“Frankly My Dear...”

“...I don't give a damn.” You know this quote because it is famous and not only that, but over the years it has become quite iconic. But can you name which movie it came from? I can. It comes from Gone with the Wind, the film adaptation of a novel by the same name. But my knowledge ends there because other than the fact that Clark Gable's character says this to Scarlet O'Hara, I have absolutely no context for the quote because I have never seen this movie.

 Not giving a damn must be nice.

There are other iconic film quotes out there. “I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” came from the movie Casablanca. And while I've actually seen this movie and know the context for the quote, there are plenty of other people out there that have not seen it.

Humphrey Bogart. Enough said.

In class this past Monday we discussed visual rhetoric and how some images have become iconic. These images were powerful when they were first introduced but they have stuck around because they have garnered some history, emotion, and meaning. To an extent, the same can be said of movie quotes.

For the most part, iconic movie quotes define the movies that they come from and how they are remembered throughout the years. “May the Force be with you.” “I'll be back.” “Bond. James Bond.” We all know what movies these come from, even if we have never seen these movies. But aside from the words evoking the movie, they can also evoke feeling. Whenever James Bond introduces himself in any of his movies, he is instantly the quintessential man full of suave and badassery. When Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaims that he will come back, we know that he will be true to his word (if for no other reason than the fact that there are several Terminator movies). But these are more “modern” movies.

 Arguably the best and most badass of them all.

When talking about Casablanca, for example, you have to consider how long ago this movie came out. It was released in the early 40's. After all those years, the iconic, “I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”, no longer has the same meaning. In the movie, it was Humphrey Bogart's character's expression of a new beginning, a new story, at the end of the film, one with more hope than the one that just played out. Without first hand knowledge of the movie, this quote has now become a declaration of something just as it begins, not a rebirth, as it was intended in the film, but just a beginning. It's a subtle change, but a change nonetheless.

But what is the point? Perhaps we should all become a little bit more culturally literate and learn where all of these quotes come from. I'm always up for a movie marathon. But ultimately, the importance of knowing such trivia is up to you.