--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All those happy, pretty, successful…" description: "\"“All those happy, pretty, successful people- he hated them because he knew they didn't really exist, and he hated even more the magazine that glorified..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/russell-banks-7660_celebrity-culture_all-those-happy-pretty-successful-people_1048077.jpg" --- # All those happy, pretty, successful people- he hated them… ![“All those happy, pretty, successful people- he hated them because he knew they didn't really exist, and he hated even more the magazine that glorified them and in a way that made them exist, actors, rock musicians, famous writers, politicians. Those aren't people, he fumed, they're photographs.” quote by Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/russell-banks-7660_celebrity-culture_all-those-happy-pretty-successful-people_1048077.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/russell-banks-7660_celebrity-culture_all-those-happy-pretty-successful-people_1048077.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/russell-banks-7660_celebrity-culture_all-those-happy-pretty-successful-people_1048077.jpg) > ““All those happy, pretty, successful people- he hated them because he knew they didn't really exist, and he hated even more the magazine that glorified them and in a way that made them exist, actors, rock musicians, famous writers, politicians. Those aren't people, he fumed, they're photographs. ”” [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He despises idealized fame, seeing it as a false, media‑crafted illusion. **In simple terms:** Fame is a shallow, manufactured image. Key Takeaway Question the authenticity of celebrated success. Themes celebrity media illusion Mood skeptical critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - media consumption - personal identity - social media - celebrity culture Key Concepts authenticity societal pressure Questions to Reflect On - Why do we chase unrealistic ideals? - How can we value true substance? A Different Perspective May neglect genuine achievements behind the façade. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Celebrity culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrity-culture/) [Famous writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-writers/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Rock musicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock-musicians/) [Social-commentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-commentary/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“You know you're like, my hero, right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-stutzman/you-know-you-re-like-my-hero-right/) Stuart Stutzman > [I've hated myself since I knew my own name. But 'Bake Off' has simply confirmed to me what a bottom-feeding halfwit I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-perkins/i-ve-hated-myself-since-i-knew-my-own-name-but-bake-off-has-simply/) [Sue Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-perkins/) > [She hated that will had this effect on her. Hated it. She knew better. She knew what he thought of her. That she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/she-hated-that-will-had-this-effect-on-her-hated-it-she-knew-better/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“You need to fear me, not hate me." I did. I feared him. But I think I hated him more. No, I knew I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nashoda-rose/you-need-to-fear-me-not-hate-me-i-did-i-feared-him-but-i-think-i/) [Nashoda Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nashoda-rose/) > [“I hated that he knew me well enough to know what he was basically asking me to give up. I loved that he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-van-dyken/i-hated-that-he-knew-me-well-enough-to-know-what-he-was-basically/) [Rachel Van Dyken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-van-dyken/) > [Now, about that mulatto teacher and me. There was no love there for each other. There was not even respect. We were enemies if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/now-about-that-mulatto-teacher-and-me-there-was-no-love-there-for/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [“He respected them, and he hated them, and he knew the world would be lesser for their deaths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/he-respected-them-and-he-hated-them-and-he-knew-the-world-would-be/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“I hadn’t gone Stockholmy- I hated him, knew what he did was wrong, but my body, shit, my body didn’t care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepper-winters/i-hadn-t-gone-stockholmy-i-hated-him-knew-what-he-did-was-wrong-but/) [Pepper Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepper-winters/) > [I loved you harder than I hated myself, that's how I knew I was in trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/i-loved-you-harder-than-i-hated-myself-that-s-how-i-knew-i-was-in/) Unkown > [I would want to travel the world and write about it. To be a famous writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shantel-vansanten/i-would-want-to-travel-the-world-and-write-about-it-to-be-a-famous/) [Shantel VanSanten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shantel-vansanten/) > [The Revelation was my master's project, and after I finished it, I thought I'd send it off to a publisher and within a year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bentley-little/the-revelation-was-my-master-s-project-and-after-i-finished-it-i/) [Bentley Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bentley-little/) > [I learned that famous writers are people with foibles like anyone else and this helped me realize reaching their level of notoriety wasn't impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-wright/i-learned-that-famous-writers-are-people-with-foibles-like-anyone/) [Kirby Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-wright/) > [Being a famous writer is a little like being a tall dwarf. You're on the edge of normality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/being-a-famous-writer-is-a-little-like-being-a-tall-dwarf-you-re-on/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Who are you? She asked silently, as she laid away the collector's quotations, his drawings, his scraps of famous poetry: "Come live with me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/who-are-you-she-asked-silently-as-she-laid-away-the-collector-s/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [If you could have a famous writer, dead or alive, write an obituary for you and really puff you up to have been something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/if-you-could-have-a-famous-writer-dead-or-alive-write-an-obituary-for/) [Padgett Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padgett-powell/) ## More by Russell Banks > [The best thing about writing programs is that it rationalized the apprenticeship of a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-best-thing-about-writing-programs-is-that-it-rationalized-the/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“The received truth of history is shot through and falsified by unknown secrets carried to the grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-received-truth-of-history-is-shot-through-and-falsified-by/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Secrets and lies, they eat your insides until all you have left is a hard thin skin that covers you like the shell of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/secrets-and-lies-they-eat-your-insides-until-all-you-have-left-is-a/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [But really, it was reading that led me to writing. And in particular, reading the American classics like Twain who taught me at an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/but-really-it-was-reading-that-led-me-to-writing-and-in-particular/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Let the truth take care of itself, I decided. It's done all right on its own so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/let-the-truth-take-care-of-itself-i-decided-it-s-done-all-right-on/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [What you believe matters, however. It’s all anyone has to act on. And since what you do is who you are, your actions define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/what-you-believe-matters-however-it-s-all-anyone-has-to-act-on-and/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [Although I still occasionally paint and draw, my life has now been shaped by my writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/although-i-still-occasionally-paint-and-draw-my-life-has-now-been/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“my blue eyes peering into their brown eyes and seeing there some essential part of myself, some irreducible aspect of my being, which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/my-blue-eyes-peering-into-their-brown-eyes-and-seeing-there-some/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [If you dedicate your attention to discipline in your life you become smarter while you are writing than while you are hanging out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/if-you-dedicate-your-attention-to-discipline-in-your-life-you-become/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [So the same cultural and political issues that divided us in 1968 are still dividing us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/so-the-same-cultural-and-political-issues-that-divided-us-in-1968-are/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“They were the only three people I'd chosen on my own to love, and they were gone. But still, that morning in Mobay when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/they-were-the-only-three-people-i-d-chosen-on-my-own-to-love-and-they/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Lists of books we re-read and books we can't finish tell more about us than about the relative worth of the books themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/lists-of-books-we-re-read-and-books-we-can-t-finish-tell-more-about/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [First of all it's usually women who run these higher primate sanctuaries, rarely men. They are white. They come from privileged backgrounds. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/first-of-all-it-s-usually-women-who-run-these-higher-primate/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [The United States particularly abandoned Liberia after the end of the Cold War.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-united-states-particularly-abandoned-liberia-after-the-end-of-the/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [Storytelling is an ancient and honorable act. An essential role to play in the community or tribe. It's one that I embrace wholeheartedly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/storytelling-is-an-ancient-and-honorable-act-an-essential-role-to/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) [Explore all 85 Russell Banks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) ## More Celebrity culture quotes > [“Look at the kind of people who most object to the childishness and cheapness of celebrity culture. Does one really want to side with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/look-at-the-kind-of-people-who-most-object-to-the-childishness-and/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Actors have become much more savvy about the nature of television celebrity these days. We were not. The kind of celebrity culture that exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-nettles/actors-have-become-much-more-savvy-about-the-nature-of-television/) [John Nettles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-nettles/) > [“FRUITS AND NUTS Keep jumping around them like monkeys. The clones, Commercialized zombies, And the TV junkies. Keep throwing berries, Twigs, And nuts at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/fruits-and-nuts-keep-jumping-around-them-like-monkeys-the-clones/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Celebrity culture has gone crazy, and I think the reason is that real news is just not bearable, and it also seems impossible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-martin/celebrity-culture-has-gone-crazy-and-i-think-the-reason-is-that-real/) [Chris Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-martin/) > [We need to teach our kids, because there is such a celebrity culture at the moment, that however rich you are, however famous you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clegg/we-need-to-teach-our-kids-because-there-is-such-a-celebrity-culture/) [Nick Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clegg/) > [Truth be told, I'm not all that comfortable with celebrity culture. That was always something that baffled me, the obsession over fame. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hozier/truth-be-told-i-m-not-all-that-comfortable-with-celebrity-culture/) [Hozier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hozier/) > [Feckless as it was for Bush to ask Americans to go shopping after 9/11, we all too enthusiastically followed his lead, whether we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/feckless-as-it-was-for-bush-to-ask-americans-to-go-shopping-after-9/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [“Holy mama llama. That’s Nathanial Stone. Nathanial Stone is sitting in my booth. Nathanial Stone is in the Finewhile Diner sitting in my booth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-l-hess/holy-mama-llama-that-s-nathanial-stone-nathanial-stone-is-sitting-in/) [D.L. Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-l-hess/) > [I hope people online understand that the celebrity culture we've created is not really real. So when they're speaking to and about me, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amandla-stenberg/i-hope-people-online-understand-that-the-celebrity-culture-we-ve/) [Amandla Stenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amandla-stenberg/) > [Celebrity culture is... it's not something that I'm attracted to. I guess I don't think of myself in that way, but potentially other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/celebrity-culture-is-it-s-not-something-that-i-m-attracted-to-i-guess/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I don't really enjoy being the center of attention, I find it hard. I think it's the celebrity culture you guys have over here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicky-krieps/i-don-t-really-enjoy-being-the-center-of-attention-i-find-it-hard-i/) [Vicky Krieps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicky-krieps/) > [Look, we live in a celebrity culture and sometimes you get caught in the wave and the buzz and a lot of it's flattering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/look-we-live-in-a-celebrity-culture-and-sometimes-you-get-caught-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Stuck in my own trap of writing about a nonsubject, I think I can defend my own self-respect, and also the integrity of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/stuck-in-my-own-trap-of-writing-about-a-nonsubject-i-think-i-can/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The moral nihilism of celebrity culture is played out on reality television shows, most of which encourage a dark voyeurism into other people's humiliation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/the-moral-nihilism-of-celebrity-culture-is-played-out-on-reality/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [This celebrity culture that hypnotizes people into thinking a person is literally not real because you see them on television is a spell the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie/this-celebrity-culture-that-hypnotizes-people-into-thinking-a-person/) [India Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie/) [Browse all 68 Celebrity culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrity-culture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All those happy, pretty, successful people- he hated them because he knew they didn't really exist, and he hated even more the magazine that glorified them and in a way that made them exist, actors, rock musicians, famous writers, politicians. 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