--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Films and television and even comic books…" description: "\"Films and television and even comic books are churning out vast quantities of fictional narratives, and the public continues to swallow them up with gr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/paul-auster-351_book_films-and-television-and-even-comic-book_751474.jpg" --- # Films and television and even comic books are churning out… ![“Films and television and even comic books are churning out vast quantities of fictional narratives, and the public continues to swallow them up with great passion. That is because human beings need stories.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/paul-auster-351_book_films-and-television-and-even-comic-book_751474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/paul-auster-351_book_films-and-television-and-even-comic-book_751474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/paul-auster-351_book_films-and-television-and-even-comic-book_751474.jpg) > “Films and television and even comic books are churning out vast quantities of fictional narratives, and the public continues to swallow them up with great passion. That is because human beings need stories.” [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories fulfill a deep human need, so people eagerly consume fictional narratives across media. **In simple terms:** Humans crave stories, driving consumption of fiction. Key Takeaway Recognize the role of stories in culture. Themes culture storytelling media consumption Mood reflective analytical Type observational commentary When to use this quote - marketing - education - entertainment - social media Key Concepts psychology of narrative cultural anthropology Questions to Reflect On - Why do stories resonate so strongly? - How do narratives shape personal identity? A Different Perspective May overstate the universality of story need. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Comic book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-book/) [Comic books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-books/) [Fictional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional/) [Fictional Narratives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional-narratives-320987/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Great passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-passion/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Narratives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narratives/) [Narratives Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narratives-public-5845763/) [Need Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-stories-549391/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Quantity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quantity/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) ## Related quotes > [I think we have become oversaturated with tired fictional narratives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-walker/i-think-we-have-become-oversaturated-with-tired-fictional-narratives/) [Lucy Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-walker/) > [The fictional narratives that television, film, and the news provide for girls and young women are appalling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/the-fictional-narratives-that-television-film-and-the-news-provide/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [I create fictional narratives, but it's based on literal people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danai-gurira/i-create-fictional-narratives-but-it-s-based-on-literal-people/) [Danai Gurira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danai-gurira/) > [Human beings need stories, and we're looking for them in all kinds of places; whether it's television, whether it's comic books or movies, radio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/human-beings-need-stories-and-we-re-looking-for-them-in-all-kinds-of/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“We take creative license with the fictional narratives that become our memories. Anthologized, these are the tales that become the story of your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-ganek/we-take-creative-license-with-the-fictional-narratives-that-become/) [Danielle Ganek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-ganek/) > [“We need creative license with the fictional narratives that become our memories. Anthologized, these are the tales that become the story of your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-ganek/we-need-creative-license-with-the-fictional-narratives-that-become/) [Danielle Ganek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-ganek/) > [There's a problem with narratives. Most that spring to mind are fictional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/there-s-a-problem-with-narratives-most-that-spring-to-mind-are/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Sex is important to guys. We need stories to tell our friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ferrara/sex-is-important-to-guys-we-need-stories-to-tell-our-friends/) [Adam Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ferrara/) > [People need stories...we use stories to teach, to learn, to make sense of the world around us. As long as we need stories, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-chiaverini/people-need-stories-we-use-stories-to-teach-to-learn-to-make-sense-of/) [Jennifer Chiaverini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-chiaverini/) > [“Thou shalt not might' reach the head but it takes 'Once upon a time' to reach the heart. Also: We need stories so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/thou-shalt-not-might-reach-the-head-but-it-takes-once-upon-a-time-to/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I asked my mum, who's a very clever psychotherapist, and she says that kids love stories about death; they need it, they need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/i-asked-my-mum-who-s-a-very-clever-psychotherapist-and-she-says-that/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [I think we need to have stories about women that don't necessarily fit the trope of the classic woman, because they do exist. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristela-alonzo/i-think-we-need-to-have-stories-about-women-that-don-t-necessarily/) [Cristela Alonzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristela-alonzo/) > [I don't need any more stories. I have enough stories. I need a life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-don-t-need-any-more-stories-i-have-enough-stories-i-need-a-life/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [To connect to people at the deepest level, you need stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/to-connect-to-people-at-the-deepest-level-you-need-stories/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [People love stories. They need stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/people-love-stories-they-need-stories/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) ## More by Paul Auster > [“On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/on-his-best-walks-he-was-able-to-feel-that-he-was-nowhere-and-this/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“No es que escribir me produzca un gran placer, pero es mucho peor si no lo hago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-es-que-escribir-me-produzca-un-gran-placer-pero-es-mucho-peor-si/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that it's always just one person encountering the book, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/you-see-the-interesting-thing-about-books-as-opposed-say-to-films-is/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I'm not a man deeply interested in technology. It eludes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-m-not-a-man-deeply-interested-in-technology-it-eludes-me/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The joke is the purest, most essential form of storytelling. Every word has to count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-joke-is-the-purest-most-essential-form-of-storytelling-every-word/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“What people saw when he appeared before them, then, was not really him, but a person he had invented, an artificial creature he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-people-saw-when-he-appeared-before-them-then-was-not-really-him/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I had made an empirical discovery and it carried all the weight of a mathematical proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-had-made-an-empirical-discovery-and-it-carried-all-the-weight-of-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/as-long-as-there-s-one-person-to-believe-it-there-s-no-story-that-can/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Writing has always had a tactile quality for me. It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“Most lives vanish. A person dies, and little by little all traces of that life disappear. An inventor survives in his inventions, an architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/most-lives-vanish-a-person-dies-and-little-by-little-all-traces-of/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“and cut down many trees. When the Humans”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/and-cut-down-many-trees-when-the-humans/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) [Explore all 582 Paul Auster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Films and television and even comic books are churning out vast quantities of fictional narratives, and the public continues to swallow them up with great passion. 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