"Optimism is not inherently a superior way of viewing the world. Certainly doctors will say it might be better for one's physical health to be an optimist. But, morally speaking it may not be appropriate in certain circumstances"
About this Quote
Solondz is poking a thumb in the eye of our default cultural setting: that optimism is not just a mood, but a virtue. The line lands because it treats cheerfulness the way his films often treat sentimentality - as something that can become coercive when it’s rewarded automatically. He grants the obvious concession (“doctors will say…”), then pivots to the real target: the moral alibi optimism can provide.
The subtext is less “be a pessimist” than “stop confusing comfort with goodness.” In a culture that sells positivity as hygiene - meditate, manifest, reframe - optimism can function like a social lubricant that keeps difficult truths from scraping. Solondz’ “morally speaking” is doing heavy lifting: it implies that there are moments when hope isn’t humane, it’s evasive; when a bright outlook isn’t resilience, it’s complicity. Think of situations involving systemic harm, grief, abuse, or injustice, where insisting on a sunny narrative can minimize the victim, rush the reckoning, and let everyone else off the hook.
Contextually, this fits a writer known for stories where normalcy is a mask and happy endings can feel like lies with good lighting. The rhetoric is dry, almost clinical, which mirrors the critique: optimism gets framed as a health intervention, a wellness product. Solondz counters by re-centering ethics over affect. The sharpness comes from the refusal to let “feeling better” automatically stand in for “being better,” and from the implied accusation that mandated positivity is often just despair wearing a polite face.
The subtext is less “be a pessimist” than “stop confusing comfort with goodness.” In a culture that sells positivity as hygiene - meditate, manifest, reframe - optimism can function like a social lubricant that keeps difficult truths from scraping. Solondz’ “morally speaking” is doing heavy lifting: it implies that there are moments when hope isn’t humane, it’s evasive; when a bright outlook isn’t resilience, it’s complicity. Think of situations involving systemic harm, grief, abuse, or injustice, where insisting on a sunny narrative can minimize the victim, rush the reckoning, and let everyone else off the hook.
Contextually, this fits a writer known for stories where normalcy is a mask and happy endings can feel like lies with good lighting. The rhetoric is dry, almost clinical, which mirrors the critique: optimism gets framed as a health intervention, a wellness product. Solondz counters by re-centering ethics over affect. The sharpness comes from the refusal to let “feeling better” automatically stand in for “being better,” and from the implied accusation that mandated positivity is often just despair wearing a polite face.
Quote Details
| Topic | Optimism |
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