--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'Three Billboards,' which is not based on…" description: "\"'Three Billboards,' which is not based on a true story but does have some reality flavoring, must appear worthy of elected office in some way. This was..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/576/wesley-morris-8047_billboards_three-billboards-which-is-not-based-on-a_2189236.png" --- # 'Three Billboards,' which is not based on a true story but… ![“'Three Billboards,' which is not based on a true story but does have some reality flavoring, must appear worthy of elected office in some way. This was, at first, the illusion presented by the people running the campaigns and, in turn, over the years, has become the custom for lots of us.” quote by Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/576/wesley-morris-8047_billboards_three-billboards-which-is-not-based-on-a_2189236.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/576/wesley-morris-8047_billboards_three-billboards-which-is-not-based-on-a_2189236.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/576/wesley-morris-8047_billboards_three-billboards-which-is-not-based-on-a_2189236.png) > “'Three Billboards,' which is not based on a true story but does have some reality flavoring, must appear worthy of elected office in some way. This was, at first, the illusion presented by the people running the campaigns and, in turn, over the years, has become the custom for lots of us.” [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how political campaigns create an illusion of deserving office, a practice that becomes entrenched over time. **In simple terms:** Political narratives can mask true qualifications. Key Takeaway Question the authenticity of political narratives. Themes politics media perception Mood critical analytical Type political media commentary When to use this quote - election cycles - public opinion formation - media analysis Key Concepts campaign strategy public image Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports a candidate's merit? - How do narratives shape voter expectations? A Different Perspective Such narratives may oversimplify complex governance issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Billboards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billboards/) [Billboards Based](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billboards-based-2876254/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Illusion Presented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion-presented-4761707/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Flavoring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-flavoring-4761708/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true/) [True story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-story/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) ## Related quotes > [My first job in Brazil was actually to develop a way to improve the readability of billboards, and based on speed, angle of approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vik-muniz/my-first-job-in-brazil-was-actually-to-develop-a-way-to-improve-the/) [Vik Muniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vik-muniz/) > [You are who God says you are. Spiritually alive. Heavenly positioned. Connected to the Father. A billboard of mercy. An honored child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/you-are-who-god-says-you-are-spiritually-alive-heavenly-positioned/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Just being able to make exactly what I want with my brother and a lot of my best friend and to have a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-duplass/just-being-able-to-make-exactly-what-i-want-with-my-brother-and-a-lot/) [Mark Duplass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-duplass/) > [In this drawing we just let our imagination run wild. We visualized Superman toys, games, and a radio show - that was before TV…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-shuster/in-this-drawing-we-just-let-our-imagination-run-wild-we-visualized/) [Joe Shuster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-shuster/) > [If you're a conscious rap artist and you're worried about Billboard charts, you're gonna have a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/if-you-re-a-conscious-rap-artist-and-you-re-worried-about-billboard/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [I think that I shall never see A billboard lovely as a tree. Perhaps, unless the billboards fall, I'll never see a tree at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/i-think-that-i-shall-never-see-a-billboard-lovely-as-a-tree-perhaps/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I definitely consider myself extremely blessed to have great partners in endorsing products. It's not about being on billboards. I endorse something because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-tebow/i-definitely-consider-myself-extremely-blessed-to-have-great-partners/) [Tim Tebow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-tebow/) > [I was in Shanghai recently, where Twitter is blocked, and yet there were ads and billboards across town with hashtags on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-costolo/i-was-in-shanghai-recently-where-twitter-is-blocked-and-yet-there/) [Dick Costolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-costolo/) > [We are bored in the city, there is no longer any Temple of the Sun. Between the legs of the women walking by, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-chtcheglov/we-are-bored-in-the-city-there-is-no-longer-any-temple-of-the-sun/) [Ivan Chtcheglov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-chtcheglov/) > [When I was the first time for a job in New York, I saw Natalia Vodianova on an oversized billboard in Times Square on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-stone/when-i-was-the-first-time-for-a-job-in-new-york-i-saw-natalia/) [Lara Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-stone/) > [The sterile, arid environment created by truly jarring and discordant signage and gargantuan billboards is a turnoff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-katz/the-sterile-arid-environment-created-by-truly-jarring-and-discordant/) [Jonathan Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-katz/) > [Oh my God..." Xhex's heart stopped as she looked at him in the mirror. Across his upper back, in a glorious spread of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/oh-my-god-xhex-s-heart-stopped-as-she-looked-at-him-in-the-mirror/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [I've come up through art school, through painting, through graphic design, through advertising, through TV commercials and music video. I've designed books, built billboards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kaye/i-ve-come-up-through-art-school-through-painting-through-graphic/) [Tony Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kaye/) > [I've been on a show before where I was on a billboard and then, after like three or four weeks, they took the billboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-perry/i-ve-been-on-a-show-before-where-i-was-on-a-billboard-and-then-after/) [Matthew Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-perry/) > [Try Jesus, you won't regret it, a billboard read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/try-jesus-you-won-t-regret-it-a-billboard-read/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) ## More by Wesley Morris > [I don't like turkey. I mean, I do. But I don't like it on Thanksgiving. I don't need it. There are about 20 other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/i-don-t-like-turkey-i-mean-i-do-but-i-don-t-like-it-on-thanksgiving-i/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > ['Playboy' operated with a patina of civility that granted the average man a presumption of pleasure that went one way - his. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/playboy-operated-with-a-patina-of-civility-that-granted-the-average/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [I feel like I've always approached criticism with a degree of morality, right? Like, not as a moralizer, but just as somebody who wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/i-feel-like-i-ve-always-approached-criticism-with-a-degree-of/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [A week before Thanksgiving, my mother bought the turkey, frozen. Then she froze it some more. Then she let it thaw and cleaned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/a-week-before-thanksgiving-my-mother-bought-the-turkey-frozen-then/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [Jordan Peele is famous, in part, for imitations - of rappers and dingbats and the 44th president of the United States. But he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/jordan-peele-is-famous-in-part-for-imitations-of-rappers-and-dingbats/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [I don't need the audience, but sometimes it's nice to have a gauge - not so I know how I feel, but so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/i-don-t-need-the-audience-but-sometimes-it-s-nice-to-have-a-gauge-not/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [If Judge Steven T. O'Neill sent Mr. Cosby away for the rest of his life, that sentence couldn't undo what he's convicted of having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/if-judge-steven-t-o-neill-sent-mr-cosby-away-for-the-rest-of-his-life/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [Anyone who watches a lot of television, or listens to pop music, is familiar with a certain vision of America. If not exactly colorblind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/anyone-who-watches-a-lot-of-television-or-listens-to-pop-music-is/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [I like Rob Morgan in 'Mudbound.' Most of the attention being paid to this movie has focused on Rachel Morrison's cinematography and Mary J.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/i-like-rob-morgan-in-mudbound-most-of-the-attention-being-paid-to/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [I like Nora Ephron. She wasn't a critic in the strictest sense of the word, but she did a lot of social criticism. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/i-like-nora-ephron-she-wasn-t-a-critic-in-the-strictest-sense-of-the/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [Anything produced and then exhibited for public view is open to interpretation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/anything-produced-and-then-exhibited-for-public-view-is-open-to/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [I don't see a lot, but I think what the movie studios know and what they always know but they kind of ignore, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/i-don-t-see-a-lot-but-i-think-what-the-movie-studios-know-and-what/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [What about Hong Chau? In typical supporting-part fashion, she shows up halfway through 'Downsizing,' already shrunk, an imperious Vietnamese house cleaner with a limp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/what-about-hong-chau-in-typical-supporting-part-fashion-she-shows-up/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [Ms. Sciorra is a member of a dwindling fleet of actors who actually sound like they come from somewhere. In her case, 'somewhere' is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/ms-sciorra-is-a-member-of-a-dwindling-fleet-of-actors-who-actually/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [Suddenly, stories of abuse and harassment are being believed; abusers and harassers are being toppled. Yet, at the same time, one of the top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/suddenly-stories-of-abuse-and-harassment-are-being-believed-abusers/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) [Explore all 85 Wesley Morris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) ## More Billboards quotes > [Try Jesus, you won't regret it, a billboard read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/try-jesus-you-won-t-regret-it-a-billboard-read/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [I've been on a show before where I was on a billboard and then, after like three or four weeks, they took the billboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-perry/i-ve-been-on-a-show-before-where-i-was-on-a-billboard-and-then-after/) [Matthew Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-perry/) > [I've come up through art school, through painting, through graphic design, through advertising, through TV commercials and music video. I've designed books, built billboards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kaye/i-ve-come-up-through-art-school-through-painting-through-graphic/) [Tony Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kaye/) > [Oh my God..." Xhex's heart stopped as she looked at him in the mirror. Across his upper back, in a glorious spread of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/oh-my-god-xhex-s-heart-stopped-as-she-looked-at-him-in-the-mirror/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [The sterile, arid environment created by truly jarring and discordant signage and gargantuan billboards is a turnoff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-katz/the-sterile-arid-environment-created-by-truly-jarring-and-discordant/) [Jonathan Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-katz/) > [When I was the first time for a job in New York, I saw Natalia Vodianova on an oversized billboard in Times Square on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-stone/when-i-was-the-first-time-for-a-job-in-new-york-i-saw-natalia/) [Lara Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-stone/) > [We are bored in the city, there is no longer any Temple of the Sun. Between the legs of the women walking by, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-chtcheglov/we-are-bored-in-the-city-there-is-no-longer-any-temple-of-the-sun/) [Ivan Chtcheglov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-chtcheglov/) > [I was in Shanghai recently, where Twitter is blocked, and yet there were ads and billboards across town with hashtags on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-costolo/i-was-in-shanghai-recently-where-twitter-is-blocked-and-yet-there/) [Dick Costolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-costolo/) > [I definitely consider myself extremely blessed to have great partners in endorsing products. It's not about being on billboards. I endorse something because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-tebow/i-definitely-consider-myself-extremely-blessed-to-have-great-partners/) [Tim Tebow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-tebow/) > [I think that I shall never see A billboard lovely as a tree. Perhaps, unless the billboards fall, I'll never see a tree at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/i-think-that-i-shall-never-see-a-billboard-lovely-as-a-tree-perhaps/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [If you're a conscious rap artist and you're worried about Billboard charts, you're gonna have a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/if-you-re-a-conscious-rap-artist-and-you-re-worried-about-billboard/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [In this drawing we just let our imagination run wild. We visualized Superman toys, games, and a radio show - that was before TV…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-shuster/in-this-drawing-we-just-let-our-imagination-run-wild-we-visualized/) [Joe Shuster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-shuster/) > [Just being able to make exactly what I want with my brother and a lot of my best friend and to have a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-duplass/just-being-able-to-make-exactly-what-i-want-with-my-brother-and-a-lot/) [Mark Duplass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-duplass/) > [You are who God says you are. Spiritually alive. Heavenly positioned. Connected to the Father. A billboard of mercy. An honored child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/you-are-who-god-says-you-are-spiritually-alive-heavenly-positioned/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticide grain, For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain. America, America, man sheds his waste on thee, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/oh-beautiful-for-smoggy-skies-insecticide-grain-for-strip-mined/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) [Browse all 130 Billboards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billboards/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'Three Billboards,' which is not based on a true story but does have some reality flavoring, must appear worthy of elected office in some way. 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