--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I learned to stop being English about…" description: "\"I learned to stop being English about things like love. If you make a film in England about love, it's hugely complicated. It's all about saying what t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/simon-beaufoy-15168_complicated_i-learned-to-stop-being-english-about-th_2317370.jpg" --- # I learned to stop being English about things like love. If… ![“I learned to stop being English about things like love. If you make a film in England about love, it's hugely complicated. It's all about saying what the weather is like, and you're secretly telling someone you love them. You know what the English are like; they're very repressed people. You don't…” quote by Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/simon-beaufoy-15168_complicated_i-learned-to-stop-being-english-about-th_2317370.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/simon-beaufoy-15168_complicated_i-learned-to-stop-being-english-about-th_2317370.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/simon-beaufoy-15168_complicated_i-learned-to-stop-being-english-about-th_2317370.jpg) > “I learned to stop being English about things like love. If you make a film in England about love, it's hugely complicated. It's all about saying what the weather is like, and you're secretly telling someone you love them. You know what the English are like; they're very repressed people. You don't get that in India. India is incredibly un-cynical about love. It's a not a complicated thing. It's me, you, love. Let's go.” [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker contrasts English cultural restraint with Indian openness regarding expressing love, noting how English media often hides affection behind indirect references like weather. **In simple terms:** English culture hides love behind indirect talk; Indian culture is direct. Key Takeaway Embrace direct expression of love. Themes culture communication love media stereotypes Mood reflective analytical Type observational cultural commentary When to use this quote - film scriptwriting - cross‑cultural relationships - personal storytelling Key Concepts cultural norms expressive honesty media tropes Questions to Reflect On - How does cultural context shape how love is portrayed? - Can direct expression be as powerful as subtlety? A Different Perspective Directness may clash with subtle storytelling expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complicated things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated-things/) [Cynical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [India](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/india/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Repressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repressed/) [Someone you love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/someone-you-love/) [Telling someone you love them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-someone-you-love-them/) [Weather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weather/) ## Related quotes > [The most beautiful thing is telling someone you love them, because you can only love another person if you love yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-matarazzo/the-most-beautiful-thing-is-telling-someone-you-love-them-because-you/) [Heather Matarazzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-matarazzo/) > [It's always nice to be in England - I love it here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imran-tahir/it-s-always-nice-to-be-in-england-i-love-it-here/) [Imran Tahir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imran-tahir/) > [I know how much football means in England. They love it. That's why it's great to be here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernardo-silva/i-know-how-much-football-means-in-england-they-love-it-that-s-why-it/) [Bernardo Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernardo-silva/) > [I love England and I love cricket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-pietersen/i-love-england-and-i-love-cricket/) [Kevin Pietersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-pietersen/) > [I love England. I love the country and I love the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-di-canio/i-love-england-i-love-the-country-and-i-love-the-people/) [Paolo di Canio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-di-canio/) > [I don't think I would have any problem at all playing in England. I'd love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronaldo/i-don-t-think-i-would-have-any-problem-at-all-playing-in-england-i-d/) [Ronaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronaldo/) > [My parents wanted me to stay in England because they love the football here and how the people feel about football. It was important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xherdan-shaqiri/my-parents-wanted-me-to-stay-in-england-because-they-love-the/) [Xherdan Shaqiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xherdan-shaqiri/) > [It's a place I'll always remember, and I have nothing bad to say about New England. I love that place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-mankins/it-s-a-place-i-ll-always-remember-and-i-have-nothing-bad-to-say-about/) [Logan Mankins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-mankins/) > [Tell someone you love them and mean it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-jones/tell-someone-you-love-them-and-mean-it/) [Jon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-jones/) > [It takes a moment to tell someone you love them, but it takes a lifetime to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/it-takes-a-moment-to-tell-someone-you-love-them-but-it-takes-a/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [My goodness, there's nothing that feels better than to meditate, than to get quiet, and then to be at peace, and to tell someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/my-goodness-there-s-nothing-that-feels-better-than-to-meditate-than/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-jackson-brown-jr/never-waste-an-opportunity-to-tell-someone-you-love-them/) [H. Jackson Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-jackson-brown-jr/) > [I don't think you tell someone you love them because you expect something. I think you tell them because you have something to give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-don-t-think-you-tell-someone-you-love-them-because-you-expect/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [In love, as in life, one misheard word can be tremendously important. If you tell someone you love them, for instance, you must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-love-as-in-life-one-misheard-word-can-be-tremendously-important-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you really want to tell someone you love them, you don't just go and blurt it out. There's a dance. And your movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fukunaga/if-you-really-want-to-tell-someone-you-love-them-you-don-t-just-go/) [Cary Fukunaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fukunaga/) ## More by Simon Beaufoy > [I have a huge admiration for the ability of people to go, 'I don't care if it can't happen. I don't care if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/i-have-a-huge-admiration-for-the-ability-of-people-to-go-i-don-t-care/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [As a child growing up in a grey-skied Yorkshire village, I would occasionally happen upon a Bollywood movie on the television. After a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/as-a-child-growing-up-in-a-grey-skied-yorkshire-village-i-would/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [I'm not into being all 'film-y' and going to the premieres and parties. I tend to feel like the embarrassing uncle at a wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/i-m-not-into-being-all-film-y-and-going-to-the-premieres-and-parties/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [Repressed English writers have to write love stories because they can't say what they really mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/repressed-english-writers-have-to-write-love-stories-because-they-can/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [After a while, you become really irritated that you're not recognised as the person who wrote 'The Full Monty.' Everyone goes on about how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/after-a-while-you-become-really-irritated-that-you-re-not-recognised/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [It's a huge responsibility writing about people who are alive. It's the thing about writing that keeps me awake at night: dramatising real-life events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/it-s-a-huge-responsibility-writing-about-people-who-are-alive-it-s/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [What's important in the filmmaking process has stayed the same. Keep it small, keep it personal, keep it authentic, work with people you like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/what-s-important-in-the-filmmaking-process-has-stayed-the-same-keep/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [The West has become very sophisticated, seeing love as a very complex thing. In Bollywood, it's not complex: it's an arrow straight to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/the-west-has-become-very-sophisticated-seeing-love-as-a-very-complex/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [If you've been nominated for an Oscar, it would be ridiculous to say you didn't want to win. It would be lovely to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/if-you-ve-been-nominated-for-an-oscar-it-would-be-ridiculous-to-say/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [India is desperately romantic, utterly unashamed of its sentimentality, its generosity, its fierce pride and massive heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/india-is-desperately-romantic-utterly-unashamed-of-its-sentimentality/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [Keep your central character moving, discovering, learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/keep-your-central-character-moving-discovering-learning/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [For me, as a writer who comes from quite a naturalistic tradition, British screenwriting is quite delicate, quite small, and rarified in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/for-me-as-a-writer-who-comes-from-quite-a-naturalistic-tradition/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [The recession of the late 1980s was a very visible humiliation. Cities across Britain had become the victims of botched battlefield surgery - surgery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/the-recession-of-the-late-1980s-was-a-very-visible-humiliation-cities/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [I'm not interested in superheroes. What about normal people doing extraordinary things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/i-m-not-interested-in-superheroes-what-about-normal-people-doing/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [Everyone hated the title 'The Full Monty' until they saw the film did really well and then loved the title.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/everyone-hated-the-title-the-full-monty-until-they-saw-the-film-did/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) [Explore all 44 Simon Beaufoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) ## More Complicated quotes > [Of course I like you. It's because I like you I don't wanna be with you. It's a complicated emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin/of-course-i-like-you-it-s-because-i-like-you-i-don-t-wanna-be-with/) Marlin > [“Why the hell did he have to be so complicated? One minute he was charming, the next he withdrew behind his internal walls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-davis/why-the-hell-did-he-have-to-be-so-complicated-one-minute-he-was/) [Lia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-davis/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [“Just because it's complicated, just because you think you can't ever know everything about another person, it doesn't mean you can't try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/just-because-it-s-complicated-just-because-you-think-you-can-t-ever/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Your Starbucks order is directly proportional to how complicated your personality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin/your-starbucks-order-is-directly-proportional-to-how-complicated-your/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ The parts of the \[Civil Right\] Movement we recognize so well now were not born from a single decision, but were a complicated and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/the-parts-of-the-civil-right-movement-we-recognize-so-well-now-were/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [Two people could build an outhouse in four hours. They're not complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-maxwell/two-people-could-build-an-outhouse-in-four-hours-they-re-not/) [Robert Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-maxwell/) Browse all 3,190 Complicated quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I learned to stop being English about things like love. If you make a film in England about love, it's hugely complicated. It's all about saying what the weather is like, and you're secretly telling someone you love them. You know what the English are like; they're very repressed people. You don't get that in India. India is incredibly un-cynical about love. It's a not a complicated thing. It's me, you, love. 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