From: Trainspotting, T2: Trainspotting… and a T-Shirt
Genre: Movies
Who said it?: Mark “Rent Boy” Renton
The story behind the quote: This quote actually comes from a litany of sources but it’s most popular coming from the the black comedy film from 1996 Trainspotting. The film is about a heroin addict named Mark “Rent Boy” Renton (played by Ewan MacGregor) and his friends and their generally drug fueled lifestyle. The film eventually spawned a sequel, T2: Trainspotting, which reunited pretty much the entire cast from the first film.
The quote is usually said at the very start, followed by a long monologue of other things you can “choose.” In Trainspotting, Mark Renton delivers it over a voiceover while running away from something.
In T2: Trainspotting, Mark Renton delivers an updated monologue to reflect the modern time period…
Oh, and Renton was upfront saying that the original meaning of this week’s quote was from an anti-drug campaign in the 1980’s anti-drug slogan. In fact, it was pretty big in some areas and it was even put on t-shirts. In fact, if you look at George Michael’s shirt in Wham’s! music video of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, you can actually see it plastered on it.
Geek wisdom: There is so much in life that is good but you have to choose to live first. You have to choose life before you can actually start to enjoy what it can offer.