--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Films are not primarily an entertainment…" description: "\"“Films are not primarily an entertainment medium. They are weapons. If you understand that, then you are ready to pursue filmmaking as a vocation.”\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/isaac-botkin-243985_cinema_films-are-not-primarily-an-entertainment_726082.jpg" --- # Films are not primarily an entertainment medium. They are… ![“Films are not primarily an entertainment medium. They are weapons. If you understand that, then you are ready to pursue filmmaking as a vocation.” quote by Isaac Botkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/isaac-botkin-243985_cinema_films-are-not-primarily-an-entertainment_726082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/isaac-botkin-243985_cinema_films-are-not-primarily-an-entertainment_726082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/isaac-botkin-243985_cinema_films-are-not-primarily-an-entertainment_726082.jpg) > ““Films are not primarily an entertainment medium. They are weapons. If you understand that, then you are ready to pursue filmmaking as a vocation.”” [Isaac Botkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-botkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Films are tools of influence, not just entertainment; they can be used as weapons for ideas. **In simple terms:** Movies influence like weapons. Key Takeaway Use film purposefully for impact. Themes film influence purpose Mood thoughtful critical Type Cinema:1 Film:1 Vocation:1 Films Primarily:0 Entertainment Medium:0 Filmmaking Vocation:1 Pursue Filmmaking:0 When to use this quote - advertising - political messaging - education Key Concepts media studies propaganda artistic intent Questions to Reflect On - How can film inspire without coercion? - What ethical lines exist? A Different Perspective Audience may resist overt persuasion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Entertainment Medium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment-medium-2550993/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Filmmaking Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmaking-vocation-5696260/) [Films Primarily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/films-primarily-2392572/) [Pursue Filmmaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursue-filmmaking-5696261/) [Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation/) ## Related quotes > [I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether we be six or sixty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-do-not-make-films-primarily-for-children-i-make-them-for-the-child/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Anything that reflects the human condition back on humans in the entertainment medium is art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/anything-that-reflects-the-human-condition-back-on-humans-in-the/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [There's a standard formula for success in the entertainment medium, and that is: Beat it to death if it succeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-kovacs/there-s-a-standard-formula-for-success-in-the-entertainment-medium/) [Ernie Kovacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-kovacs/) > [The entertainment medium of film is particularly tuned to the present imaginations of people at large. A lot of fiction is intensely nostalgic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/the-entertainment-medium-of-film-is-particularly-tuned-to-the-present/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I have always looked at cinema as not just a medium for entertainment, but as a medium that can bring about social change as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-kapoor/i-have-always-looked-at-cinema-as-not-just-a-medium-for-entertainment/) [Kunal Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-kapoor/) > [Dick Vitale always used to say to me, 'Remember, this is an entertainment medium.' People are not tuning in to a game to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-burke/dick-vitale-always-used-to-say-to-me-remember-this-is-an/) [Doris Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-burke/) > [People have romantic notions about television. In the highest realms they think it's some sort of art medium, and it's not. Others think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/people-have-romantic-notions-about-television-in-the-highest-realms/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I probably worked every single entertainment medium, including some that don't exist. I worked the circus, carnival, I had my own medicine show, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-lewis/i-probably-worked-every-single-entertainment-medium-including-some/) [Al Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-lewis/) > [Entertainment is often a medium in which you can put yourself front and center.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cena/entertainment-is-often-a-medium-in-which-you-can-put-yourself-front/) [John Cena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cena/) > [We're growing into an entertainment medium as opposed to 'We make games. We make Mario jump.' We no longer have to focus so hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-barlog/we-re-growing-into-an-entertainment-medium-as-opposed-to-we-make/) [Cory Barlog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-barlog/) > [“TV is not the “entertainment” medium it is assumed to be. Newspapers and periodicals aren’t either. Pop music is “concerned” music, with lyrics and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/tv-is-not-the-entertainment-medium-it-is-assumed-to-be-newspapers-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The gift of singleness is more a vocation than an empowerment, although to be sure God is faithful in supporting those He calls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-w-stott/the-gift-of-singleness-is-more-a-vocation-than-an-empowerment/) [John R.W. Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-w-stott/) > [We have only to see how that which makes up the reality of our lives relates to our vocation; we have only to hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-danielou/we-have-only-to-see-how-that-which-makes-up-the-reality-of-our-lives/) [Jean Danielou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-danielou/) > [“The vocation of a man lies in his vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-vocation-of-a-man-lies-in-his-vision/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [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/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [I am not interested in churning out a certain number of films every year. For me, it's about the quality of work. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Films are not primarily an entertainment medium. They are weapons. 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