--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: War is cinema, and cinema is war" description: "\"War is cinema, and cinema is war\" — Paul Virilio" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/paul-virilio-2130_cinema_war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war-1284511_1284511.png" --- # War is cinema, and cinema is war ![“War is cinema, and cinema is war” quote by Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/paul-virilio-2130_cinema_war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war-1284511_1284511.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/paul-virilio-2130_cinema_war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war-1284511_1284511.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/paul-virilio-2130_cinema_war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war-1284511_1284511.png) > “War is cinema, and cinema is war” [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War and cinema reflect each other, shaping perception and reality through visual narratives. **In simple terms:** War and movies influence each other. Key Takeaway Critically assess media’s impact on conflict perception. Themes media conflict perception culture technology Mood critical analytical Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - news consumption - film analysis - political propaganda - military training - public opinion Key Concepts Mediatization of war visual culture Questions to Reflect On - How does cinema shape your view of war? - Can media ever be neutral? A Different Perspective Media can glorify violence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Let us start with the title of War and Cinema. The important part of the title is not War and Cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/let-us-start-with-the-title-of-war-and-cinema-the-important-part-of/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [My life, my reading, everything about me revolves around the cinema. So for me, cinema is life, and vice-versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-leone/my-life-my-reading-everything-about-me-revolves-around-the-cinema-so/) [Sergio Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-leone/) > [I took to cinema because I found cinema was the medium for what I wanted to say through 'Shutter;' it was something beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-mathew/i-took-to-cinema-because-i-found-cinema-was-the-medium-for-what-i/) [Joy Mathew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-mathew/) > [I don't know what to say to people. It's become so big. It's become part of the cultural environment. For the first and second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/i-don-t-know-what-to-say-to-people-it-s-become-so-big-it-s-become/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > ['Napoleon' is pure cinema, and cinema was designed for sharing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/napoleon-is-pure-cinema-and-cinema-was-designed-for-sharing/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [I've always believed that true cinema is cinema of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-leone/i-ve-always-believed-that-true-cinema-is-cinema-of-the-imagination/) [Sergio Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-leone/) > [Basically, I have always wanted to have an art-house cinema. A cinema where we can show films that are not necessarily the current offerings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-rao/basically-i-have-always-wanted-to-have-an-art-house-cinema-a-cinema/) [Kiran Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-rao/) > [At university I became really interested in the history of cinema. It combined true life and all the arts that I loved. That prompted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-rohrwacher/at-university-i-became-really-interested-in-the-history-of-cinema-it/) [Alice Rohrwacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-rohrwacher/) > [To me, cinema is cinema. Cinema is one big tree with many branches. The same as literature. In literature, you don't just say, 'Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/to-me-cinema-is-cinema-cinema-is-one-big-tree-with-many-branches-the/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [There is no such thing as art cinema, there is only cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-mathew/there-is-no-such-thing-as-art-cinema-there-is-only-cinema/) [Joy Mathew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-mathew/) > [“It is, in fact, impossible clearly to distinguish economic war from information war, since each involves the same hegemonic ambition of making commercial and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/it-is-in-fact-impossible-clearly-to-distinguish-economic-war-from/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [With war and famine and flood and special effects films, when you do somebody under duress, you have to be really be inventive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-weir/with-war-and-famine-and-flood-and-special-effects-films-when-you-do/) [Peter Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-weir/) > [There was a cultural war going on, the '60s was going on. All the film critics were square.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/there-was-a-cultural-war-going-on-the-60s-was-going-on-all-the-film/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [All drama is conflict. Without conflict, there is no action. Without action, there is no character. Without character, there is no story. And without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-field/all-drama-is-conflict-without-conflict-there-is-no-action-without/) [Syd Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-field/) > [We kind o' thought Christ went agin war an' pillage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/we-kind-o-thought-christ-went-agin-war-an-pillage/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) ## More by Paul Virilio > [“It is, in fact, impossible clearly to distinguish economic war from information war, since each involves the same hegemonic ambition of making commercial and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/it-is-in-fact-impossible-clearly-to-distinguish-economic-war-from/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [There cannot be an animal body without a territorial body: three bodies are grafted over each other: the territorial body - the planet, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-cannot-be-an-animal-body-without-a-territorial-body-three/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [... the blinding Hiroshima flash... literally photographed the shadow cast by beings and things, so that every surface immediately became war's recording surface, its film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-blinding-hiroshima-flash-literally-photographed-the-shadow-cast/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [GPS not only played a large and delocalizing role in the war in Kosovo but is increasingly playing a role in social life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/gps-not-only-played-a-large-and-delocalizing-role-in-the-war-in/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The Gulf War may not have occurred in the actual global space, but it did occur in global time. And this thanks to CNN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-gulf-war-may-not-have-occurred-in-the-actual-global-space-but-it/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The cinema was certainly an art, but television can't be, because it is the museum of accidents. In other words, its art is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-cinema-was-certainly-an-art-but-television-can-t-be-because-it-is/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [What happened in Kosovo was the exact reversal of what happened in 'Fortress Europe' in 1943-45. Let me explain. Air Marshall 'Bomber' Harris used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/what-happened-in-kosovo-was-the-exact-reversal-of-what-happened-in/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The technologies of virtual reality are attempting to make us see from beneath, from inside, from behind... as if we were God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-technologies-of-virtual-reality-are-attempting-to-make-us-see/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [There are eyes everywhere. No blind spot left. What shall we dream of when everything becomes visible? We'll dream of being blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-are-eyes-everywhere-no-blind-spot-left-what-shall-we-dream-of/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [I am of course thinking here about new planes such as the Sukhois. There is very little discussion about such developments but, for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/i-am-of-course-thinking-here-about-new-planes-such-as-the-sukhois/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [Moreover, I would like to say that the sort of polar inertia we witnessed in the Kosovo War, the polar inertia involving 'automated war'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/moreover-i-would-like-to-say-that-the-sort-of-polar-inertia-we/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [How can we live if there is no more here and everything is now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/how-can-we-live-if-there-is-no-more-here-and-everything-is-now/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The simulator is the stage in-between television and virtual reality, a moment, a phase. The simulator is a moment that leads to cyberspace, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-simulator-is-the-stage-in-between-television-and-virtual-reality/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [These new technologies try to make virtual reality more powerful than actual reality, which is the true accident. The day when virtual reality becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/these-new-technologies-try-to-make-virtual-reality-more-powerful-than/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) [Explore all 181 Paul Virilio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) ## 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 > [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": "War is cinema, and cinema is war", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Virilio" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cinema" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/paul-virilio-2130_cinema_war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war-1284511_1284511.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/paul-virilio-2130_cinema_war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war-1284511_1284511.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/paul-virilio-2130_cinema_war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war-1284511_1284511.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“War is cinema, and cinema is war” — Paul Virilio", "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": "Paul Virilio", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "War is cinema, and cinema is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/war-is-cinema-and-cinema-is-war/#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 } } ] } ```