Movies, as evidenced by a chorus of protesting and celebrating Americans, influence broader trends.

Then everyone leaves, and you are left, each night, to your own devices with a crowd of interesting people - most of whom you don't know - sitting in the dark.

I remember from my father's funeral that the minister kept using a metaphor about life of a prism. And I took that away like a cherished image.

Some people study a text very deeply. The people are my text. I study their words and what their words sound like, over and over again. When I was a kid, my grandfather said that "if you say a word often enough, it becomes you." Thinking of that later in life gave me this idea that I could try to become America by learning the words of people from many aspects of the country. It doesn't matter how educated they are. By living in the world and living their experiences, they bring extraordinary truths. I try to do those truths justice.

I call the language of political figures, pundits and administrators "the haute couture of language."

I mean, I think that - as an actress, in particular, I'm basically a fool, and I see the world upside down.

Those in the margins are always trying to get to the center, and those at the center, frequently in the name of tradition, are trying to keep the margins at a distance.