--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A movie camera is like having someone you…" description: "\"A movie camera is like having someone you have a crush on watching you from afar - you pretend it's not there.\" — Tom Stoppard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/tom-stoppard-437_afar_a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-yo_988393.png" --- # A movie camera is like having someone you have a crush on… ![“A movie camera is like having someone you have a crush on watching you from afar - you pretend it's not there.” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/tom-stoppard-437_afar_a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-yo_988393.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/tom-stoppard-437_afar_a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-yo_988393.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/tom-stoppard-437_afar_a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-yo_988393.png) > “A movie camera is like having someone you have a crush on watching you from afar - you pretend it's not there.” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The camera, like a crush, watches from a distance, prompting us to ignore its presence despite its scrutiny. **In simple terms:** We often pretend not to notice when we feel observed. Key Takeaway Acknowledge observation rather than deny it. Themes perception self‑awareness media Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - public speaking - social media - personal introspection Key Concepts observer effect psychology of attention Questions to Reflect On - What do you notice when you stop pretending? - How does awareness change your behavior? A Different Perspective Ignoring observation can lead to missed feedback. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ## Related quotes > [That awkward moment when you're picking your nose, and you realize your crush is watching so you pretend to just be scratching your cheek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-awkward-moment-when-you-re-picking-your-nose-and-you-realize/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In previous experiences of being in the All-Star Games, you know, seeing the hometown players and how the fans get behind the hometown players,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scherzer/in-previous-experiences-of-being-in-the-all-star-games-you-know/) [Max Scherzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scherzer/) > [I secretly love you... 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That's clearly been shown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-holofcener/i-would-still-encourage-somebody-if-they-wanted-to-make-a-movie-to-2/) [Nicole Holofcener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-holofcener/) > [I would still encourage somebody, if they wanted to make a movie, to just go take a movie camera. That's clearly been shown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-holofcener/i-would-still-encourage-somebody-if-they-wanted-to-make-a-movie-to/) [Nicole Holofcener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-holofcener/) > [Nothing could be recorded in those days except by aiming a movie camera at the television screen. It was at least another 10 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-kneale/nothing-could-be-recorded-in-those-days-except-by-aiming-a-movie/) [Nigel Kneale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-kneale/) > [The first movie I was when I was around 16 or 17. It was a hard-core drama, artistic movie. 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It began through technology, not through telling stories, because my 8mm movie camera was the way into whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/my-filmmaking-really-began-with-technology-it-began-through/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [When I was nine, I asked my Dad, ‘Can I have your movie camera? That old, wind-up 8-millimeter movie camera that’s in your drawer?’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/when-i-was-nine-i-asked-my-dad-can-i-have-your-movie-camera-that-old/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) > [I've always said Thomas Edison invented the movie camera to show people killing and kissing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/i-ve-always-said-thomas-edison-invented-the-movie-camera-to-show/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) ## More by Tom Stoppard > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“What is an artist? For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/dying-is-not-romantic-and-death-is-not-a-game-which-will-soon-be-over/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I'm not interested in clothes; I just like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-interested-in-clothes-i-just-like-them/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For 10 years of my life, 3 times a day, I thanked the Lord for what I was about to receive and thanked him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-10-years-of-my-life-3-times-a-day-i-thanked-the-lord-for-what-i/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) [Explore all 559 Tom Stoppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More Afar quotes > [The Son of God goes forth to war,A kingly crown to gain;His blood red banner streams afar:Who follows in His train?Who best can drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-heber/the-son-of-god-goes-forth-to-war-a-kingly-crown-to-gain-his-blood-red/) [Reginald Heber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-heber/) > [“Can I like you from afar?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-bernardino/can-i-like-you-from-afar/) [Bianca Bernardino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-bernardino/) > [Religion exalts mystery as an unknowable secret that must be sealed in glass like the corpse of an enchanted princess and fearfully worshipped from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lon-milo-duquette/religion-exalts-mystery-as-an-unknowable-secret-that-must-be-sealed/) [Lon Milo DuQuette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lon-milo-duquette/) > [Ah, my brother, it is a far harder thing, and it is afar higher proof of a thorough-going, persistent, Christian principle woven into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/ah-my-brother-it-is-a-far-harder-thing-and-it-is-afar-higher-proof-of/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and an be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blessed-is-the-servant-who-loves-his-brother-as-much-when-he-is-sick/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Last but not least my family. My brother Tony, I love you. Thank you for beating me up when I was a kid. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/last-but-not-least-my-family-my-brother-tony-i-love-you-thank-you-for/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [I wasn't a 'Battlestar' fan, but I had a lot of respect for the show. I had a lot of friends who worked on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-roiz/i-wasn-t-a-battlestar-fan-but-i-had-a-lot-of-respect-for-the-show-i/) [Sasha Roiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-roiz/) > [Kindle the taper like the steadfast star Ablaze on evening's forehead o'er the earth, And add each night a lustre till afar An eightfold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-lazarus/kindle-the-taper-like-the-steadfast-star-ablaze-on-evening-s-forehead/) [Emma Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-lazarus/) > [Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us-2/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [There is so much more to the things that we think we know from afar. The close you get the more complex it is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-meiselas/there-is-so-much-more-to-the-things-that-we-think-we-know-from-afar/) [Susan Meiselas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-meiselas/) > [There is good government when those who are near are made happy, and when those who are afar are attracted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/there-is-good-government-when-those-who-are-near-are-made-happy-and/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [I like Stella McCartney, Chloe, Alexander McQueen, Aaron Featherstone, normal Chanel if I can ever afford it, I'd be wearing that all the time!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-snow/i-like-stella-mccartney-chloe-alexander-mcqueen-aaron-featherstone/) [Brittany Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-snow/) > [The New England Patriots have always been a special organization and I've always watched from afar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-moss/the-new-england-patriots-have-always-been-a-special-organization-and/) [Randy Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-moss/) > [Time past, present, and to come, as also depth and height, near and afar off, are all one in God, one comprehensibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-bohme/time-past-present-and-to-come-as-also-depth-and-height-near-and-afar/) [Jakob Bohme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-bohme/) > [In the glory which overhangs Palestine afar off, we imagine emotions which never come, when we tread the soil and walk over the hallowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/in-the-glory-which-overhangs-palestine-afar-off-we-imagine-emotions/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) Browse all 212 Afar quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A movie camera is like having someone you have a crush on watching you from afar - you pretend it's not there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Stoppard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-you-have-a-crush-on-watching/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afar" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-you-have-a-crush-on-watching/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/tom-stoppard-437_afar_a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-yo_988393.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/tom-stoppard-437_afar_a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-yo_988393.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/tom-stoppard-437_afar_a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-yo_988393.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A movie camera is like having someone you have a crush on watching you from afar - you pretend it's not there.” — Tom Stoppard", "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": "Tom Stoppard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A movie camera is like having...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-you-have-a-crush-on-watching/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/a-movie-camera-is-like-having-someone-you-have-a-crush-on-watching/#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 } } ] } ```