Tag: Greek Mythology

This whole thing with “The Odyssey” is getting so surreal. Just when it seems we are living in the most anti-intellectual period of our country’s modern history (and we are), and that nobody reads anymore (according to one survey, 40 percent of Americans read fewer than four books last year), much less has any interest in the past (at our peril: history doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes, and humans of every era have something to tell us about ourselves), suddenly Nolan mania strikes a flint that not only sparks the interest of legions of Americans to revisit Homer, or to read him for the first time, it also has them unearthing scholarly minutiae to share on social media and even looking into learning Greek!

Earlier this week, a clash of the titans was brewing between “Odyssey” translator Emily Wilson (Philadelphia’s biggest celebrity scholar/rock star since Camille Paglia), who publicly trashed Nolan’s adaptation (while expressing gratitude, kind of, for the spike in sales of her books), and Princeton’s own Joyce Carol Oates, frequently shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Literature. Oates took umbrage with Wilson’s unscholarly tone in her assessment of Nolan’s film in the London Review of Books, which Oates described as crude and uncollegial. While the puny fight their culture wars on social media, the gods clash on Olympus!

Of course, before the movie even came out, keyboard gladiators were spilling into the arena to have it out over what they perceived as the “woke” concepts and casting of this new version.

I have to say, I enjoyed the movie. I wish I could say I loved it, but they just don’t make movies in a style that I can really embrace anymore. However, it has stuck with me, and I derived further pleasure from thinking about it later, and how the director put his own spin on the story and developed his own themes. It’s not MY “Odyssey,” exactly, but it’s a consistent, thoughtful interpretation.

I do wish the Greeks had ransacked Poseidon’s temple (after all, Poseidon was the protector of Troy), as it would make sense that an angry god of the sea would contribute significantly to Odysseus’ difficulties on his journey home. But instead Nolan changes it to Athena, which makes no sense from a Homeric standpoint, as the goddess of wisdom is Odysseus’ biggest champion.

It does, however, support Nolan’s personalized, more contemporary vision. In the film, “Athena” signifies something more than what at first she seems. Still, I miss the goddess’ spirit and flashing eyes from the original telling. What can I say? I was forged during the last gasp of the Age of Heroism.

Be all that as it may, I am just elated that suddenly “The Odyssey” is so important to everyone, that everyone is so engaged (or so enraged) that people are ready to go to battle over it. That’s the kind of passion we need right now. The populous SHOULD feel strongly about the great works. Of course, they should also read them before making themselves sound like idiots by expressing uninformed opinions. It’s refreshing to see all this care, be it enthusiasm or rage, being lavished on a piece of literary art.

What’s next? An adaptation of the Hindu epic “The Ramayana” is headed for international release in November, complete with vertiginous CGI sequences and Hans Zimmer score. I wish it had employed less of both, but I might have to see it (even though, like “The Lord of the Rings,” I’ll probably hate it).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zip1rNaNYs&