--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hollywood is a narcotic, not a stimulant…" description: "\"Hollywood is a narcotic, not a stimulant. It wants to sell you something. Literature wants to tell you something.\" — Rex Murphy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/rex-murphy-55739_books_hollywood-is-a-narcotic-not-a-stimulant_2920020.jpg" --- # Hollywood is a narcotic, not a stimulant. It wants to sell… ![“Hollywood is a narcotic, not a stimulant. It wants to sell you something. Literature wants to tell you something.” quote by Rex Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/rex-murphy-55739_books_hollywood-is-a-narcotic-not-a-stimulant_2920020.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/rex-murphy-55739_books_hollywood-is-a-narcotic-not-a-stimulant_2920020.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/rex-murphy-55739_books_hollywood-is-a-narcotic-not-a-stimulant_2920020.jpg) > “Hollywood is a narcotic, not a stimulant. It wants to sell you something. Literature wants to tell you something.” [Rex Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-murphy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hollywood sells entertainment, while literature seeks to convey deeper truths and insights. **In simple terms:** Hollywood sells; literature teaches. Key Takeaway Seek literature for deeper understanding. Themes media literature truth seeking Mood reflective thoughtful Type opinion literary When to use this quote - reading clubs - film criticism - creative writing Key Concepts entertainment vs education cultural impact Questions to Reflect On - What book changed your perspective? - How can film convey deeper truths? A Different Perspective Both can blend entertainment and insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Hollywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollywood/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Narcotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcotic/) [Narcotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcotics/) ## Related quotes > [“Poetry is no more a narcotic than a stimulant; it is a universal bittersweet mixture for all possible household emergencies and its action varies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/poetry-is-no-more-a-narcotic-than-a-stimulant-it-is-a-universal/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [By empowering people to initiate a conversation prior to surgery regarding their pain control options, we hope to reduce the incidence of narcotic addiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-funk/by-empowering-people-to-initiate-a-conversation-prior-to-surgery/) [Kristi Funk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-funk/) > [I like the idea of generalizing the narcotic thing by making it black meat addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-like-the-idea-of-generalizing-the-narcotic-thing-by-making-it-black/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Narcotic greens narcotic greens like reeling firmaments disclose in their appearing randomness the sweetest means that you or she or any wandering Thales might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-bluger/narcotic-greens-narcotic-greens-like-reeling-firmaments-disclose-in/) Marianne Bluger > [There's no narcotic like exhaustion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Next to a shot of some good, habit-forming narcotic, there is nothing like travelling alone as a 'builder-upper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/next-to-a-shot-of-some-good-habit-forming-narcotic-there-is-nothing/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [The most powerful narcotic in the world is the promise of belonging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/the-most-powerful-narcotic-in-the-world-is-the-promise-of-belonging/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) > [Moral obligation is to me so very strong a Stimulant, that in 9 cases out of ten it acts as a Narcotic. The Blow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/moral-obligation-is-to-me-so-very-strong-a-stimulant-that-in-9-cases/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The greatest analgesic, soporific, stimulant, tranquilizer, narcotic, and to some extent even antibiotic - in short, the closest thing to a genuine panacea -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-greatest-analgesic-soporific-stimulant-tranquilizer-narcotic-and/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-form-of-addiction-is-bad-no-matter-whether-the-narcotic-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Travel is no more than a relatively healthy form of narcotic, after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-stasiuk/travel-is-no-more-than-a-relatively-healthy-form-of-narcotic-after-all/) [Andrzej Stasiuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-stasiuk/) > [“Pluralism is a merciful narcotic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saki/pluralism-is-a-merciful-narcotic/) [Saki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saki/) > [Storytelling has a narcotic power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/storytelling-has-a-narcotic-power/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“If only religion were an opiate. No known narcotic rots the brain so fast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/if-only-religion-were-an-opiate-no-known-narcotic-rots-the-brain-so/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Why are online games so addictive? It's mostly the narcotic appeal of 'leveling.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/why-are-online-games-so-addictive-it-s-mostly-the-narcotic-appeal-of/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) ## More by Rex Murphy > [Not every article in every magazine or newspaper is meant to be a valentine card addressed to every reader's self-esteem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-murphy/not-every-article-in-every-magazine-or-newspaper-is-meant-to-be-a/) [Rex Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-murphy/) > [Stay away from philosophy, kids: it will ruin your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-murphy/stay-away-from-philosophy-kids-it-will-ruin-your-mind/) [Rex Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-murphy/) > [Everything written, if it has anything in it, will offend someone, and if the mere taking of offence was to amount to a licence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-murphy/everything-written-if-it-has-anything-in-it-will-offend-someone-and/) [Rex Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-murphy/) > [The Prime Minister, a specialist in calling in the locksmith after the horses had fled - the whole herd in fact - and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-murphy/the-prime-minister-a-specialist-in-calling-in-the-locksmith-after-the/) [Rex Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-murphy/) > [Shania Twain ... has done more for country and western than heartbreak and whiskey combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-murphy/shania-twain-has-done-more-for-country-and-western-than-heartbreak/) [Rex Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-murphy/) [Explore all 6 Rex Murphy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-murphy/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hollywood is a narcotic, not a stimulant. It wants to sell you something. 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