2000s

Explore 534 quotes from the 2000s

Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the "transcendent" and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mamals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you.

Christopher Hitchens

More information about this quote

Topic

How to live

Author

Christopher Hitchens

Source

Letters to a Young Contrarian

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

2001 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Hitchens, Christopher. Letters to a Young Contrarian. Art of Mentoring. Basic Books, 2001, envoi.

Do you ever do this, you think back on all the times you’ve had with someone and you just replay it in your head over and over again.

(500) Days of Summer

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More information about this quote

Topic

Looking back Dwelling on the past Broken relationships

Speaker

Tom

Actor

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Source

(500) Days of Summer

Medium

Film

Genre

Comedy drama (film) Romantic comedy (film) Comedy drama Romantic comedy

Language

English

Time

2009 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

(500) Days of Summer. Directed by Marc Webb, Searchlight Pictures, Watermark, and RatPac Entertainment, 2009.

Every man, woman, and child alive should see the desert one time before they die. Nothin' at all for miles around. Nothin' but sand and rocks and cactus and blue sky. Not a soul in sight.

25th Hour

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More information about this quote

Topic

The desert

Speaker

James Brogan

Actor

Brian Cox

Source

25th Hour

Medium

Film

Genre

Drama (film) Drama

Language

English

Time

2002 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

25th Hour. Directed by Spike Lee. Touchstone Pictures/25th Hour Productions/40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks/Gamut Films/Industry Entertainment, 2002.

Once literature is contrived as the hymn of the nation, the flag of the race, the mouthpiece of a political party or the voice of a class or a group it can be employed as a mighty and all-engulfing tool of propaganda. However, such literature loses what is inherent in literature, ceases to be literature, and becomes a substitute for power and profit.

Gao Xingjian

The Case for Literature

Read this speech at nobelprize.org

More information about this quote

Topic

Literature

Speaker

Gao Xingjian

Source

The Case for Literature

Medium

Nobel Prize Lecture Speech

Language

Chinese

Time

2000 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Gao Xingjian. "The Case for Literature." Nobel Lecture. 7 Dec. 2000, Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden.

You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.

Jonathan Safran Foer

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

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More information about this quote

Topic

Happiness Sadness Yin and yang

Author

Jonathan Safran Foer

Source

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

2005 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Foer, Jonathan Safran. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Houghlin Mifflin, 2005.

If you look at a dog following the advice of his nose, he traverses a patch of land in a completely unplottable manner. And he invariably finds what he's looking for.

W.G. Sebald

More information about this quote

Topic

Dogs Animals Discovery

Speaker

W.G. Sebald

Medium

Interview

Language

English

Time

2001 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Sebald, Winifred Georg. Interview with Joe Cuomo. Queens College Evening Reading Series. 13 Mar. 2001, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA. Question and answer session.

I believe that it's very important to experience a radical rupture, discontinuity or transformation of meaning during your life, but the earlier it happens the better.

Anri Sala

More information about this quote

Topic

Transformative experiences Paradigm shift Personal growth Experiences

Speaker

Anri Sala

Medium

Interview

Language

Albanian

Time

2006 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Sala, Anri. Quoted in Anri Sala (Phaidon Contemporary Artists Series), written by Hans Ulrich Obrist. Phaidon Press, 2006.

What if you stayed this time?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

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More information about this quote

Topic

Relationships

Speaker

Clementine Kruczynski

Actor

Kate Winslet

Source

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Medium

Film

Genre

Romantic drama (film) Science fiction (film) Romantic drama Science fiction

Language

English

Time

2004 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Directed by Michel Gondry, Anonymous Content/This Is That, 2004.

Come back and make up a good-bye at least. Let's pretend we had one.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

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More information about this quote

Topic

Saying goodbye Broken relationships Relationships

Speaker

Clementine Kruczynski

Actor

Kate Winslet

Source

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Medium

Film

Genre

Romantic drama (film) Science fiction (film) Romantic drama Science fiction

Language

English

Time

2004 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Directed by Michel Gondry, Anonymous Content/This Is That, 2004.

Log off. That "cookies" shit makes me nervous.

Tony Soprano

The Sopranos

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More information about this quote

Topic

Surveillance capitalism The internet

Speaker

Tony Soprano

Actor

James Gandolfini

Source

The Sopranos

Medium

TV program

Genre

Crime (TV) Drama (TV) Crime Drama

Statement Type

Orders and commands

Language

English

Time

2001 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

"Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood." The Sopranos, written by David Chase, directed by Allen Coulter, season 3, episode 1, Chase Films and Home Box Office, 2001.

We are the change that we seek.

Barack Obama

More information about this quote

Topic

Political progress Progress Change Politics

Speaker

Barack Obama

Source

Speeches of Barack Obama

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

2008 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Obama, Barack. Senator Barack Obama’s speech to supporters after the nominating contests. 5 Feb. 2008, Chicago, IL, USA.

No one gives it to ya, you have to take it.

The Departed

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More information about this quote

Topic

Assertiveness Going for it

Speaker

Frank Costello

Actor

Jack Nicholson

Source

The Departed

Medium

Film

Genre

Crime (drama) Thriller (film) Crime Thriller

Language

English

Time

2006 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Departed. Directed by Martin Scorsese, Plan B Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, Media Asia Entertainment Group, Vertigo Films, GK Films, and Media Asia Films, 2006.

Don't ever make decisions based on fear. Make decisions based on hope and possibility. Make decisions based on what should happen, not what shouldn't.

Michelle Obama

More information about this quote

Topic

Decisions and choices Hope vs. fear Hope Fear

Author

Michelle Obama

Source

Fear Is a Useless Emotion

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

2008 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Obama, Michelle. Quoted in "Michelle Obama in Phoenix: 'Fear Is a Useless Emotion'" by Dawn Teo. Huffpost.com, 5 June 2008, www.huffpost.com/entry/michelle-obama-in-phoenix_b_103924. Originally stated during campaign fund raiser. 3 June 2008, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

You know the difference between me and you? I bleed red and you bleed green.

Avon Barksdale

The Wire

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More information about this quote

Topic

Love of money

Speaker

Avon Barksdale

Actor

Wood Harris

Source

The Wire

Medium

TV program

Genre

Crime (TV) Drama (TV) Crime Drama

Language

English

Time

2004 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

"Moral Midgetry." The Wire, written by David Simon and Richard Price and William F. Zorzi, directed by Agnieszka Holland, season 3, episode 8, Blown Deadline Productions and Home Box Office, 2004.

Sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it.

Brokeback Mountain

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More information about this quote

Topic

Missing someone

Speaker

Jack Twist

Actor

Jake Gyllenhaal

Source

Brokeback Mountain

Medium

Film

Genre

Romantic drama (film) Romantic drama

Language

English

Time

2005 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Brokeback Mountain. Directed by Ang Lee, River Road Entertainment, 2005.

How you expect to run with the wolves come night when you spend all day sparring with the puppies?

The Wire

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More information about this quote

Topic

Preparation Toughness Getting soft

Speaker

Omar Little

Actor

Michael K. Williams

Source

The Wire

Medium

TV program

Genre

Crime (TV) Drama (TV) Crime Drama

Language

English

Time

2006 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

"Home Rooms." The Wire, written by David Simon and Richard Price and Ed Burns, directed by Seith Mann, season 4, episode 3, Blown Deadline Productions and Home Box Office, 2006.

The reality is we’re still 11-year-old boys locked in a cellar imagining what our lives would have been if we’d escaped.

Mystic River

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More information about this quote

Topic

Trauma Counterfactual history

Speaker

Sean Devine

Actor

Kevin Bacon

Source

Mystic River

Medium

Film

Genre

Neo-noir Crime (film) Crime

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Mystic River. Directed by Clint Eastwood, Village Roadshow Pictures/Malpaso Productions/NPV Entertainment, 2003.

Words mean something different depending on the person who says them, right?

Gloria Steinem

More information about this quote

Topic

Meaning of words Context

Speaker

Gloria Steinem

Source

Speeches of Gloria Steinem

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

2009 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Steinem, Gloria. "Keynote Speech." Women and Power: Connecting Across the Generations Conference. 11 Sept. 2009, Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY, USA.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control and the nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

Barack Obama

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Read this speech at UVA's Miller Center website

More information about this quote

Topic

Unfettered capitalism Free market Economic inequality 2008 Financial Crisis

Speaker

Barack Obama

Source

First Inaugural Address of Barack Obama

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

2009 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Obama, Barack. "First Inaugural Address." 20 Jan. 2009, West Front, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

You think I have time to ask a man why he givin' me money or where he gets his money from? I'll take any motherfucker's money if he givin' it away!

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More information about this quote

Topic

Money in politics Political campaigns Politics

Speaker

Clay Davis

Actor

Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Source

The Wire

Medium

TV program

Genre

Crime (TV) Drama (TV) Crime Drama

Language

English

Time

2006 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

"Soft Eyes." The Wire, written David Simon and David Mills and Ed Burns, directed by Christine Moore, season 4, episode 2, Blown Deadline Productions and Home Box Office, 2006.