An electronically dimmable optical device, including, in sequence, an active absorbing polarizer; a first static reflective polarizer; an active polarization rotator; and a second static reflective polarizer; configured so that the reflectivity and/or transmissivity of the device can be controlled (increased or decreased) by application of a voltage across the active absorbing polarizer and/or the active polarization rotator. One or more polarization levels can be selected by controlling the voltage at the active absorptive polarizer such that setting the active absorptive polarizer to a selected polarization level determines the brightness of an image produced by the device.