--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was really interested in the way in…" description: "\"I was really interested in the way in which poverty and economic stagnation were transforming and corrupting the American narrative.\" — Lynn Nottage" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/lynn-nottage-4259_american_i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-wh_1696810.png" --- # I was really interested in the way in which poverty and… ![“I was really interested in the way in which poverty and economic stagnation were transforming and corrupting the American narrative.” quote by Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/lynn-nottage-4259_american_i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-wh_1696810.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/lynn-nottage-4259_american_i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-wh_1696810.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/lynn-nottage-4259_american_i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-wh_1696810.png) > “I was really interested in the way in which poverty and economic stagnation were transforming and corrupting the American narrative.” [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on how poverty and stagnant economies are reshaping and corrupting America's story. **In simple terms:** Economic hardship changes the American story. Key Takeaway Address poverty to protect national narrative. Themes economics social justice American identity Mood concerned analytical Type critical reflective When to use this quote - policy making - community development - media representation - education Key Concepts systemic inequality cultural shift Questions to Reflect On - What reforms can reverse stagnation? - How does narrative change affect identity? A Different Perspective Solutions are complex and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [Politics is corrupting the American judicial system in much the same way the judicial system was corrupted in Nazi Germany.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/politics-is-corrupting-the-american-judicial-system-in-much-the-same/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [I can tell you that too much money is corrupting American politics. Don't blame the American public. The U.S. Supreme Court has a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-can-tell-you-that-too-much-money-is-corrupting-american-politics/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I don't like the triumphalism of the American narrative, this kind of "chosen people" complex that American people have, so it's inspiring to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-svenonius/i-don-t-like-the-triumphalism-of-the-american-narrative-this-kind-of/) [Ian Svenonius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-svenonius/) > ['Breaking Bad.' Because it's the best American narrative fiction of the last ten years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benioff/breaking-bad-because-it-s-the-best-american-narrative-fiction-of-the/) [David Benioff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benioff/) > [Life is a corrupting process from the time a child learns to play his mother off against his father in the politics of when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/life-is-a-corrupting-process-from-the-time-a-child-learns-to-play-his/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power in the hands of the reformer is no less potentially corrupting than in the hands of the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-bell/power-in-the-hands-of-the-reformer-is-no-less-potentially-corrupting/) [Derrick Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-bell/) > [There is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive of the noblest and finest feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlimited power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-harrison/there-is-nothing-more-corrupting-nothing-more-destructive-of-the/) [William Henry Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-harrison/) > [I seem to have been able to make a career out of doing what I feel like doing, so why not keep doing it?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-campion/i-seem-to-have-been-able-to-make-a-career-out-of-doing-what-i-feel/) [Jane Campion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-campion/) > [When I say corrupting, I mean taking over and politicizing them for the express purpose of advancing the leftist agenda. And the advancement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/when-i-say-corrupting-i-mean-taking-over-and-politicizing-them-for/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“Too much virtue has a corrupting effect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/too-much-virtue-has-a-corrupting-effect/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [. . . it is a corrupting thing to live one's real life in secret. One should live with the stream of life, not against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-is-a-corrupting-thing-to-live-one-s-real-life-in-secret-one-should/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“absolute power is corrupting”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/absolute-power-is-corrupting/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [The blurring of fact and fiction has great commercial potential, which is bound to be corrupting in historical terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/the-blurring-of-fact-and-fiction-has-great-commercial-potential-which/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) > [If monarchy is corrupting - and it is - wait till you see what overt empire does to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/if-monarchy-is-corrupting-and-it-is-wait-till-you-see-what-overt/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [Power corrupts, and there is nothing more corrupting than power exercised in secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-schorr/power-corrupts-and-there-is-nothing-more-corrupting-than-power/) [Daniel Schorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-schorr/) ## More by Lynn Nottage > [There's never any ebb in human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/there-s-never-any-ebb-in-human-misery/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [I think that human beings were incredibly resilient; otherwise, we wouldn't keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/i-think-that-human-beings-were-incredibly-resilient-otherwise-we/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [We need to diversify the people who are backstage and producing and marketing these shows. It's the limitations of these people that are holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/we-need-to-diversify-the-people-who-are-backstage-and-producing-and/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [I am a storyteller by trade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/i-am-a-storyteller-by-trade/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [The essence of creativity is to look beyond where you can actually see. I don't want to dwell in same place too long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/the-essence-of-creativity-is-to-look-beyond-where-you-can-actually/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [African American women in particular have incredible buying power. Statistically, we go to the movies more than anyone. We have made Tyler Perrys career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/african-american-women-in-particular-have-incredible-buying-power/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [What I often do when I'm writing, if I can't find that story, I go out and I hunt for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/what-i-often-do-when-i-m-writing-if-i-can-t-find-that-story-i-go-out/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [Broadway is a closed ecosystem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/broadway-is-a-closed-ecosystem/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [Replace judgment with curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/replace-judgment-with-curiosity/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [A play that forces us to question our moral responsibility to the victims of human rights abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/a-play-that-forces-us-to-question-our-moral-responsibility-to-the/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [My fears about where theater is going - it's the Hollywood model, where people are chasing the almighty dollar and making commercial decisions based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/my-fears-about-where-theater-is-going-it-s-the-hollywood-model-where/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [The presence of a bed changes the way people interact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/the-presence-of-a-bed-changes-the-way-people-interact/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [I wonder: Would there be a black president if people hadn't already begun imagining, through film and television, that a black man is president?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/i-wonder-would-there-be-a-black-president-if-people-hadn-t-already/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [The great thing about 'Vera Stark' is that my research was watching movies, screwball comedies, so I could literally sit back and relax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/the-great-thing-about-vera-stark-is-that-my-research-was-watching/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [Before I start, I create a set list that I listen to while I'm writing. For 'Intimate Apparel,' I loaded Erik Satie, Scott Joplin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/before-i-start-i-create-a-set-list-that-i-listen-to-while-i-m-writing/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) [Explore all 113 Lynn Nottage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) ## More American quotes > [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/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. 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The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) Browse all 7,717 American quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was really interested in the way in which poverty and economic stagnation were transforming and corrupting the American narrative.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lynn Nottage" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-which-poverty-and-economic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-which-poverty-and-economic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/lynn-nottage-4259_american_i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-wh_1696810.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/lynn-nottage-4259_american_i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-wh_1696810.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/lynn-nottage-4259_american_i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-wh_1696810.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was really interested in the way in which poverty and economic stagnation were transforming and corrupting…” — Lynn Nottage", "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": "Lynn Nottage", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was really interested in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-which-poverty-and-economic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/i-was-really-interested-in-the-way-in-which-poverty-and-economic/#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 } } ] } ```