--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What's funny is that people think, \"Well…" description: "\"What's funny is that people think, \"Well there has to be something more than wrestling, because wrestling has such an absurd quality to it.\" But if you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/john-darnielle-2176_absurd_what-s-funny-is-that-people-think-well-t_1846829.png" --- # What's funny is that people think, "Well there has to be… ![“What's funny is that people think, "Well there has to be something more than wrestling, because wrestling has such an absurd quality to it." But if you tell a love story, people don't ask what else is in there. They say, "Oh, it's just a love story." All stories have many levels, but these ones…” quote by John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/john-darnielle-2176_absurd_what-s-funny-is-that-people-think-well-t_1846829.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/john-darnielle-2176_absurd_what-s-funny-is-that-people-think-well-t_1846829.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/john-darnielle-2176_absurd_what-s-funny-is-that-people-think-well-t_1846829.png) > “What's funny is that people think, "Well there has to be something more than wrestling, because wrestling has such an absurd quality to it." But if you tell a love story, people don't ask what else is in there. They say, "Oh, it's just a love story." All stories have many levels, but these ones show their hand and say, "You might want to look a little deeper."” [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wrestling is dismissed as simple, while love stories are accepted without deeper analysis, revealing bias in how we judge narrative complexity. **In simple terms:** People see love stories as simple but wrestling as absurd. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden depths in all narratives. Themes bias storytelling perception complexity Mood reflective critical inquisitive Type analytical observational philosophical When to use this quote - film criticism - literary analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts narrative hierarchy cultural bias genre expectations Questions to Reflect On - Do you treat different genres with equal analytical depth? - How does genre bias affect your appreciation of art? A Different Perspective Assuming love stories lack depth can overlook their layers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-story/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wrestling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrestling/) ## Related quotes > [“There are only four stories: a love story between two people, a love story between three people, the struggle for power, and the journey.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/there-are-only-four-stories-a-love-story-between-two-people-a-love/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Well, a love story, that's no story at all. People don't want a happy ending. They want conflict. They want the heroine to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/well-a-love-story-that-s-no-story-at-all-people-don-t-want-a-happy/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The fact that somebody's telling you a story about people who didn't exist doesn't make the experience of the story any less real in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/the-fact-that-somebody-s-telling-you-a-story-about-people-who-didn-t/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [Wrestling can be anything... There's some forms of wrestling that I'm not too big a fan of, but I'm not going to say it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricochet/wrestling-can-be-anything-there-s-some-forms-of-wrestling-that-i-m/) [Ricochet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricochet/) > [I love wrestling, but now wrestling is a job, it's my livelihood. Sometimes the job takes over and you forget to have fun and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-van-ness/i-love-wrestling-but-now-wrestling-is-a-job-it-s-my-livelihood/) [Laurel Van Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-van-ness/) > [Wrestling has its own culture. Every culture - Japan, Samoan, Indian, Korean - has wrestling, and wrestling is a worldwide mix.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinsuke-nakamura/wrestling-has-its-own-culture-every-culture-japan-samoan-indian/) [Shinsuke Nakamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinsuke-nakamura/) > [I always try and find a purpose in what I am doing - even when it comes to wrestling... when I go into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-belair/i-always-try-and-find-a-purpose-in-what-i-am-doing-even-when-it-comes/) [Bianca Belair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-belair/) > [I spent my life - all my life - learning to wrestle. It's the only means of livelihood I've ever had and, uh, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-thesz/i-spent-my-life-all-my-life-learning-to-wrestle-it-s-the-only-means/) Lou Thesz > [Sometimes, daily life doesn't match the high stakes that you feel! And I feel like that is wrestling. Wrestling actually makes sense to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-gilpin/sometimes-daily-life-doesn-t-match-the-high-stakes-that-you-feel-and/) [Betty Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-gilpin/) > [Wrestling for wrestling fans is an honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-hager/wrestling-for-wrestling-fans-is-an-honor/) [Jake Hager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-hager/) > [When you're doing something like wrestling - wrestling is one of the toughest and hardest martial arts to learn - but it's still a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamaru-usman/when-you-re-doing-something-like-wrestling-wrestling-is-one-of-the/) [Kamaru Usman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamaru-usman/) > [When you get down to it, wrestling is wrestling, and when you get in the ring and start performing, it's up to you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harley-race/when-you-get-down-to-it-wrestling-is-wrestling-and-when-you-get-in/) [Harley Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harley-race/) > [I don't know which one is harder - going from MMA to wrestling or from wrestling to MMA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lashley/i-don-t-know-which-one-is-harder-going-from-mma-to-wrestling-or-from/) [Bobby Lashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lashley/) > [I wasn't surprised at all. In fact, I thought, why stop there? Why not add the Big Show, or Chris Jericho, or the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-angle/i-wasn-t-surprised-at-all-in-fact-i-thought-why-stop-there-why-not/) [Kurt Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-angle/) > [You would think that wrestling has so much to do with being aggressive and having a big ego, and it's exactly the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-gilpin/you-would-think-that-wrestling-has-so-much-to-do-with-being/) [Betty Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-gilpin/) ## More by John Darnielle > [I don't write my own publicity materials, I just read 'em and give 'em the OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-don-t-write-my-own-publicity-materials-i-just-read-em-and-give-em/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“But secret agents, like God, only give signs to their confidants. They are also very cruel and even unhappy at times. At any rate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/but-secret-agents-like-god-only-give-signs-to-their-confidants-they/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“I am heavy in his arms, and I feel safe there, but I am lost, and I need constantly to be shoring up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-am-heavy-in-his-arms-and-i-feel-safe-there-but-i-am-lost-and-i-need/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [The more I learn about stuff the more conscious I become of grave gaps in my knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/the-more-i-learn-about-stuff-the-more-conscious-i-become-of-grave/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [If you get into a fight and somebody punches you, you get two feelings. One: That really hurts. Two: That relief in the realness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/if-you-get-into-a-fight-and-somebody-punches-you-you-get-two-feelings/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [When I was a kid, I was a big science fiction fan, but current horror books were harder to get your hands on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fiction-fan-but-current-horror/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [It's impossible to be content all the time - you have to learn to be content in places where you're unhappy and owning your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/it-s-impossible-to-be-content-all-the-time-you-have-to-learn-to-be/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“It's in the nature of the landscape to change, and it's in the nature of people to help the process along...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/it-s-in-the-nature-of-the-landscape-to-change-and-it-s-in-the-nature/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [Everybody is in various states of needing to transcend something. I believe in mental health care, but when we call people "crazy," we exclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/everybody-is-in-various-states-of-needing-to-transcend-something-i/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“But resiliency only means that a thing retains its shape. That it doesn’t break, or lose its ability to function. It doesn’t mean a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/but-resiliency-only-means-that-a-thing-retains-its-shape-that-it/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“One thing I’ve learned is it’s better sometimes, in the weeds, to resist the temptation to stand up and follow the compass. \*”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/one-thing-i-ve-learned-is-it-s-better-sometimes-in-the-weeds-to/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [People always talk about good time rock and roll, Chuck Berry or whatever, like this liberating force for feeling good. But what I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/people-always-talk-about-good-time-rock-and-roll-chuck-berry-or/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [It's hard always to say what it is one likes about a place, for me. I feel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/it-s-hard-always-to-say-what-it-is-one-likes-about-a-place-for-me-i/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“Another nagging little question lodged like a bit of grapeshot in his chest. It was nothing major, but the place where he stored them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/another-nagging-little-question-lodged-like-a-bit-of-grapeshot-in-his/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [I'm not really a goal-oriented guy. I started doing the Mountain Goats just for the sheer hell of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-m-not-really-a-goal-oriented-guy-i-started-doing-the-mountain-goats/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) [Explore all 181 John Darnielle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What's funny is that people think, \"Well there has to be something more than wrestling, because wrestling has such an absurd quality to it.\" But if you tell a love story, people don't ask what else is in there. 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