--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Crowds can be frightening. They have a…" description: "\"Crowds can be frightening. They have a way of impressing the low, base taste upon their members. Watching the way thousands of people in his audience c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/roger-ebert-655_audience_crowds-can-be-frightening-they-have-a-wa_2862019.jpg" --- # Crowds can be frightening. They have a way of impressing… ![“Crowds can be frightening. They have a way of impressing the low, base taste upon their members. Watching the way thousands of people in his audience could not think for themselves, could not find the courage to allow their ordinary feelings of decency and taste to prevail, I understood better how…” quote by Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/roger-ebert-655_audience_crowds-can-be-frightening-they-have-a-wa_2862019.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/roger-ebert-655_audience_crowds-can-be-frightening-they-have-a-wa_2862019.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/roger-ebert-655_audience_crowds-can-be-frightening-they-have-a-wa_2862019.jpg) > “Crowds can be frightening. They have a way of impressing the low, base taste upon their members. Watching the way thousands of people in his audience could not think for themselves, could not find the courage to allow their ordinary feelings of decency and taste to prevail, I understood better how demagogues are possible.” [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Crowds can suppress individual judgment, enabling demagogues; highlighting the danger of conformity and loss of personal taste. **In simple terms:** Crowds diminish personal judgment. Key Takeaway Resist conformity. Themes society psychology demagoguery Mood critical concerned Type analytical social When to use this quote - political activism - media literacy - public speaking - critical thinking Key Concepts groupthink social influence Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain personal taste? - What fuels demagoguery? A Different Perspective Individual agency can be limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Audience Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience-think/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Crowds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds/) [Crowds Frightening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds-frightening-3867041/) [Decency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Frightening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frightening/) [Impress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impress/) [Lows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lows/) [Members](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/members/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-audience-446957/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Dice Rules is one of the most appalling movies I have ever seen. 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I never realized how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-used-to-think-interacting-with-people-in-the-audience-touching/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [I see my life flashing before me when I see people in the audience singing along to something I wrote in the '80s, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-pirner/i-see-my-life-flashing-before-me-when-i-see-people-in-the-audience/) [Dave Pirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-pirner/) ## More by Roger Ebert > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. 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I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! 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