--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How beautiful black-and-white is. It's…" description: "\"“How beautiful black-and-white is. It's not literal. It's a metaphor automatically, already saying, this is not life, it's ABOUT life.”\" — Mike Nichols" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/mike-nichols-6630_life_how-beautiful-black-and-white-is-it-s-no_1661698.png" --- # How beautiful black-and-white is. It's not literal. It's a… ![“How beautiful black-and-white is. It's not literal. It's a metaphor automatically, already saying, this is not life, it's ABOUT life.” quote by Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/mike-nichols-6630_life_how-beautiful-black-and-white-is-it-s-no_1661698.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/mike-nichols-6630_life_how-beautiful-black-and-white-is-it-s-no_1661698.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/mike-nichols-6630_life_how-beautiful-black-and-white-is-it-s-no_1661698.png) > ““How beautiful black-and-white is. It's not literal. It's a metaphor automatically, already saying, this is not life, it's ABOUT life.”” [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) ## 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 uses black‑and‑white as a metaphor for life’s essential contrast, suggesting that art can capture truth more directly than literal representation. **In simple terms:** Black‑and‑white shows life’s core truth. Key Takeaway Embrace metaphor to see deeper meaning. Themes art perception metaphor Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - photography - film analysis - creative writing - teaching art Key Concepts visual arts symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does simplifying reality help or hinder understanding? - What does “about life” mean to you? 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Life begins every morning you wake up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/there-s-an-old-saying-life-begins-at-forty-that-s-silly-life-begins/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [When they are saying life is not fair they don't know that life doesn't have relation fairness at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-they-are-saying-life-is-not-fair-they-don-t-know-that-life-doesn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His son lost everything because he was trying to do his job and protect himself. His life matters too, you know?" 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To me, success is the ongoing process of striving to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/i-m-certainly-not-saying-that-my-life-is-what-success-is-all-about-to/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Do not know, We have repeated these words many times in One life / But one day, we will be forced to Saying To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/do-not-know-we-have-repeated-these-words-many-times-in-one-life-but/) Mak\_786 > [ “ \[A Chinese Restaurant.\] Roma is seated alone at the booth. Lingk is at the booth next to him. Roma is talking to him.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/a-chinese-restaurant-roma-is-seated-alone-at-the-booth-lingk-is-at/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## More by Mike Nichols > [Stand-up comedy is a very hard thing on the spirit. There are people who transcend it, like Jack Benny and Steve Martin, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/stand-up-comedy-is-a-very-hard-thing-on-the-spirit-there-are-people/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [It's the hardest thing on earth to like yourself, and then when you do, it's a catastrophe. I mean, the people I know who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/it-s-the-hardest-thing-on-earth-to-like-yourself-and-then-when-you-do/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I used to say that winning the Oscar means being back at the Beverly Hills Hotel at 1 A.M. feeling empty. It's the industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-used-to-say-that-winning-the-oscar-means-being-back-at-the-beverly/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I'm an enormous fan of 'The West Wing.' It was one of the very few shows I would watch every week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-m-an-enormous-fan-of-the-west-wing-it-was-one-of-the-very-few-shows/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [The only safe thing in filmmaking is to take a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/the-only-safe-thing-in-filmmaking-is-to-take-a-chance/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I don't expect anything from reviews. Sometimes I am bemused by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-don-t-expect-anything-from-reviews-sometimes-i-am-bemused-by-them/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [My first memory in the world is my gym teacher ripping my mother's necklace off her neck and throwing it out the window and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/my-first-memory-in-the-world-is-my-gym-teacher-ripping-my-mother-s/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Whether something is a success or not has never had much to do with what you do next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/whether-something-is-a-success-or-not-has-never-had-much-to-do-with/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [The reason that most British actors are better than most American actors in the end is that they don't make any money. 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It's when I don't have them, when I feel at ease, that I get worried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/nerves-provide-me-with-energy-it-s-when-i-don-t-have-them-when-i-feel/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Technically, maybe I learned most of all from George Stevens, and among his movies I learned the most from 'A Place in the Sun.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/technically-maybe-i-learned-most-of-all-from-george-stevens-and-among/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Jewish introspection and Jewish humor is a way of surviving . . . if you're not handsome and you're not athletic and you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/jewish-introspection-and-jewish-humor-is-a-way-of-surviving-if-you-re/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > ['Streetcar' is no longer about the moment at all. There is no Blanche DuBois anywhere; south, north, east or west. We don't have Blanche…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/streetcar-is-no-longer-about-the-moment-at-all-there-is-no-blanche/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) [Explore all 98 Mike Nichols quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. 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I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How beautiful black-and-white is. 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