--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Try this experiment: Pick a famous movie…" description: "\"Try this experiment: Pick a famous movie - 'Casablanca,' say - and summarize the plot in one sentence. Is that plot you just described the thing you re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/peter-greenaway-2444_famous_try-this-experiment-pick-a-famous-movie_2269744.png" --- # Try this experiment: Pick a famous movie - 'Casablanca,'… ![“Try this experiment: Pick a famous movie - 'Casablanca,' say - and summarize the plot in one sentence. Is that plot you just described the thing you remember most about it? Doubtful. Narrative is a necessary cement, but it disappears from memory.” quote by Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/peter-greenaway-2444_famous_try-this-experiment-pick-a-famous-movie_2269744.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/peter-greenaway-2444_famous_try-this-experiment-pick-a-famous-movie_2269744.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/peter-greenaway-2444_famous_try-this-experiment-pick-a-famous-movie_2269744.png) > “Try this experiment: Pick a famous movie - 'Casablanca,' say - and summarize the plot in one sentence. Is that plot you just described the thing you remember most about it? Doubtful. Narrative is a necessary cement, but it disappears from memory.” [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) ## 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 suggests that narrative details fade, while the emotional core of a story remains most memorable. **In simple terms:** Stories are remembered for feeling, not plot details. Key Takeaway Focus on emotional impact over factual recall. Themes memory storytelling emotion Mood reflective analytical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - film analysis - teaching storytelling - creative writing - marketing narratives Key Concepts narrative decay cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How do you prioritize emotional resonance in storytelling? - What elements of a story linger longest in memory? A Different Perspective Narratives can be essential for context but may be forgotten quickly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Famous Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-movie/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [I'm really in no danger of being perceived as a famous movie actor!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/i-m-really-in-no-danger-of-being-perceived-as-a-famous-movie-actor/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [“I don’t have any regrets,” a famous movie actor said in an interview I recently witnessed. “I’d live everything over exactly the same way.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benson-bruno/i-don-t-have-any-regrets-a-famous-movie-actor-said-in-an-interview-i/) [Benson Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benson-bruno/) > [One famous movie executive who shall remain nameless, exposed himself to me in his office. 'Mr X,' I said, 'I thought you were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-temple/one-famous-movie-executive-who-shall-remain-nameless-exposed-himself/) [Shirley Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-temple/) > [I wanted to be a political science professor and go to school in Boston. I never wanted to be a big, famous movie star…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-dushku/i-wanted-to-be-a-political-science-professor-and-go-to-school-in/) [Eliza Dushku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-dushku/) > [I didn't know what to expect from a famous movie star; maybe that he'd be sort of stuck-up, you know. But not Gary Cooper.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rockwell/i-didn-t-know-what-to-expect-from-a-famous-movie-star-maybe-that-he-d/) [Norman Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rockwell/) > [“ BIDEN : “ Look, folks ,” the president told the adoring crowd after his wife handed him the microphone, “you know, there, uh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/biden-look-folks-the-president-told-the-adoring-crowd-after-his-wife/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [I did grow up next door to Steve McQueen, who was a very famous movie star at the time, but as a kid it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-ritts/i-did-grow-up-next-door-to-steve-mcqueen-who-was-a-very-famous-movie/) [Herb Ritts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-ritts/) > [Bond's introduction: "Bond. James Bond." Repeated in 17 subsequent Bond films. Number One in the Top Ten Most Famous Movie Quotes. -The Guinness Book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/bond-s-introduction-bond-james-bond-repeated-in-17-subsequent-bond/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [Ibiza is a popular vacation place for a lot of the players in Spain. If you go in the summer, there are some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavi/ibiza-is-a-popular-vacation-place-for-a-lot-of-the-players-in-spain/) [Xavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavi/) > [The stuff that I've been doing lately is political. It's not always about people who are super famous movie stars. The fact that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-longworth/the-stuff-that-i-ve-been-doing-lately-is-political-it-s-not-always/) [Karina Longworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-longworth/) > [Americans don't understand what metaphor in cinema is about. They're extremely good at making straightforward, linear narrative movies, which entertain superbly. But they very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/americans-don-t-understand-what-metaphor-in-cinema-is-about-they-re/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Your job as a writer is to find storylines, narrative structures, and characters to show the things that you believe rather than saying them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/your-job-as-a-writer-is-to-find-storylines-narrative-structures-and/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [If you do weave one-liners into a story, you have to have an overall story as well, otherwise it doesn't really count as narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-vine/if-you-do-weave-one-liners-into-a-story-you-have-to-have-an-overall/) [Tim Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-vine/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More by Peter Greenaway > [American actors are coy. We all have pricks and cunts, or are you different from the rest of us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/american-actors-are-coy-we-all-have-pricks-and-cunts-or-are-you/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [I want to be a prime creator - as every self-regarding artist should do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-want-to-be-a-prime-creator-as-every-self-regarding-artist-should-do/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [To be an atheist you have to have ten thousand times more imagination than if you are a religious fundamentalist. You must take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/to-be-an-atheist-you-have-to-have-ten-thousand-times-more-imagination/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [An American critic wrote that she would rather be forced to read the New York telephone directory three times than watch the film A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/an-american-critic-wrote-that-she-would-rather-be-forced-to-read-the/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [I like a lot of glasses about - it highers the tone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-like-a-lot-of-glasses-about-it-highers-the-tone/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [There are those who think that Zeffirelli's Hamlet is the way to treat Shakespeare. I think that cinema can handle much more. We somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/there-are-those-who-think-that-zeffirelli-s-hamlet-is-the-way-to/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [A really intelligent man makes an indifferent painter. For painting requires a certain blindness, a partial refusal to be aware of all the options.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/a-really-intelligent-man-makes-an-indifferent-painter-for-painting/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [I have often thought it was very arrogant to suppose you could make a film for anybody but yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-have-often-thought-it-was-very-arrogant-to-suppose-you-could-make-a/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [I believe that cinema died on the 31 September 1983 when the zapper, or the remote control, was introduced into the living rooms of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-believe-that-cinema-died-on-the-31-september-1983-when-the-zapper/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [My biggest critical success was 'The Draughtsman's Contract,' but then it wasn't the English who particularly thought so; it was the French, who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/my-biggest-critical-success-was-the-draughtsman-s-contract-but-then/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [There are basically only two subject matters in all Western culture: sex and death. We do have some ability to manipulate sex nowadays. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/there-are-basically-only-two-subject-matters-in-all-western-culture/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Cinema doesn't connect with the body as artists have in two thousand years of painting, using the nude as the central figure which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/cinema-doesn-t-connect-with-the-body-as-artists-have-in-two-thousand/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Cinema is far too rich and capable a medium to be merely left to the storytellers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/cinema-is-far-too-rich-and-capable-a-medium-to-be-merely-left-to-the/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Jean Renoir once suggested that most true creators have only one idea and spend their lives reworking it, but then very rapidly he added…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/jean-renoir-once-suggested-that-most-true-creators-have-only-one-idea/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Bill Viola is worth ten Scorseses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/bill-viola-is-worth-ten-scorseses/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) [Explore all 166 Peter Greenaway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) ## More Famous quotes > [I think the most famous person I've ever met is Brad Pitt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-think-the-most-famous-person-i-ve-ever-met-is-brad-pitt/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [I love mi haters they make me famous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chabrina/i-love-mi-haters-they-make-me-famous/) Chabrina > [The News of the World made me more famous than being in Atomic Kitten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/the-news-of-the-world-made-me-more-famous-than-being-in-atomic-kitten/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [I have been famous for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-beatty/i-have-been-famous-for-a-long-time/) [Warren Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-beatty/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When Americans, who have no idea who I am, laugh at my jokes, it's exactly the same if someone loves you even if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-elmaleh/when-americans-who-have-no-idea-who-i-am-laugh-at-my-jokes-it-s/) [Gad Elmaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-elmaleh/) > [And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-i-want-to-do-it-the-right-way-like-everybody-else-not-just-a/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I was fascinated by the story of FW Murnau, one of the most famous directors in Germany, where I come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udo-kier/i-was-fascinated-by-the-story-of-fw-murnau-one-of-the-most-famous/) [Udo Kier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/udo-kier/) > [If I had never gotten famous or rich, I think I'd be equally neurotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/if-i-had-never-gotten-famous-or-rich-i-think-i-d-be-equally-neurotic/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) > [The caricature of science is that we hold tight to the theories we have, and shun challenges to them. That's just not true. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-caricature-of-science-is-that-we-hold-tight-to-the-theories-we/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I wanted to have money; I wanted to be special; I wanted people to like me; I wanted to be famous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-wanted-to-have-money-i-wanted-to-be-special-i-wanted-people-to-like/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [People just assume that if you're famous, you're in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/people-just-assume-that-if-you-re-famous-you-re-in-hollywood/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [“The human eye is restricted to see the useen, because there’s a price to be paid to the rulers of this image and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-human-eye-is-restricted-to-see-the-useen-because-there-s-a-price/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [It amazes me when I hear people say, 'I want to go out and find out who I am.' I always knew who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/it-amazes-me-when-i-hear-people-say-i-want-to-go-out-and-find-out-who/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) Browse all 2,822 Famous quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Try this experiment: Pick a famous movie - 'Casablanca,' say - and summarize the plot in one sentence. Is that plot you just described the thing you remember most about it? Doubtful. 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