--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think documentaries are the greatest…" description: "\"I think documentaries are the greatest way to educate an entire generation that doesn't often look back to learn anything about the history that provid..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/steven-spielberg-963_documentaries_i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-w_3218357.jpg" --- # I think documentaries are the greatest way to educate an… ![“I think documentaries are the greatest way to educate an entire generation that doesn't often look back to learn anything about the history that provided a safe haven for so many of us today.” quote by Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/steven-spielberg-963_documentaries_i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-w_3218357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/steven-spielberg-963_documentaries_i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-w_3218357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/steven-spielberg-963_documentaries_i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-w_3218357.jpg) > “I think documentaries are the greatest way to educate an entire generation that doesn't often look back to learn anything about the history that provided a safe haven for so many of us today.” [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Documentaries serve as powerful educational tools that preserve and transmit historical lessons to younger generations. **In simple terms:** Documentaries teach history to youth. Key Takeaway Use documentaries to learn about the past. Themes education history media generational learning Mood inspired reflective thoughtful Type educational informative When to use this quote - school curricula - family viewing - community workshops - online platforms - museum exhibits Key Concepts storytelling collective memory cultural preservation Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure documentaries remain accurate? - What stories are missing from mainstream documentaries? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex events or bias perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Safe haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe-haven/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [There's no other way to learn about it, except through documentaries. I encourage documentarians to continue telling stories about World War II. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/there-s-no-other-way-to-learn-about-it-except-through-documentaries-i/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I think that documentaries are bound by journalistic ethics, and I think they have the pressure of trying to entertain someone for 90 minutes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chai-vasarhelyi/i-think-that-documentaries-are-bound-by-journalistic-ethics-and-i/) [Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chai-vasarhelyi/) > [I think there have been so many documentaries about pop stars, made by pop stars. It's a new phenomenon. People making these movies where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-apatow/i-think-there-have-been-so-many-documentaries-about-pop-stars-made-by/) [Judd Apatow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-apatow/) > [“Nothing in this world operates the way you think it does. Banks do not loan money, governments are not empowered to protect you, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-maxwell/nothing-in-this-world-operates-the-way-you-think-it-does-banks-do-not/) Jordan Maxwell > [“If you educate a boy, you educate one person. If you educate a girl, you educate an entire community.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ziolkowski/if-you-educate-a-boy-you-educate-one-person-if-you-educate-a-girl-you/) Jim Ziolkowski > [There's been a vacuum with movies that people can relate to. There's been a paucity of dramas that people can relate to. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hickenlooper/there-s-been-a-vacuum-with-movies-that-people-can-relate-to-there-s/) [George Hickenlooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hickenlooper/) > [I think all documentaries leave out areas of people's lives. Which is good. There are areas that need not be explored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-think-all-documentaries-leave-out-areas-of-people-s-lives-which-is/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [If we do not learn from history, we shall be compelled to relive it. True. But if we do not change the future, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/if-we-do-not-learn-from-history-we-shall-be-compelled-to-relive-it/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [If people could learn history, what lessons it might teach us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/if-people-could-learn-history-what-lessons-it-might-teach-us/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [I don't think it's such a bad idea that people learn the same history in school. I think it tends to ground people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-don-t-think-it-s-such-a-bad-idea-that-people-learn-the-same-history/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [If you want to learn about the history of a people, eat their food and drink their beverages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clemantine-wamariya/if-you-want-to-learn-about-the-history-of-a-people-eat-their-food-and/) [Clemantine Wamariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clemantine-wamariya/) > [If I hadn't become a professional basketball player, I would have become a history teacher. There's so much to learn from history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/if-i-hadn-t-become-a-professional-basketball-player-i-would-have/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [Learn from history or you're doomed to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/learn-from-history-or-you-re-doomed-to-repeat-it/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [“In history, as in traveling, men usually see only what they already had in their own minds; and few learn much from history, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/in-history-as-in-traveling-men-usually-see-only-what-they-already-had/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [I would like to invest more of my brain space in understanding the history of my city, because whenever I learn about the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keegan-michael-key/i-would-like-to-invest-more-of-my-brain-space-in-understanding-the/) [Keegan-Michael Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keegan-michael-key/) ## More by Steven Spielberg > [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Making a movie and not directing the little moments is like drinking a soda and leaving the little slurp puddle for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/making-a-movie-and-not-directing-the-little-moments-is-like-drinking/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Once scouting fully opens its doors to all who desire the same experience that so fully enriched me as a young person, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/once-scouting-fully-opens-its-doors-to-all-who-desire-the-same/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I don't dream at night, I dream at day, I dream all day; I'm dreaming for living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-don-t-dream-at-night-i-dream-at-day-i-dream-all-day-i-m-dreaming/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I think the secret of great acting is that you have to bring your imagination to the party. You have to have a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-think-the-secret-of-great-acting-is-that-you-have-to-bring-your/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I think the greatest thing about DVD is the quality of sound and picture; the real estate to put more extras on; and, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-think-the-greatest-thing-about-dvd-is-the-quality-of-sound-and/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Audience members are only concerned about the story, the concept, the bells and whistles and the noise that a popular film starts to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/audience-members-are-only-concerned-about-the-story-the-concept-the/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I was fifteen, or sixteen. I was in high school. I was spending a summer in California with my second cousins. And I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-was-fifteen-or-sixteen-i-was-in-high-school-i-was-spending-a-summer/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [You know, I don't really do that much looking inside me when I'm working on a project. Whatever I am becomes what that film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/you-know-i-don-t-really-do-that-much-looking-inside-me-when-i-m/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Casting sometimes is fate and destiny more than skill and talent, from a director's point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/casting-sometimes-is-fate-and-destiny-more-than-skill-and-talent-from/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [The costume the actors wear and if they're in stylized makeup and wigs in a live-action movie let's say, in a big costume drama,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/the-costume-the-actors-wear-and-if-they-re-in-stylized-makeup-and/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I didn't read reviews earlier in my career, but I read them now as I'm older. I read them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-didn-t-read-reviews-earlier-in-my-career-but-i-read-them-now-as-i-m/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Whatever affect any of my films have on audiences, I just kind of stop at the door. I make them and I just don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/whatever-affect-any-of-my-films-have-on-audiences-i-just-kind-of-stop/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [ I've kept the people who've been in my career who I feel are my family. Kathy \[Kennedy\] had been with me since 1978. Janusz… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-ve-kept-the-people-who-ve-been-in-my-career-who-i-feel-are-my/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Desperate times require desperate measures. What Lincoln and the Lobbyist for the Amendment and the Manager of the Amendment and himself, what they did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/desperate-times-require-desperate-measures-what-lincoln-and-the/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) [Explore all 319 Steven Spielberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) ## More Documentaries quotes > [I like the cinema of people like Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. I am not keen on trying to reproduce reality - for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-jeunet/i-like-the-cinema-of-people-like-terry-gilliam-and-tim-burton-i-am/) [Jean-Pierre Jeunet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-jeunet/) > [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/) [Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/) > [Most of the photographs people take with their cameraphones are of little value in terms of documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/most-of-the-photographs-people-take-with-their-cameraphones-are-of/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [...it is a very risky thing for anyone to go about proclaiming the truth simply because he finds himself in possession of concrete documentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-amado/it-is-a-very-risky-thing-for-anyone-to-go-about-proclaiming-the-truth/) [Jorge Amado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-amado/) > [Most of my life, I thought that I would end up a novelist. But then, in New York City, after college, I started a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/most-of-my-life-i-thought-that-i-would-end-up-a-novelist-but-then-in/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [By calling it a memoir, I meant is as a collection of memories. I thought it was (a more) artful (title) than documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/by-calling-it-a-memoir-i-meant-is-as-a-collection-of-memories-i/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [I'm a documentary photographer. That's what I've always wanted to be; that's where my heart and soul is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-a-documentary-photographer-that-s-what-i-ve-always-wanted-to-be/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [I'm in school every day. It depends on what it is that you do with all that free time when I'm not on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-lyte/i-m-in-school-every-day-it-depends-on-what-it-is-that-you-do-with-all/) [MC Lyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-lyte/) > [If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. You may as well just go and watch a documentary or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/if-you-merely-focus-on-what-we-already-know-then-it-s-not-revelatory/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [So I do tend to do documentaries where I can move in and out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-apted/so-i-do-tend-to-do-documentaries-where-i-can-move-in-and-out-of-them/) [Michael Apted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-apted/) > [Helen Weaver’s book was a revelation to me! Although I was a young woman in the fifties, I was there, but I wasn’t there!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-cassady/helen-weaver-s-book-was-a-revelation-to-me-although-i-was-a-young/) Carolyn Cassady > [There's a tradition of reenactment in documentary which is about sort of illustrating what the past might have been like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-oppenheimer/there-s-a-tradition-of-reenactment-in-documentary-which-is-about-sort/) [Joshua Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-oppenheimer/) > [I've had frustrated storytelling juices that have been lying dormant for a long time, and I guess the documentary was a way of me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bana/i-ve-had-frustrated-storytelling-juices-that-have-been-lying-dormant/) [Eric Bana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bana/) [Browse all 718 Documentaries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think documentaries are the greatest way to educate an entire generation that doesn't often look back to learn anything about the history that provided a safe haven for so many of us today.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Spielberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-way-to-educate-an-entire/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Documentaries" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-way-to-educate-an-entire/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/steven-spielberg-963_documentaries_i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-w_3218357.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/steven-spielberg-963_documentaries_i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-w_3218357.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/steven-spielberg-963_documentaries_i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-w_3218357.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think documentaries are the greatest way to educate an entire generation that doesn't often look back to…” — Steven Spielberg", "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": "Steven Spielberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think documentaries are the greatest...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-way-to-educate-an-entire/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-think-documentaries-are-the-greatest-way-to-educate-an-entire/#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 } } ] } ```