--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'The Magic Flute,' I think, is…" description: "\"'The Magic Flute,' I think, is fundamentally asking what is it to change people's consciousness.\" — Simon McBurney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/simon-mcburney-7667_asking_the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally_1531457.png" --- # 'The Magic Flute,' I think, is fundamentally asking what… ![“'The Magic Flute,' I think, is fundamentally asking what is it to change people's consciousness.” quote by Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/simon-mcburney-7667_asking_the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally_1531457.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/simon-mcburney-7667_asking_the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally_1531457.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/simon-mcburney-7667_asking_the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally_1531457.png) > “'The Magic Flute,' I think, is fundamentally asking what is it to change people's consciousness.” [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It probes how art can shift collective awareness and perception. **In simple terms:** Art can alter how groups think. Key Takeaway Use creative works to challenge norms. Themes consciousness art transformation Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - theatre workshops - community art projects - educational curricula Key Concepts cultural influence psychology audience engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can you measure a shift in consciousness? - What artistic methods best provoke reflection? A Different Perspective Impact may be subtle and uneven across audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Flute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flute/) [Flute Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flute-think-5682481/) [Fundamentally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentally/) [Fundamentally Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentally-asking-5682482/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Magic Flute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic-flute-3347591/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-consciousness-956484/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) ## Related quotes > [Mozart's seeming frothiness is just a light touch with very profound material. That's what I've found working on 'The Magic Flute.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/mozart-s-seeming-frothiness-is-just-a-light-touch-with-very-profound/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [My proposition is that music is at the heart of what 'The Magic Flute' means: that it's Mozart's music, not the words, we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/my-proposition-is-that-music-is-at-the-heart-of-what-the-magic-flute/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [Art can no longer be merely a mirror, it must act as the organizer of the people's consciousness... No form of representation is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/art-can-no-longer-be-merely-a-mirror-it-must-act-as-the-organizer-of/) [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) > [“A better life can only come when the consciousness of men is altered for the better; and therefore, those who wish to improve life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/a-better-life-can-only-come-when-the-consciousness-of-men-is-altered/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I see 'Grace' as an affectionate refusal of things that just aren't true. With all our power and money and influence, we still can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-wright/i-see-grace-as-an-affectionate-refusal-of-things-that-just-aren-t/) [Lizz Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-wright/) > [When people get this consciousness of the way things are supposed to be in America - that the locus of agency is in them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/when-people-get-this-consciousness-of-the-way-things-are-supposed-to/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [I just try to uplift the people and the whole consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skip-marley/i-just-try-to-uplift-the-people-and-the-whole-consciousness/) [Skip Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skip-marley/) > [To dine, drink champagne, raise a racket and make speeches about the people's consciousness, the people's conscience, freedom andso forth while servants in tails…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/to-dine-drink-champagne-raise-a-racket-and-make-speeches-about-the/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Time is what allows stories to spread into people's consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/time-is-what-allows-stories-to-spread-into-people-s-consciousness/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [If you think about 'The Matrix' and how high-concept it was, it had these incredible ideas that really penetrated people's consciousness. It really was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-anne-moss/if-you-think-about-the-matrix-and-how-high-concept-it-was-it-had/) [Carrie-Anne Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-anne-moss/) > [Art is art. Television has elevated itself, in certain ways, but it's always pushed people's consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reese-witherspoon/art-is-art-television-has-elevated-itself-in-certain-ways-but-it-s/) [Reese Witherspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reese-witherspoon/) > [The idea of UFOs is becoming a very prevalent phenomenon in people's consciousness. People believe in them. What does this mean? It means that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-steiger/the-idea-of-ufos-is-becoming-a-very-prevalent-phenomenon-in-people-s/) [Brad Steiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-steiger/) > [I do believe that in every age there are people whose consciousness transcends their own time and that these people, whether fictional or historical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-do-believe-that-in-every-age-there-are-people-whose-consciousness/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Progress changes consciousness, and when people's consciousness changes, then their awareness of what is possible changes as well - a virtuous circle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/progress-changes-consciousness-and-when-people-s-consciousness/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [I like to be able to raise people's consciousness, yes. 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So the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/our-lives-are-a-sequence-of-things-when-we-re-alive-they-re/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [We try to place the human body in relation to the image all the time, so it's never a kind of a backdrop, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/we-try-to-place-the-human-body-in-relation-to-the-image-all-the-time/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [I constantly want to know - what is a table, or what is a cat?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/i-constantly-want-to-know-what-is-a-table-or-what-is-a-cat/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [The only reality of the theater exists in the mind of the audience. That audience looks collectively at what is going on on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/the-only-reality-of-the-theater-exists-in-the-mind-of-the-audience/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [I suppose as an actor you become very sensitive to rhythm, not just rhythm as you look at it sort of from the, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/i-suppose-as-an-actor-you-become-very-sensitive-to-rhythm-not-just/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [I remember the fact that milk was delivered every day by a milkman. In summer, my mother would make what now seem in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/i-remember-the-fact-that-milk-was-delivered-every-day-by-a-milkman-in/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > ['Mnemonic' is a play about memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/mnemonic-is-a-play-about-memory/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [I have always felt more at home in a culture that has nothing to do with the one I was born and brought up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/i-have-always-felt-more-at-home-in-a-culture-that-has-nothing-to-do/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [Yes it was chaos, working through chaos, you never quite knew what you were going to do each day, but you knew that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/yes-it-was-chaos-working-through-chaos-you-never-quite-knew-what-you/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [One of the things he liked about playwriting as to any other kind of writing is that a playwright is a w-r-i-g-h-t, not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/one-of-the-things-he-liked-about-playwriting-as-to-any-other-kind-of/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [With the theatre, for God's sake, everything makes sense. You create a clear sequential reality for a specific audience at one particular time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/with-the-theatre-for-god-s-sake-everything-makes-sense-you-create-a/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) [Explore all 89 Simon McBurney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. 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Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) [Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'The Magic Flute,' I think, is fundamentally asking what is it to change people's consciousness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Simon McBurney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally-asking-what-is-it-to-change/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asking" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally-asking-what-is-it-to-change/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/simon-mcburney-7667_asking_the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally_1531457.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/simon-mcburney-7667_asking_the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally_1531457.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/simon-mcburney-7667_asking_the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally_1531457.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“'The Magic Flute,' I think, is fundamentally asking what is it to change people's consciousness.” — Simon McBurney", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Simon McBurney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "'The Magic Flute,' I think, is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally-asking-what-is-it-to-change/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/the-magic-flute-i-think-is-fundamentally-asking-what-is-it-to-change/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```