Brain Food #390
Optimism or cynicism?
Daily Brain Food.
Thoughts of the day
It might seem unusual to cite a TV series as a source of inspiration, but nowadays, art is all around us, and easily accessible on every screen (which is also why fourteen Paris Museums have put over 300,000 masterpieces online for public enjoyment).
Fleabag is a modern-day masterpiece, showcasing Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s genius writing skills and incisive insight on what it means to be an individual full of conflicts, desires, needs and insecurities, in a world where things always appear to go haywire. It is easy, in such a scenario, to be a cynic, to not believe in anything.
In fact, the opposite of optimism in the series is not pessimism, but cynicism. Things are not destined to go against our will, but the reality is that are quite likely to do so.
As an atheist who falls in love with a priest, she often reminds him, and us, of how she does not believe in her salvation. Yet, through this lack of belief, and a series of unfortunate events, she manages to find her optimism.
Like life, drama and comedy intermingle. It is impossible to be prepared for everything, in the same way it may be hard to maintain faith in something.
Maybe Joyce Carol Oates has the recipe:
“Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.”
