Skip to main content

Daily Inspiration Quote by Christine Baranski

"I often close my eyes because I can't tolerate violence"

About this Quote

There’s something quietly subversive in an actress admitting she “often” closes her eyes. Baranski isn’t selling toughness; she’s naming a boundary. In a culture that treats gore as proof of sophistication and “grit” as a personality type, the line reads like a refusal to perform the expected stoicism. The phrasing matters: “can’t tolerate” isn’t moral grandstanding, it’s sensory truth. She’s not arguing violence is wrong; she’s saying her body rejects it.

Coming from Baranski, the confession lands with extra charge because her screen persona is so frequently composed, witty, even cutting. Think of the polished authority she’s played for decades: characters who can look directly at ugliness and still keep the room under control. Against that public image, closing her eyes becomes a small revelation about the cost of looking. It hints at the actor’s double life: professionally trained to inhabit conflict, personally protective of what images get to live in her head.

The line also slips into a broader conversation about how entertainment metabolizes brutality. Violence in film and TV is often framed as “realism,” yet it’s stylized, repeated, made bingeable. Baranski’s habit punctures that normalization. It’s a reminder that spectatorship is participation of a kind: you can opt out, even mid-scene, and still be an engaged viewer.

Subtext: sensitivity isn’t fragility. It’s discernment. And in an era where shock is currency, choosing not to watch can be a surprisingly radical act.

Quote Details

TopicPeace
SourceHelp us find the source
Cite

Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Baranski, Christine. (2026, January 15). I often close my eyes because I can't tolerate violence. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-often-close-my-eyes-because-i-cant-tolerate-145642/

Chicago Style
Baranski, Christine. "I often close my eyes because I can't tolerate violence." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-often-close-my-eyes-because-i-cant-tolerate-145642/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I often close my eyes because I can't tolerate violence." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-often-close-my-eyes-because-i-cant-tolerate-145642/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.

More Quotes by Christine Add to List
Christine Baranski quote on refusing to watch violence
Click to enlarge Portrait | Landscape

About the Author

USA Flag

Christine Baranski (born May 2, 1952) is a Actress from USA.

33 more quotes available

View Profile

Similar Quotes

Josef Albers, Artist
Josef Albers
Paul Gauguin, Artist
Paul Gauguin
Abdurrahman Wahid, Statesman