zarela Martinez,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sanchez/my-mother-and-my-grandmother-are-pioneers-of-mexican-cuisine-in-this/) [Aaron Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sanchez/) Browse all 758 Critic quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The critics are like tourists who return from a trip saying they've \"done\" Machu Picchu: \"Okay, we've done magical realism,\" so now we can throw it out.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gore Vidal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return-from-a-trip-saying-they-ve/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Critic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return-from-a-trip-saying-they-ve/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/gore-vidal-466_critic_the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return_2814124.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/gore-vidal-466_critic_the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return_2814124.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/gore-vidal-466_critic_the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return_2814124.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The critics are like tourists who return from a trip saying they've \"done\" Machu Picchu: \"Okay, we've done…” — Gore Vidal", "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": "Gore Vidal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The critics are like tourists who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return-from-a-trip-saying-they-ve/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-critics-are-like-tourists-who-return-from-a-trip-saying-they-ve/#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 } } ] } ```