There exists a pushback against a recent trend dubbed "hopecore," a cultural meme seen on social media platforms (mostly Tik Tok) which accentuates the positive. The reasons for this backlash are several, of course. Those who consider themselves realists believe that such rampant positivity can be toxic. It certainly doesn't help that so many popular sentiments regarding humanity's interconnectivity have been reduced to phrases printed on throw pillows and door mats that you can buy at Target. In an era where so many feel that to be positive is to be willfully ignorant, the notion that things can (or even might) work out alright feels like an empty platitude.

No single work of art can turn a pessimist into an optimist or vice versa, but the power of art can certainly address both the macr

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