Technology Review: Some of the most famous quotes in the history of cinema. But why do we remember these and not others--the characters' preceding lines, for example? What is it about memorable lines that makes them stick? That's the question that Cristian Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil and pals from Cornell University study today. And they make a remarkably good stab at providing some insight into this phenomenon in an entertaining paper.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
The Secret Science of Memorable Quotes
Technology Review: Some of the most famous quotes in the history of cinema. But why do we remember these and not others--the characters' preceding lines, for example? What is it about memorable lines that makes them stick? That's the question that Cristian Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil and pals from Cornell University study today. And they make a remarkably good stab at providing some insight into this phenomenon in an entertaining paper.
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3 comments:
I took the test and I got 8 out of 10 correct. I think that what differentiates a truly memorable quote from just a good quote is that it's able to stand alone outside of the context of the movie. I think a lot of that is based on pronouns - if it refers to a specific person, its alienating everyone who hasn't seen the movie. If it sticks to neutral pronouns (I, you, we) it's significantly easier to repurpose in normal conversation.
Pia is very correct when she says that the truly memorable quotes are able to stand alone, not knowing their context in the movie. For me, when i see these quotes, I think of the exact moment that they occurred in the film. That moment is what bonds that quote in my head and makes me feel like I have a personal connection to it.
This was an interesting article. I took the quiz. I got 10 out of 12. I’m fascinated by pop culture and what makes something become popular. I know movie quotes from movies I’ve never seen. And some of my favorite movie quotes that I use aren’t actually in movies. “Are you serious, McFly?” It seems like there is a group of people out there that decide if a quote is going to be memorable and stick or not. And that happens LONG before it gets to me. It seems like quotes that stick the hardest are quotes that can be applied to real life conversational situations, or at least approximated close enough.
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