An electrostatically deflectable light valve adapted for use in an array for producing television pictures as a projected image upon a large display screen. The light valve structure is such that a plurality of reflective wing portions are free to be deflected along directional axes which are at an angle to the prime directional axes of the overall array, so that light which is predominantly diffracted along the array axes may be decoupled or separated from the signal light produced by activated light valves and used to project the image. The contrast ratio of signal light to background light for the system is significantly improved, using this method of discrimination.