21st century

Explore 838 quotes from the 21st century

But time...how time first grounds us and then confounds us. We thought we were being mature when we were only being safe. We imagined we were being responsible but were only being cowardly. What we called realism turned out to be a way of avoiding things rather than facing them. Time...give us enough time and our best-supported decisions will seem wobbly, our certainties whimsical.

Julian Barnes

The Sense of an Ending

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Topic

Effects of time

Author

Julian Barnes

Source

The Sense of an Ending

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

2011 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Barnes, Julian. The Sense of an Ending. Jonathan Cape/Alfred A. Knopf, 2011, ch. 2.

But you're wrong if you think the joy of life comes principally from human relationships. God's placed it all around us. It's in everything, in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at those things.

Chris McCandless

Into the Wild

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Topic

Happiness

Speaker

Chris McCandless

Actor

Emile Hirsch

Source

Into the Wild

Medium

Film

Genre

Biography (film) Adventure drama (film) Biography Adventure drama

Language

English

Time

2007 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Into the Wild. Directed by Sean Penn, Paramount Vantage/River Road Entertainment/Square One C.I.H./Linson Film, 2007.

I remember after my grandfather's death, seeing Dad in the hall with tears streaming down his face. I don't think I had ever seen him cry before. I'm glad I did see him. It helped me know that it was okay for men to cry. Many years later, when my father himself died, I cried; and way down deep I knew he would have said it was alright.

Fred Rogers

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Topic

Crying Tears Masculinity Vulnerability

Author

Fred Rogers

Source

The World According to Mister Rogers

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Rogers, Fred. The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember. Hachette Books, 2019, p. 29.

I certainly believe we all suffer damage, one way or another. How could we not, except in a world of perfect parents, siblings, neighbours, companions? And then there is the question, on which so much depends, of how we react to the damage: whether we admit it or repress it, and how this affects our dealings with others. Some admit the damage, and try to mitigate it; some spend their lives trying to help others who are damaged; and then there are those whose main concern is to avoid further damage to themselves, at whatever cost. And those are the ones who are ruthless, and the ones to be careful of.

Julian Barnes

The Sense of an Ending

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Topic

Suffering Pain

Author

Julian Barnes

Source

The Sense of an Ending

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

2011 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Barnes, Julian. The Sense of an Ending. Jonathan Cape/Alfred A. Knopf, 2011, ch. 1.

Thank God your mommy died givin' birth. If she'd have seen you, she'd have died of shame.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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Topic

Mothers and sons

Speaker

Pappy O'Daniel

Actor

Charles Durning

Source

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Medium

Film

Genre

Comedy drama (film) Comedy drama

Statement Type

Insult

Language

English

Time

2000 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

O Brother, Where Art Thou? Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Touchstone Pictures/Universal Pictures/StudioCanal/Working Title Films/Blind Bard Pictures, 2000.

Your path is at your feet whether you realize it or not. That is the most important thing that I will say but I will not enlarge upon it.

Agnes Martin

More information about this quote

Topic

Personal journey Self-awareness

Speaker

Agnes Martin

Language

English

Time

2004 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Martin, Agnes. Quoted in Agnes Martin: Paintings, Writings, Remembrances, written by Arne Glimcher. Phaidon Press, 2012.

Really the only time to ever drink a shot is never. No one's ever drank a shot and then done something they're proud of.

Jim Gaffigan

Obsessed

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Topic

Shots Alcohol Bad decisions

Author

Jim Gaffigan

Source

Obsessed

Medium

Standup comedy

Genre

Comedy

Language

English

Time

2014 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Gaffigian, Jim. "Obsessed." Comedy Central Special. 27 Apr. 2014, Comedy Central. Originally presented on 18 Jan. 2014 at the Wilbur Theater, Boston, MA, USA.

Literature is humanity talking to itself.

Norman Rush

Mortals

More information about this quote

Topic

Literature

Author

Norman Rush

Source

Mortals

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Rush, Norman. Mortals. Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.

The really important "great" things are never center stage of life's dramas; they're always "in the wings." That's why it's so essential for us to be mindful of the humble and the deep rather than the flashy and superficial.

Fred Rogers

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Topic

The little things Special moments Mindfulness The ordinary and mundane Big vs. small

Author

Fred Rogers

Source

The World According to Mister Rogers

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Rogers, Fred. The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember. Hachette Books, 2019, p. 144.

Does character develop over time? In novels, of course it does: otherwise there wouldn't be much of a story. But in life? I sometimes wonder. Our attitudes and opinions change, we develop new habits and eccentricities; but that's something different, more like decoration. Perhaps character resembles intelligence, except that character peaks a little later: between twenty and thirty, say. And after that, we're just stuck with what we've got. We're on our own. If so, that would explain a lot of lives, wouldn't it? And also—if this isn't too grand a word—our tragedy.

Julian Barnes

The Sense of an Ending

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Topic

Character Personal growth The human condition

Author

Julian Barnes

Source

The Sense of an Ending

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

2011 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Barnes, Julian. The Sense of an Ending. Jonathan Cape/Alfred A. Knopf, 2011, ch. 2.

You know what I think? I think its from the time we leave our parents house until we have kids - that's the only time your life is completely your own. You know I think I had about a decade of that. It was great. It was just like one long, flowing... a day, a week, a year, there wasn't much difference.

Before Midnight

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Topic

Having children

Speaker

Jesse

Actor

Ethan Hawke

Source

Before Midnight

Medium

Film

Genre

Romantic drama (film) Drama (film) Romantic drama Drama

Language

English

Time

2013 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Before Midnight. Directed by Richard Linklater, Castle Rock Entertainment/Venture Forth/Detour Filmproduction, 2013.

We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north somewhat.

Donald Rumsfeld

More information about this quote

Topic

Weapons of mass destruction Iraq War American politics

Speaker

Donald Rumsfeld

Medium

Interview TV program

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Rumsfeld, Donald. This Week with George Stephanopoulous. 30 Mar. 2003. ABC.

Have you ever crossed the road and looked the wrong way? And, hey, presto, there's a car nearly on ya. So, what do you do? Something very silly. You freeze. Your life doesn't flash before you, 'cause you're too fuckin' scared to think—you just freeze and pull a stupid face. But the pikey didn't. Why? Because he had plans of running the car over.

Snatch

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Topic

Freezing in fear

Speaker

Turkish

Actor

Jason Statham

Source

Snatch

Medium

Film

Genre

Crime comedy (film) Crime (film) Crime comedy Crime

Language

English

Time

2000 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Snatch. Directed by Guy Ritchie, SKA Films, 2000.

It's not always easy for a father to understand the interests and ways of his son. It seems the songs of our children may be in keys we've never tried. The melody of each generation emerges from all that's gone before. Each one of us contributes in some unique way to the composition of life.

Fred Rogers

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Topic

Fathers and sons Fatherhood Parents and children

Author

Fred Rogers

Source

The World According to Mister Rogers

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Rogers, Fred. The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember. Hachette Books, 2019, p. 83.

You're the one with the big mouth, and I would really enjoy closing it, especially in front of all my friends. But my hands are registered as lethal weapons. That means, we get into a fight, I accidentally kill you, I go to jail.

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood

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Topic

Shutting up

Speaker

Bruce Lee

Actor

Mike Moh

Source

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood

Medium

Film

Genre

Comedy drama (film) Comedy drama

Language

English

Time

2019 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, Columbia Pictures/Bona Film Group/Heyday Films/Visiona Romantica, 2019.

Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man.

Iain Duncan Smith

More information about this quote

Topic

Still waters run deep

Speaker

Iain Duncan Smith

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

2002 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Smith, Iain Duncan. Speech to the Conservative Party Conference. The 2002 Conservative Party Conference. 10 Oct. 2002, Bournemouh, England, UK.

Strange, isn't it? To have dedicated one's life to a certain venture, neglecting other aspects of one's life, only to have that venture, in the end, amount to nothing at all, the products of one's labors ultimately forgotten?

George Saunders

Lincoln in the Bardo

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Topic

Wasted life

Author

George Saunders

Source

Lincoln in the Bardo

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

2017 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Saunders, George. Lincoln in the Bardo. Random House, 2017.

There seems to be a general overall pattern in most lives, that nothing happens, and nothing happens, and then all of a sudden everything happens.

Fay Weldon

More information about this quote

Topic

Inflection points

Author

Fay Weldon

Genre

Autobiography and memoir

Language

English

Time

2002 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Weldon, Fay. Auto da Fay. Flamingo, 2002.

The "one" that I am is composed of narratives that overlap, run parallel to, and often contradict each other.

Glenn Ligon

More information about this quote

Topic

Personal identity Contradiction

Author

Glenn Ligon

Medium

Interview

Language

English

Time

2011 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Ligon, Glenn. Yourself in the World: Selected Writings and Interviews, edited by Scott Rothkopf. Yale University Press, 2011.

But you know the thing about romance is people only get together right at the very end.

Love Actually

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Topic

Love stories Love

Speaker

Sam

Actor

Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Source

Love Actually

Medium

Film

Genre

Christmas (film) Romantic comedy (film) Christmas Romantic comedy

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Love Actually. Directed by Richard Curtis, Working Title Films/StudioCanal/DNA Films, 2003.