Movie Quotes for Outsiders, Eccentrics, and Dreamers

Ever feel like an outsider? Are you the "misfit" of the family? You just don't comfortably fit into this world, don't know who you are, or perhaps walk to a different beat than others? I began to feel different at a very young age, and these feelings continued into my adult life for a variety of reasons.

Films were a major escape for me, and I had great identification with stories about people who were outsiders, eccentrics, felt disconnected from themselves and others, or lived outside-the-box. Many of the characters who spoke movie quotes were rebels, loners, or nerds who wanted to be accepted, understood, or decided to break from tradition and lived by their own code (e.g., "Rebel Without a Cause," "The Sterile Cookoo," "The Red Balloon," "Freaks," and many more).

Here are ten movie quotes from a few of the films that have impacted my life and why.

"There's no place like home."("The Wizard of Oz" - Movie Quotes, One)

I sure wanted that safe, happy, loving place that Dorothy (played by Judy Garland) longed to return to called home. There she was in Oz, carried there by a horrendous tornado in a strange place. Wickedness, danger, novelty, goodness, fun, and confusion alternated there. Dorothy inherited Ruby Red Slippers when Glenda, the Good Witch of the North transferred them to her feet following the death of the Wicked Witch of the East. To return home to Kansas, Dorothy was instructed to click her heels three times, and say the words: "There's no place like home." The tornado represented my emotions. Oz was the ups and downs of daily life. Home was hope for a safe place.

"I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies." ("Gone with the Wind" - Movie Quotes, Two)

Prissy (played by Butterfly McQueen), one of the maids in the O'Hara household, says these words when Scarlett's cousin Melanie is about to have a baby. There was something in this quote that stayed with me. Whenever anyone asked me to do something that made me uncomfortable, or asked me a question that I couldn't answer, I would use this line in the voice of the character. I felt inadequate, and used humor to protect that vulnerability. Although I'm nowhere near the same insecure person I used to be, I still enjoy using this line to get out of doing things (e.g. " I don't know nothin' 'bout HD TVs.")

"Every time you hear a bell ring, it means that some angel's just got his wings." ("It's A Wonderful Life" - Movie Quotes, Three)

An apprentice angel named Clarence (played by Henry Travers), says these words to George Bailey, the man he is sent down to earth to help. The two of them are in a bar. A bell sounds when the cash register is opened, and Clarence says this quote to George. Three years ago, I had a near death experience in Cusco, Peru. It's a miracle I'm alive with the amount of fluid I had in my lungs that was dangerously close to my brain. I saw my mother, my grandmother, and a beautiful, luminous angel who put light into my body. Now, when I hear a bell ringing, it takes me back to that experience, and I'm incredibly grateful for my life and begin to believe in my dreams again.

"Are we not men?" ("Island of Lost Souls" - Movie Quotes, Four)

Charles Laughton plays a mad scientist named Dr. Moreau who has created beings that are half man, half animal. These creatures were taught a code by their creator and begin to tell this code to a man who finds himself caught on the island and in their midst. One of the them is played by Bela Lugosi, a Sayer-of-the-Law. and he incites them to recite it: "Not to go on all-fours; that is the Law. Are we not Men? "Not to suck up Drink; that is the Law. Are we not Men? "Not to eat Fish or Flesh; that is the Law. Are we not Men? "Not to claw the Bark of Trees; that is the Law. Are we not Men? "Not to chase other Men; that is the Law. Are we not Men?" I use the quote as an ironic comment in conversations about men behaving badly (e.g., New York Governor Elliot Spitzer and his link to a prostitution ring).

"The sun spit morning into Julian's face." ("The Owl and the Pussycat" - Movie Quotes, Five)

Barbara Streisand plays a prostitute who is listening to her client, George Segal, read an excerpt from his novel. She begins to make fun of the line. I love it because it's so descriptive in its simplicity. I like to use this line to describe a bad start to my day--the kind of day that makes me want to go back to bed and stay under the covers.

"God bless us everyone." ("A Christmas Carol" - Movie Quotes, Six)

Glyn Dearman plays Tiny Tim, the little crippled boy who says this line when the Cratchit family is eating dinner, and is saying grace for the meager meal they are able to afford while Scrooge watches the scene with the Ghost of Christmas Present.The Internet Movie Database cites eight different movie versions, but the one I'm referencing is the one with Alistair Sims playing Scrooge in 1951. I also like the one with Albert Finney in the role from 1970. These words inspired a healthy spirit of gratitude and generosity toward humanity. It gave me a another perspective on the world from a child who is so loving.

"Gooble Gobble! We accept you! One of us! One of us!" ("Freaks" - Movie Quotes, Seven)

These words are chanted by numerous actors in the film, as a group of "freaks" in a circus are celebrating the marriage of Hans (a midget) to a "normal" woman who is wedding the guy to murder him & steal his fortune. The freaks chant these words to let his new wife know that she is accepted as part of their group now, and this repulses her. Todd Browning, the director, made this sensitive film in 1932 before regulations for using deformed people was implemented. I use this whenever I (or anyone else) does something that they feel ashamed of, embarrassed by, or are just to hard on themselves. It's for anyone who feels like the don't belong or are outsiders.

"They call me Mr. Tibbs." ("In the Heat of the Night" - Movie Quotes, Eight)

Sydney Portier says this line in reply to Rod Steiger, a racist sheriff he must work with down south to help solve a case. The sheriff condescendingly asks Portier: "What do they call you up north, boy?" This one line was inspiring to many African-Americans, and shocking to many whites in America when the film was released. It influenced many lives and still comes across just as strongly today as a message of self-respect.

"Can you make me feel good? Make me feeeel gooood." ("Monster's Ball" - Movie Quotes, Nine)

Halle Berry's husband has been executed in jail, and her son has been hit by a car and died. She is in the home of the man (played by Billy Bob Thornton), who is one of the racist jailers at the prison that killed her son, and also the guy who picks her and her son up after the accident and takes them to the hospital. He has recently lost his own son (played by Heath Ledger) to suicide. Halle's in a so much pain that she pleads with Billy Bob in a seduction to make her feel good to obliterate her feelings through sex. I related to her pain and using anyone or anything to kill it. She won an Oscar Academy Award as Best Actress for her performance.

"Play Misty for me." ("Play Misty for Me" - Movies Quotes, Ten)

Jessica Walter calls up Clint Eastwood, who plays a disc jockey on the graveyard shift at a radio station, and regularly asks him in a very sexy voice to play that song. She turns out to be a crazed, obsessive woman who threatens him and his loved ones. I was a disc jockey myself at the time, and that movie spooked me big time! No more greatest fans for me!

Movies and their dialogue continue to have an impact on my life: they inspire, support, challenge, and give me a healthy appreciation for the screenwriters and original authors of the books on which the films are based. Although all these films are fiction, these quotes evoke and touch real feelings and emotions.