one of the strongest feelings i remember from my childhood is, precisely, of being humiliated; of being knocked about by words, acts, or situations. isn't it a fact that children are always feeling deeply humiliated in their relations with grown-ups and each other? i have a feeling children spend a good deal of their time humiliating one another. our whole education is just one long humiliation, and it was even more so when i was a child. one of the wounds i've found hardest to bear in my adult life has been the fear of humiliation, and the sense of being humiliated. every time i read a review, for instance - whether laudatory or not - this feeling awakes. to humiliate and be humiliated, i think, is a crucial element in our whole social structure.

stig bjorkman / ingmar bergman
interviews with ingmar bergman