Only a thinking person can be a full person | Věra Chytilová, 1929-2014

Věra Chytilová, 1950s

“If there’s something you don’t like, don’t keep to the rules–break them. I’m an enemy of stupidity and simple-mindedness in both men and women and I have rid my living space of these traits.”

Věra Chytilová

Věra Chytilová, 1957 / photo by Václav Chochola

“Everyone does what they can to avoid thinking. Laziness is the most basic human trait. People don’t want to think — they can’t make the connection between entertainment and thought, they want immediate kicks. People will not be human until they get pleasure from thought. Only a thinking person can be a full person.”

Věra Chytilová

“The most important thing is getting beyond yourself, trying not to work on something familiar, but rather trying to penectrate further. You don’t really begin working creatively until you are at a point where you don’t know, where you are finding out. Each stop forward involves an immense amount of strenuous effort.”