I found an article, “Your Cynicism Isn’t Helping Anybody,” completely by accident, and finally, I have a succinct, orderly explanation for why I often call myself a skeptic and why, for many years including right here on this website, I have denounced cynicism. (I think my earliest mention was on Christmas Eve 2007, when I quoted Carol Burnett’s interview on “Inside The Actors Studio,” wherein she said her least favorite word is “cynicism.” INDEED.)
The article I found is from Time, and I know people very often don’t click on links, but you can read it in five or fewer minutes here. I don’t dare post it in its entirety, because I don’t want to violate copyright. In the article, Zaki rebuts and questions the following MYTHS: that cynicism is clever, safe, or moral. In fact, he says, cynicism is a trap that makes us underestimate and distrust others.
Damn near everyone I know, and believe me, that group covers a range of beliefs and attitudes related to the “forbidden” topics: sex, money, politics, and religion, keeps bringing up in our conversations, and on their social media, the same questions these days: why is everyone so mean now, why is everyone so divided and disconnected, and why does no one trust anybody? I agree with the take in this article, that “cynicism,” and the way cynicism is used against us, is at the root of these problems. I’m not a cynic, but possibly I’ll end up getting Zaki’s book, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness, because that’s how much this article resonated with me.
The many forms of art and creativity can offer us several things. Art can confront us with what’s wrong and destructive in the world and challenge us to make things better in large and small ways. Art can remind us of our common connections and give us hope. Art can elicit our humanity by giving us the opportunity to laugh, weep, and wonder. I’m grateful that during a challenging few months, I’ve had movies to remind me of all of this. My most recent rewatches have been:
1991’s Frankie & Johnny, 1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding, 1999’s Runaway Bride
Along with their humor, all three of these movies illustrate what a difference believing in oneself and others, or NOT believing in oneself and others, can make in their characters’ lives. Relationships that endure make room for apologies, forgiveness, and changes. Once again, the lead actors inhabit the lives of their characters skillfully, and Héctor Elizondo is in two of the three films, along with others I’ve already watched. If he ever plays a bad guy, I don’t want to see it. =)
Typecasting is a fatal flaw of acting. I sometimes welcome actors who break free from the mold. Patrick Stewart in Jeffery was hilariously too much of a change for a Star Trek roommate fan, but I loved the transformation betwixt the two characters by one actor. Also, Elijah Wood from Lord of the Rings to Dirk Gentley’s Holistic Detective Agency, was just a more subtle change role change, but the stories and situations were very different.
I have come across shows whose actor I loved in one role, but I hated in a different role of a different show, too, so I can see why you wouldn’t want Héctor Elizondo in a bad guy role.
Just finished Pretty Woman, probably my favorite of all Elizondo’s RomCom roles. I don’t think there’s anything Sir Patrick Stewart can’t do marvelously. He’s an international treasure.
I adore Héctor Elizondo! 😀 And, we re-watched Pretty Woman just the other night.
Interesting article! I’ve often referred to myself as a ‘cynic and a skeptic’, but I’m not a true cynic. It’s more of a ‘hope for the best, but expect the worst’ scenario (cuts down on disappointments! ) and I’m willing to give people the benefit of the doubt more often than not.
I think we’re aligned (Hector and the “hope for the best”/”benefit of the doubt”), as on so many things. =)