Controversial Themes Quotes

'Holy Smoke' is very brave because I don't think it's easy to watch.

Mostly I do films that mainstream Hollywood wouldn't touch.

Nobody wants to take a risk with scripts that push the envelope.

The films of Gregg Araki may not be classified as horror, but they have been known to horrify viewers.

There are, however, those who have called the book [The Kite Runner] divisive and objected to some of the issues raised in the book, namely racism, discrimination, ethnic inequality etc.

Todd Solondz is one of my favorite directors.

Most people don't see the edginess in my work. They think it's all fantasy and whimsy.

I want to talk about the things that people don't think you're allowed to talk about.

There's not a lot of music videos that are totally, totally disturbing.

I don't really know exactly how it happened but I don't like the idea that I would ever have said I'm going to write about racism or puberty or bullying.

I love 'Heathers.' I love 'Spring Breakers.'

I've written on public matters, but I don't understand how anyone could tout me as a possible poet laureate when I wrote a poem on the abdication of King Charles III or about the sex life of the Royals... anybody who knew my work would know I'm not a contender.

I'd much rather insult people and make 'em angry. Donnie Darko's very controversial. Not all of my friends like it. Honestly, it's almost become a test for me. If somebody says they don't like Donnie Darko, I think, "Oh, I don't know you as well as I thought I did."

Movies should make people uncomfortable sometimes.

I can think of films that I'm producing right now that are extremely hard-hitting, graphic films, that nobody necessarily wants to see, graphic in terms of violence, of adult content and racial and historical subject matter.

I think literature is best when it's voicing what we would prefer not to talk about.

I do want to say things in these films. I want audiences to come out with shards stuck in them. I don't care if people love my films or walk out, as long as they have a strong response.

We know that the elements in play in a show like 'Confederate' are much more raw, much more real, and people come into them much more sensitive and more invested, than they do with a story about a place called 'Westeros,' which none of them had ever heard of before they read the books or watched the show.

I think the only boundaries are individual and personal. A writer should be free to write about anything he or she wants to, including the twin towers. I have made small references to 9/11 in my past two books.

There is a certain amount of pornography that exists throughout Purple Rain, but the appeal is obvious. You can really pick that picture apart and see where "A" fits into "B" and so on. It was very wisely done.

Writing a novel about feminism can be a thankless task.

In this day and age of Internet, where we have several dating sites, it is bizarre to say the audience is not ready to watch bolder themes.

I think I've done every disgusting thing you can in a film.

If a man writes a brilliant enough play in praise of something that is universally loathed, the play, if it is good and well enough written, should not be knocked down because of its approach to its subject.

Our touchstones of slavery are 'Song of the South,' 'Gone With the Wind' and 'The Birth of a Nation.' It's hard to separate the cinematic quality from the underlying themes. I appreciate the films, but the message was repugnant.