--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People have become so literal because…" description: "\"People have become so literal because they're used to reality-based television.\" — Julie Taymor" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/julie-taymor-9454_literal_people-have-become-so-literal-because-th_2502494.jpg" --- # People have become so literal because they're used to… ![“People have become so literal because they're used to reality-based television.” quote by Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/julie-taymor-9454_literal_people-have-become-so-literal-because-th_2502494.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/julie-taymor-9454_literal_people-have-become-so-literal-because-th_2502494.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/julie-taymor-9454_literal_people-have-become-so-literal-because-th_2502494.jpg) > “People have become so literal because they're used to reality-based television.” [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reality TV has conditioned audiences to interpret language literally, reducing nuance. **In simple terms:** TV shapes literal thinking. Key Takeaway Seek deeper context beyond surface facts. Themes media influence literalism culture Mood analytical thoughtful Type critical educational When to use this quote - news consumption - social media - education - marketing Key Concepts critical thinking media literacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate reality from performance? - What strategies improve nuanced understanding? A Different Perspective Overgeneralizing may ignore artistic intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) ## Related quotes > [Most times when people pitch you as being perfect for a part... they don't look at you as an actor who can transform. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-keener/most-times-when-people-pitch-you-as-being-perfect-for-a-part-they-don/) [Catherine Keener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-keener/) > [“veteran colleagues at Apple used to call his “reality distortion field.” Sometimes it was the inadvertent misfiring of memory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call-his-reality-distortion-field/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [We're getting used to reality and fantasy passing into each other. Much of the border between them has been erased.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/we-re-getting-used-to-reality-and-fantasy-passing-into-each-other/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [“Obviously the name of the show is a joke, a friend of mine gave it to me. But some people are very literal. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-proops/obviously-the-name-of-the-show-is-a-joke-a-friend-of-mine-gave-it-to/) [Greg Proops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-proops/) > [I'd always wanted the show to be more reality based science fiction, something along the lines of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-gerard/i-d-always-wanted-the-show-to-be-more-reality-based-science-fiction/) [Gil Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-gerard/) > [You really can change. Your reality is based on the way you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/you-really-can-change-your-reality-is-based-on-the-way-you-think/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [I find that when I play reality-based characters, it is only as fun for me if I have a lot of time to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hannah/i-find-that-when-i-play-reality-based-characters-it-is-only-as-fun/) [Daryl Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hannah/) > [At any moment in time, our reality is based on whatever we focus on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/at-any-moment-in-time-our-reality-is-based-on-whatever-we-focus-on/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [I'm as vain as the next guy. I have a facade on right now. But you can't see it, because it's reality-based.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/i-m-as-vain-as-the-next-guy-i-have-a-facade-on-right-now-but-you-can/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [Who besides guys like me are part of the reality-based community?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-suskind/who-besides-guys-like-me-are-part-of-the-reality-based-community/) [Ron Suskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-suskind/) > [“Reality is based mainly on knowledge, what you do not know doesn't exit for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-lucas-d-shallua/reality-is-based-mainly-on-knowledge-what-you-do-not-know-doesn-t/) [Dr. Lucas D. Shallua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-lucas-d-shallua/) > [The reality is that if you want to be in a reality-based community, you've got to respect reality and that means calling it bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/the-reality-is-that-if-you-want-to-be-in-a-reality-based-community/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [We live" writes Pursewarden somewhere, "lives based upon selected fictions. Our view of reality is conditioned by our position in space and time -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/we-live-writes-pursewarden-somewhere-lives-based-upon-selected/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [War is the ultimate reality-based horror show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hackworth/war-is-the-ultimate-reality-based-horror-show/) [David Hackworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hackworth/) > [Reality is based on perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-thompson/reality-is-based-on-perception/) [Geoff Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-thompson/) ## More by Julie Taymor > [There is incredible power in the arts to inspire and influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/there-is-incredible-power-in-the-arts-to-inspire-and-influence/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [The idea that all violence in movies is okay simply because it happens is bull. Directors and writers have a responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/the-idea-that-all-violence-in-movies-is-okay-simply-because-it/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [Americans in particular are myopic. They're not traveling as much. When you were a college student, the next thing you would do on graduation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/americans-in-particular-are-myopic-they-re-not-traveling-as-much-when/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [I have never had a problem with people not being able to understand the words and the meanings in Titus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/i-have-never-had-a-problem-with-people-not-being-able-to-understand/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [What I don't have in theater is editing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/what-i-don-t-have-in-theater-is-editing/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [I'm not going to spend two years on a film or four years on an opera if I don't feel like I can put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/i-m-not-going-to-spend-two-years-on-a-film-or-four-years-on-an-opera/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [I call myself a playmaker sometimes - but that's just a word. I don't feel like I have to have a title or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/i-call-myself-a-playmaker-sometimes-but-that-s-just-a-word-i-don-t/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [I want to experience a performance on all levels - I want goose bumps and I want to leave the movie or play arguing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/i-want-to-experience-a-performance-on-all-levels-i-want-goose-bumps/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [Children have an easier ability to tap into the surreal than adults do, in a funny kind of way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/children-have-an-easier-ability-to-tap-into-the-surreal-than-adults/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [One of the reasons I love to jump back and forth between mediums is that film does allow me to be more literal. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/one-of-the-reasons-i-love-to-jump-back-and-forth-between-mediums-is/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [I am creative in my living space - the designer in me helps that out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/i-am-creative-in-my-living-space-the-designer-in-me-helps-that-out/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [An artist is an entertainer, number one - a storyteller who takes people someplace, who gives them what they didn't know they wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/an-artist-is-an-entertainer-number-one-a-storyteller-who-takes-people/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [Theater is far superior to film in poetry, in abstract poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/theater-is-far-superior-to-film-in-poetry-in-abstract-poetry/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [When we were kids, you picked up a little paper and put it on a stick; and when you waved it back and forth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/when-we-were-kids-you-picked-up-a-little-paper-and-put-it-on-a-stick/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [I've never been a puppeteer, I conceive and I write and I design and I direct. And not just puppets. I direct actors, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/i-ve-never-been-a-puppeteer-i-conceive-and-i-write-and-i-design-and-i/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) [Explore all 72 Julie Taymor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) ## More Literal quotes > [Part of the advantage, and part of the result of trying to be a producer and director, are the practical things, you find. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/part-of-the-advantage-and-part-of-the-result-of-trying-to-be-a/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) > [And Christ was born into the world as the literal Son of this Holy Being; he was born in the same personal, real, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-r-mcconkie/and-christ-was-born-into-the-world-as-the-literal-son-of-this-holy/) [Bruce R. McConkie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-r-mcconkie/) > [People are incredibly literal sometimes in how they view you. You have dark hair and pale skin? You must be brooding. The second you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-paquin/people-are-incredibly-literal-sometimes-in-how-they-view-you-you-have/) [Anna Paquin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-paquin/) > [Fanciful spiritualizing, so far from yielding God's meaning, actually obscured it. The literal sense is itself the spiritual sense, coming from God and leading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/fanciful-spiritualizing-so-far-from-yielding-god-s-meaning-actually/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [The highest art of professional management requires the literal ability to 'smell' a 'real fact' from all others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-geneen/the-highest-art-of-professional-management-requires-the-literal/) [Harold Geneen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-geneen/) > [Let every one of us cultivate, in every word that issues from our mouth, absolute truth. I say cultivate, because to very few people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/let-every-one-of-us-cultivate-in-every-word-that-issues-from-our/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [It is evident, indeed, that such a doctrine, taken by itself in a literal manner, had no future. The world, in continuing to exist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/it-is-evident-indeed-that-such-a-doctrine-taken-by-itself-in-a/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [“We're literal people, you and me. Whatever the most obvious interpretation is, that's our truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenna-yovanoff/we-re-literal-people-you-and-me-whatever-the-most-obvious/) [Brenna Yovanoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenna-yovanoff/) > [ What's cool is that in the story of the movie \[The Hangover\] our characters are also really kind of getting to know each other… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/what-s-cool-is-that-in-the-story-of-the-movie-the-hangover-our/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) > [I sort of took the literal term of 'The Cleaner,' and I started bringing janitorial items to the ring with me, so I took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-omega/i-sort-of-took-the-literal-term-of-the-cleaner-and-i-started-bringing/) [Kenny Omega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-omega/) > [The Hebrew scriptures say it's okay to enslave anybody except your fellow Jews. It says you should enslave only your neighbors. I say to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-hebrew-scriptures-say-it-s-okay-to-enslave-anybody-except-your/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [I allude to Back to the Future in the 1985 story to let folks know it was an inspiration and because it literally was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-allude-to-back-to-the-future-in-the-1985-story-to-let-folks-know-it/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [The arts make vivid the fact that words do not, in their literal form or number, exhaust what we can know. The limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-make-vivid-the-fact-that-words-do-not-in-their-literal-form/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [Fast food may appear to be cheap food and, in the literal sense it often is, but that is because huge social and environmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/fast-food-may-appear-to-be-cheap-food-and-in-the-literal-sense-it/) [Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/) > [Poets... are literal-minded men who will squeeze a word till it hurts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/poets-are-literal-minded-men-who-will-squeeze-a-word-till-it-hurts/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) Browse all 351 Literal quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People have become so literal because they're used to reality-based television.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julie Taymor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/people-have-become-so-literal-because-they-re-used-to-reality-based/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Literal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/people-have-become-so-literal-because-they-re-used-to-reality-based/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/julie-taymor-9454_literal_people-have-become-so-literal-because-th_2502494.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/julie-taymor-9454_literal_people-have-become-so-literal-because-th_2502494.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/julie-taymor-9454_literal_people-have-become-so-literal-because-th_2502494.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People have become so literal because they're used to reality-based television.” — Julie Taymor", "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": "Julie Taymor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People have become so literal because...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/people-have-become-so-literal-because-they-re-used-to-reality-based/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/people-have-become-so-literal-because-they-re-used-to-reality-based/#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 } } ] } ```