A light valve that switches light does so by enabling and disabling total internal reflection (TIR) on a surface of the light valve. The disabling of the TIR is accomplished by putting another optical element in contact with the surface and then diffusing or changing the direction of the light. These valves may be used in an array for a projection system or one at a time. The mechanical mechanism to move the optical element is a simple in that it only moves the optical element a small distance to change the valve from an on position to an off position.