Victor de la Cruz, Author at My Geek Wisdom

“Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise.”

From: Watchmen

Genre: Comics/Movies (sort of)

Who said it?: Rorschach

The story behind the quote: The quote comes the Alan Moore comic Watchmen, which was later adapted to a feature length film of the same name. Both the comic and the movie takes place in a world on the brink of nuclear war and a group of costumed heroes try to solve the murder The Comedian, a former comrade of theirs. There’s a lot more going on but, if I did try to cram all of the details of the incredibly dense narrative, this would be one long paragraph.

The quote comes from the very end of both the film and the comic. The heroes do discover who is behind the murder of The Comedian. However, the mastermind behind the plot has managed to also find a way for the world’s leaders to band together and, thus, actually have world peace through a truly despicable act, however. Most of the heroes decide to keep quiet to ensure the peace would last. However, one of the heroes, the anti-social Rorschach (played by Jackie Earle Haley) doesn’t want to do it…

When the comic was adapted into the 2009 film, the quote did change a bit as the lines are switched but the message is still the same. This time, Rorschach says, “Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon.”

Geek wisdom: A person’s integrity and humanity will never be tested when things are easy. They will only be tried during times of hardship and when we feel we need to compromise. While some people may believe that conceding may be the proper thing to do, there will be people who will be sticking to their guns no matter what. These are the people that may not be able to see the greater good of compromise or these people may be the ones who are the true heroes for standing up for their beliefs even if they are not popular. Ultimately, only history will say which was the right choice.

“You learned to dance like that sarcastically?”

From: The Other Guys

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Detective Allan Gamble

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the 2010 action comedy buddy cop movie The Other Guys. The film is about a seemingly mild-mannered detective and former pimp Allan Gamble (played by Will Ferrell) and hot-headed copy Terry ‘Yankee Clipper” Hoitz (played by Mark Wahlberg). Hoitz got the nickname by accidentally shooting at Derek Jeter during the World Series. They are both looked down upon by the entire precinct yet both feel that they just need to crack that one big case to get the respect they deserve.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. Hoitz confronts his former fiancee for joining a strip clup (which is actually a dance studio). Thinking that his ex will let him back if he proves he can dance, Hoitz does a series of outstanding pirouettes and leaves. His partner, Gamble, astonished by his dancing ability asks Hoitz how he learned to do those moves, to which Hoitz replies that he learned how to do that to make fun of the other kids who are actually good at dancing. This is when Gamble delivers the quote…

Geek wisdom: We actually don’t learn skills because we like them or not. We learn them instinctively through repetition. In fact, we may actually become good at things we don’t even enjoy because we keep on doing the same thing over and over again. But, whether or not this new skill is something we enjoy doing or not, we have to be thankful that we learned something new because you never know when it may become useful to us in the future.

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.”

From: The Shawshank Redemption

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Andy Dufresne

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the critically acclaimed film, The Shawshank Redemption. The movie follows Andy Dufrense, who was wrongfully convicted of killing his wife and the man she was having an affair with. He is imprisoned in Shawshank, where he befriends Ellis “Red” Redding, who is serving a life sentence. While not a commercial hit when it was first released, The Shawshank Redemption has become a classic due to near universal approval.

The quote comes after Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) is released from solitary. He meets up with “Red” Redding (played by Morgan Freeman) and Andy dreams of what he would do if he ever does make it out of prison. Red tells Andy that he shouldn’t keep dreaming about life on the outside. That’s when Andy turns to Red and delivers the quote

Geek wisdom: When in times of deep despair, we can feel that life is hopeless and there is no meaning to living anymore. It can be easy to think that life is all about suffering and pain during these trying times. However, the only time life is actually not worth living is when we give up on the hope that things will never get better.

We should never give up on life and try to move past the hard times. That’s the only way things will actually get better.

“…the points don’t matter.”

From: Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Genre: Television

Who said it?: The various hosts of the show

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the incredibly long-lived improv comedy show, Whose Line Is It Anyway? The basic premise of the show is that the host gives a panel of four comedians a series of various scenarios to act out improv-style. He may then ask the comedians to perform various other things on the fly, like changing the personality in the middle of the scene. The humor is usually derived from how the comedians react and how they react to each other.

The quote is usually said by the host to explain that, although it’s supposed to be a game show, the points are just arbitrarily on a whim. The original UK show (hosted by Clive Anderson) doesn’t mention this often. However, when the show moved to the US, hosts Drew Carrey (during the show’s intial 1998-2005 run) and Aisha Tyler (who is currently the host of the revival since 2013), make it a point to mention the quote frequently.

Geek wisdom: Social convention will try to tell us what makes us a success. They will try to pound into us there is a series of tick boxes you have to fill in to say that you’ve made it in life. Have a family. Have a high paying job. Own your own house. But these things may not mean anything to others… maybe even you.

We try to compare ourselves to these “points” even though they may not matter to us because society tells us so. We don’t have to follow the normal convention of success as the measure of a man’s success depends on whether or not he met his own personal goals or not.

“Fear can never kill you.”

From: Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Chiun

The story behind the quote: The movie comes from the little known film, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. The movie was loosely based on The Destroyer, a series of books. The movie and the books all focus around Remo Williams (played by Fred Ward), a former New York police officer forcibly recruited into a secret government organization to fight off evils that ordinary law enforcement can tackle. Remo Williams is trained by Chiun (played by Joel Grey), a Korean martial artist, who trains him in the martial art known as Sinanju, which gives Remo the ability to do extraordinary feats, like dodging bullets.

The quote comes early in the film during the initial stages of Remo’s training. Standing on the ledge of the building, Chiun asks Remo to follow him. When Remo climbs up on the ledge, Chiun immediately runs to the other end of the building and beckons his student to follow him. Remo is hesitant as he’s afraid he may fall off. That is when Chiun tells Remo that fear is just a feeling and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We sometimes let fear control our actions. While fear may be good in telling us we shouldn’t be doing something dangerous or stupid, we do have a lot of irrational fears that stop us from doing actions that may benefit us. It could be speaking in front of large crowds or being rejected. But we do have to get over some of our fears as these irrational fears prevent us from being more than we can be.

“I’ve made a huge mistake.”

From: Arrested Development

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Most of the Bluth Family Members but mostly “Gob”

The story behind the quote: Arrested Development is a sitcom that focuses around the Bluths, a family of rather deviant people. While the sitcom was acclaimed by critics and did get a huge cult following, the show was ultimately cancelled after only three seasons. The show’s fanbase did prove large enough to warrant Netflix to develop a fourth season roughly seven years after the show’s cancellation. The show is known for a lot of Easter Eggs as well as recurring gags like this week’s quote.

The quote is actually exclaimed by the majority of the Bluth family, however, it’s Gob Bluth that says it the most often. It’s usually uttered after one of the characters does something he/she thinks is the right thing to do only to realize a few moments later that it was actually a bonehead move.

Geek wisdom: Everyone makes mistakes and it’s okay to make them most of the time. Mistakes are actually one of the best tools we have to learn new things. However, it’s a huge mistake to keep on making the same errors over and over again, repeating them ad nauseam.

“Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!”

From: Planet of the Apes (1968)

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: George Taylor

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the sci-fi classic, Planet of the Apes. The film was successful enough to spawn several sequels and the film has been remade in 2001. The series was also rebooted into a new franchise of films starting with 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Essentially, all the films feature intelligent apes overtaking the humans as the superior race of the planet.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. After astronaut George Taylor (played by Charlton Heston) crash lands on the Planet, he is captured by the apes. Upon learning that Taylor possesses higher intelligence than the rest of the humans, Dr. Zaius orders the astronaut to be castrated. Taylor then makes an unsuccessful attempt at escape. As the apes grab Taylor, the human delivers the quote, surprising everyone.

Geek wisdom: It can be scary to fight against oppression, especially if the one doing the abusing is stronger and more powerful than you. But, there has to be a time when we all must fight back. We can’t always cower and take it. We will have to stand up against them if we want to stop being under the thumb of someone else. It will take courage to do so and it may be frightening but it’s much better to fight back than to live in constant fear.

“Stupid is as stupid does.”

From: Forrest Gump

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Forrest Gump

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the critically acclaimed film of the 90’s, Forrest Gump. The movie is about a slow-witted man named Forrest Gump and all of the adventures he goes through as well as how he influenced the world around him. The movie won several awards, including Best Picture during the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) has just been discharged from the Army. He proceeds to fulfill his promise to his friend Bubba, who he met during basic training, to start a shrimping business. Everyone around him, even Bubba’s family, is skeptical that the shrimping business would succeed and they think it’s an dumb idea. This is usually when Forrest delivers the saying that his mother taught him when he was younger.

Geek wisdom: It’s so easy to judge people by the way they look. Based on this, we automatically infer their intelligence as well as questions the decisions they make. But a person’s intellect, quick-wittedness and mental acuity is never determined by the way they look, but, rather, from the choices they make. Look at the decisions and the choices the person makes, not how they look like.

“You complete me.” AND “You had me at ‘hello.'”

From: Jerry Maguire

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Dorothy Boyd

The story behind the quote: As Valentines Day is just a few hours away, we’re doing something special. We’re presenting two quotes today instead of one! This week’s quotes comes from the critically acclaimed and box office hit Jerry Maguire. The film follows the titular character as he decides to quit his current company in order to open his own sports agency that will be more dedicated and focused on their clients and not just care for the money the athletes pay them. At the start of the film, Jerry Maguire (played by Tom Cruise) tries to rally the other employees to join him but only Dorothy Boyd (played by Renee Zellweger), a single mom, joins him.

The quote comes near the end of the film. Dorothy had broken up with Jerry as she feels he doesn’t feel the same way. After seeing his only client Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.) call his family and say how much he loves them, Jerry gets an epiphany and flies back home to try to get Dorothy back…

Geek wisdom: Let’s first tackle the first quote, “You complete me.” This is how Jerry Maguire ended his speech, expressing how much he missed being with Dorothy. And this is true not just for your significant other but for anyone who’s ever been in any kind of relationship. Life just doesn’t feel complete unless we can share it with others. We need to be with other people at sometimes to get the most out of life and the world around us. Each and everyone you’re grown to love is, somehow, a part of you. They’ve influenced you in one way or another and now will be with you forever.

Now, for the second quote, “You had me at ‘hello.'” At times, we can try to string together a lot of words in an attempt to express our feelings. However, there are going to be times when this isn’t necessary. You don’t need too many words to express your love for someone or let them know you care.

“I’m not even supposed to be here today!”

From: Clerks

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Dante Hicks

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the cult classic Clerks. The movie was written and directed by Kevin Smith. Filmed on a really shoestring budget, Clerks follow the misadventures of Dante Hicks, a clerk from the Quick Mart who is called in to work on his day off, and Randall Graves, a slacker clerk who works next door at a video rental store. The movie became a cult classic and launched Kevin Smith’s career.

The quote comes from Dante Hicks several times throughout Clerks. Whenever something unfortunate happens to him while on the job, he bemoans the fact that this was supposed to be his day off.

Geek wisdom: There are going to be bad days and there’s really no way to say how a day will turn out because it’s not something you can control sometimes. The best thing to do is to bear with it and try to get through the day the best you can.