--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All films speak to their times. It…" description: "\"All films speak to their times. It becomes obvious only after.\" — Mark Gatiss" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/mark-gatiss-10930_cinema_all-films-speak-to-their-times-it-become_1851094.jpg" --- # All films speak to their times. It becomes obvious only… ![“All films speak to their times. It becomes obvious only after.” quote by Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/mark-gatiss-10930_cinema_all-films-speak-to-their-times-it-become_1851094.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/mark-gatiss-10930_cinema_all-films-speak-to-their-times-it-become_1851094.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/294/mark-gatiss-10930_cinema_all-films-speak-to-their-times-it-become_1851094.jpg) > “All films speak to their times. It becomes obvious only after.” [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Films reflect contemporary society; their relevance becomes clear only in hindsight. **In simple terms:** Movies mirror their era; meaning emerges later. Key Takeaway Consider the cultural context when watching. Themes culture history media Mood reflective analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - film criticism - academic study - personal reflection Key Concepts sociology temporal analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does your era shape your view of a film? - What patterns emerge when revisiting older movies? A Different Perspective Interpretation may vary across audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Films](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/films/) [Films Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/films-speak-2116369/) [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Speak Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-times-2262298/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-obvious-747594/) ## Related quotes > [“Repeated enough times even the most obvious obnoxious lies become to seem like the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/repeated-enough-times-even-the-most-obvious-obnoxious-lies-become-to/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Wise men are not wise at all hours, and will speak five times from their taste or their humor, to once from their reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/wise-men-are-not-wise-at-all-hours-and-will-speak-five-times-from/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You find movies when you need them. 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She has focused on the interests of her citizens - and not just in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-trudeau/angela-merkel-has-been-focused-on-the-right-things-she-has-focused-on/) [Justin Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-trudeau/) > [When you look around the room during meetings and practice, you see that everyone has the same goal. It's obvious by the way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kendricks/when-you-look-around-the-room-during-meetings-and-practice-you-see/) [Eric Kendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kendricks/) > [I know the importance of highly trained awareness of the “moment” and the immediate and intuitive response of the photographer. It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## More by Mark Gatiss > [“History is a burden. Stories can make us fly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/history-is-a-burden-stories-can-make-us-fly/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [They are called 'Emos' now, and before that they were 'Goths.' They didn't have a name for it when I was one, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/they-are-called-emos-now-and-before-that-they-were-goths-they-didn-t/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [Fear is an underrated emotion. And that's why I think it's very dangerous to try and cosset children from it. A healthy scare is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/fear-is-an-underrated-emotion-and-that-s-why-i-think-it-s-very/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [One of the pleasures of the original 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' is how incredibly ghastly they are. The ugly sisters have their eyes pecked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/one-of-the-pleasures-of-the-original-grimm-s-fairy-tales-is-how/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [It's a cliche, but it's true that all the fun lies in baddies, grotesques and comic roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/it-s-a-cliche-but-it-s-true-that-all-the-fun-lies-in-baddies/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [I had a girlfriend before I ever had a boyfriend, but it was just a phase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/i-had-a-girlfriend-before-i-ever-had-a-boyfriend-but-it-was-just-a/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [The thing is, horror is a big part of 'Sherlock Holmes.' Doyle also wrote a lot of great horror stories, so there's a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/the-thing-is-horror-is-a-big-part-of-sherlock-holmes-doyle-also-wrote/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [ \[Toby Jones\] is completely different. It's a completely different character. He's the darkest villain we've had. There was always something charming and engaging about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/toby-jones-is-completely-different-it-s-a-completely-different/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [It was all quite ghastly and I was very fond of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/it-was-all-quite-ghastly-and-i-was-very-fond-of-it/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [I always compare reading anything on the Internet to listening at doors. If you don't want to hear anything bad about yourself, you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/i-always-compare-reading-anything-on-the-internet-to-listening-at/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [My dad was quite a forbidding figure. I realise now that that was mainly because he worked so hard. He wasn't unkind, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/my-dad-was-quite-a-forbidding-figure-i-realise-now-that-that-was/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [All pleasure should be a little bent, don't you think?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/all-pleasure-should-be-a-little-bent-don-t-you-think/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [At school I briefly wanted to be a palaeontologist, but I was no good at chemistry and physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/at-school-i-briefly-wanted-to-be-a-palaeontologist-but-i-was-no-good/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [I'm an actor and a writer, that's how I think of myself. Sometimes my time is divided equally, sometimes less equally, but that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/i-m-an-actor-and-a-writer-that-s-how-i-think-of-myself-sometimes-my/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) > [“I've heard of such a legend!' I gasped. 'A child descended from a union between Christ and Mary Magdalene!' 'Don't be so fucking stupid,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gatiss/i-ve-heard-of-such-a-legend-i-gasped-a-child-descended-from-a-union/) [Mark Gatiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) [Explore all 62 Mark Gatiss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gatiss/) ## 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": "All films speak to their times. 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