The A to Z of English - Mistaking criticism for cynicism

WOULD it be an overstatement if I said that human beings are vain pots and also the strangest of God's creations? They live in a cocoon comfortable with the immediate world around them, refusing to see the copiousness life has to offer.
I recently wrote a movie review and it was merely my personal response as a viewer but it met with a barrage of brickbats, with people shooting from the hip. I didn't see much of rebuttal to the host of points I raised justifying why the review tipped not so favourably.
The harshness of the response jolted me to the reality that hero-worshipping and blind idolatry could turn the most sensible person into an assassin even.
Having said that, those who reacted harshly didn't see the dense line between cynicism and criticism and these words transcend from being mere terminologies.
My search for a proper definition of cynicism led me to this: Antisthenes of Athens (c.445-c.360BC) is known as the founder of Cynicism. The name "cynic" derives from the Greek word "kuon" meaning "dog".
It denoted the denial of luxuries, wealth and social status. Antisthenes believed that desire takes a person towards pleasure and misery and this misery is due to insufficient and temporal happiness. He regarded well-being as the only virtue that is required in order to get the real happiness. The cynics believed in the philosophies of Socratic tradition which indicated that the society is being cheated by false values and thus people should not give preference to status and luxury.
Cynics lived in streets with no money and, this was the way they thought they were able to live a greed-less life. This background explains how the word cynicism came into existence, and in modern understanding it is explained as a form of doubt resulting from ignorance and antiquated ways or we can also say it as an attitude of lack of respect or jaded negativity.
Now, this modern explanation of the word cynicism is very different from the original explanation. Cynics don't trust the real intentions of others. They may also question every action, real or imagined of their fellow human beings.
Cynicism can also be vaguely linked to hypocrisy. This may seem confusing but people had adapted it in different meanings and thus there are numerous definitions to explain the meaning of cynicism.
Criticism on the other hand is an unbiased approach of a person towards a thing, an idea, a person, etc. The person who works consciously on criticising as a profession is known as a critic.
To explain it further, we can relate it with an example of a film critic. A movie critic watches a movie. In the process he analyses the movie with its pros and cons. His criticism leads to certain results and ratings for the movie and then these results are printed or broadcast in various types of media.
We would have almost always read a review or two before deciding to watch a movie and people would have by now adopted a preference for a critic of their choice. It is then up to the viewers to get influenced by the critic or make their own opinion. Again, it is sometimes associated with the negative judgment and sometimes in an intelligent manner.
Cynicism and criticism both define the expression that one holds for the other thing, person or idea. Cynicism has evolved into a negative expression. It is also categorised as mocking whereas criticism still with its negative usage is defined to judge a particular person, activity, idea, etc, but with justifiable and expert observations. Both have different origins but the common thing between them is that they have been advanced in terms of meanings.
It is normal for a critic to pick up the imperfections and his or her job is to look out for faults and essentially, people who write reviews do so as a job or task.
By the way, sarcasm is different from both cynicism and criticism. It's not a general way to look at things. It is aimed at specific persons, and is a form of insult. It's a caustic remark about someone, meant to attack and disparage them, using humour and irony as a means to that end. Of course, today the meaning has been diluted to "a harmless form of humour".
Sarcasm, criticism and cynicism are amply used in critically reviewing works of literature and no offence is meant or taken.
Let us look at what cynicism might look in the real sense of a literary work next, just to illustrate and define the differences these terms hold to the average man on the street.
Look out for how cynicism is presented in Ibu Haym's Falling in Love in my next column, as an extension to this topic.
The writer believes that the Malaysian education system will reach greater heights with a strong antidote to revolutionise just about everything. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com