You have to be narcissistic to be an artist. You have to think you are the centre of the whole thing otherwise why do you create? The only thing is to recognise it, and then you make the best of it. Marjane Satrapi More Quotes by Marjane Satrapi More Quotes From Marjane Satrapi People, they think that animation is a style. Animation is just a technique. It's like, people, they think that comics is a style, like comics is a superhero story. Comic is just a narration, and is a medium, you can say any kind of story in comics and you can say of any kind of story in animation. Marjane Satrapi superhero people thinking My mother was the favorite child of her parents. My father was the favorite child of his parents. The result of these two favorite children was me. And I am an only child. So I was convinced that I was the center of the universe. Marjane Satrapi mother father children A Muslim fanatic and a Christian fanatic, a Jewish fanatic, a secular fanatic, an atheist fanatic, a communist fanatic - all of them are the same. The thinking that, 'If you don't think like me, that if you are not with me, then you are against me;' this is something to condemn. Marjane Satrapi atheist christian thinking Maybe the biggest problem is that there's no empathy. Nobody puts themselves in the place of others. Everyone thinks they are the only one to suffer. Or that they're the only ones who like ice cream or take their kids on vacation. Marjane Satrapi vacation kids thinking Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself. Marjane Satrapi being-true be-true-to-yourself dignity Image is an international language. Marjane Satrapi international-language international language War always takes you by surprise. Marjane Satrapi surprise war Imagine if I cannot stand someone and every day he is here in my face, then I cannot work. Then, the whole time, I am thinking "I hate him, I hate him." But if I love him or I love her, then I can do anything, then I am comfortable. That's why it's so important to be surrounded by people that you really like. Marjane Satrapi i-love-him hate thinking Racism is not nearly as important as poverty. That's the same around the world. What look like ethnic problems are really economic issues. If you look closely at all these conflicts around the world, they come down to poverty and economics and resources. The more poverty, the worse the war. Marjane Satrapi issues racism war We can only feel sorry for ourselves when our misfortunes are still supportable. Once this limit is crossed, the only way to bear the unbearable is to laugh at it. Marjane Satrapi sorry laughing way When you say 'revolution' when you have only men outside, you know that something is going wrong. I'm not like a hardcore feminist, but I think that one of the things that makes the society advanced is equality between men and women. If half of the society is oppressed by the other half, it's not fine. Marjane Satrapi feminist men thinking Fear has always been the driving force behind all dictators' repression. Marjane Satrapi dictator driving force Writing is not for me. I completely lose my sense of humor when I write. I become extremely pathetic, very sensational. Images give me possibilities that I don't have with words. Marjane Satrapi sense-of-humor writing giving One can forgive but one should never forget. Marjane Satrapi forgiving never-forget forget Here's the problem: the description of the world is always reduced to yes or no, black or white. Superficial stories. Superhero stories. One side is the good one. The other one is evil. Marjane Satrapi superhero evil white If you have a little sensibility or a heart, you have all the reason to be depressed once in a while. But the depression is like a motor for creation. I need a little bit of depression, a bit of acid in my stomach, to be able to create. When I'm happy, I just want to dance. Marjane Satrapi want heart needs I like to make mechanical stuff. Once I make a film I have to do whatever I can make onstage I make it onstage. Marjane Satrapi film i-can stuff Politicians think they have answers for everything. We artists, we only have questions. Marjane Satrapi artist answers thinking If people are given the chance to experience life in more than one country, they will hate a little less. It's not a miracle potion, but little by little you can solve problems in the basement of a country, not on the surface. Marjane Satrapi hate country people Comics are just another medium to express yourself. It's not cinema; it's not literature; it's just something else. It has a specific requirement, which is that images are used to tell the story. There are lots of crappy movies, with guns and action and Arnold Schwarzenegger or whatever. Marjane Satrapi cinema gun stories
