Why would
Nolan vandalize the Odyssey the way he is, and still hold his head high?
Now of
course, this BabylonBee article is satire, but it is only slightly satire. And
that is the problem. Rather than retell one of the greatest stories in history
as faithfully as possible, Nolan has sought to reimagine it for our day and
age, which is simply Hollywood speak for trash it, subvert it, and seek to profit
from it.
As Caldron
pool notes,
“Christopher
Nolan’s upcoming film The Odyssey is already facing a barrage of criticism, and
it hasn’t even been released yet. Much of the fire has largely been directed at
Nolan’s painfully “woke” casting choices.
His
retelling of Homer’s legendary Greek epic will include transgender actress
Ellen Page, rumoured to play Achilles, rapper Travis Scott as a Greek poet,
Zendaya as Athena, and Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o portraying Helen of Troy...
…The
backlash has been fierce, and arguably well-deserved. Many see it not as
creative licence, but as the deliberate defacement of Greek history and one of
antiquity’s greatest works of literature. This is not material that should be
remoulded to satisfy Hollywood’s diversity quotas…
…Nolan’s
defence of the casting hasn’t done much to help his cause either. When asked
why he cast rapper Travis Scott in the film, Nolan reportedly explained: “I
cast him because I want to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed
down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap.”
Author
and Christian commentator, Eric Metaxas, came out guns blazing, stating on X:
“As a lover of Western Civilization—and the proud son of a Greek immigrant—I
denounce Nolan’s sacrilege in perverting this great epic with DEI [Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion] and trans lunacy.”[1]
The Odyssey, along
with its brother story, Troy, is not simply a fantasy, or a legend, or an
ancient action story. It transcends all those genres and styles completely. It
is a version of theological narrative, much like the Bible is. Do not
misunderstand me, I am not putting the Odyssey on the same level as the Bible,
that is not my point. My point is that just as the Bible seeks to understand
Israel’s history in light of her relationship with the Lord God, so does Troy and the Odyssey seek to understand Greece’s victory over one of the great
empires of that day, Troy, and why the gods chose to favour Greece over the Trojans.
You might call it poly-theological history.
That is why this
story is so long lasting, and perpetually relevant. It transcends storytelling
and crosses over into meaning of life territory. It seeks to cast the actions
of the gods and the Greeks and Trojans in light of their understanding of
morality in their day. That is why the story moves between the battles on the
field, likely based on a true historical battle, and the actions between the
gods, based on the Greek understanding of their divine pantheon in that era. It
probably even served, to some degree, as political propaganda used to vindicate
the Greeks before the other nations of their day for their role in the
destruction of one of the greatest cities of their age. While at the same time
being used by the Greeks to explain to themselves who they are in the world, and
how they should act to keep the “gods” on their side.
These stories
were beyond a phenomenon in the ancient world, they were foundational
narratives taught to every Greek child, and far beyond. Alexander the Great
carried a copy of the Illiad and Odyssey around, a personal copy, like a modern
Christian would the New Testament and Psalms. Achilles was not simply a heroic
character to him, but a template, an archetype of the ideal Greek. This was one
of the purposes of this story, to show the Greeks who they should be.
This is why
this story is still remembered today, because it transcended story telling and
moves into the mythic narratives which inform culture and society. And Greece
is one of the most influential elements of our own history, one of the underpinnings
of our own western civilisation. Yes, we have come to understand that the
Greek views on God and the divine were idolatrous, for sure. But their stories
still tell us something about who we are and where we come from. Indeed, even the Romans
claimed in their own mythic narratives to be descended from Trojan refugees, so
you can see why these stories remained so popular for so long and why these
stories should be preserved faithfully. They inform us of our ancestors. This
is not just true for Greeks, but for Europeans in general. These two civilisations
run under the foundations of every western nation.
It is my view
that this is why this story has been targeted for vandalism. Almost every grand
narrative that was loved by those who grew up in the late 20th
century has been successively subverted by Hollywood (may they keep their
corruption away from Back to the Future), now they are seeking to move
through the historical catalogue to the great timeless stories.
Nolan might be
diversifying the cast for pragmatic reasons. The Hollywood academy demands this
for any movie that wants any recognition through their awards ceremonies. But
there is a simple response to that:
In 3000
years, what are the chances that anyone will exist who has ever heard of
Christopher Nolan, or even still remembers any of his movies? What are the
chances? Probably less than zero. He might not even be remembered in 100 years.
Even if his
most famous films are remembered, the Dark Knight Trilogy, and they are
some of my favourite movies, they will be remembered for Batman, and the Joker,
far more than they will be for Nolan. More likely they will be forgotten because
of a long line of remakes and retellings, and all that will remain is a future catalogue
of some of their main stories, kept as artefacts of the myths and legends of
our age.
Yet this
upstart has the gall to think he can improve on one of the most successful
adventure stories in history, and in Western civilisation! The only stories
from history that are more famous are the accounts in the Bible, maybe King
Arthur, Robin Hood, and Troy itself. But outside of those stories no other
stories have remained so well-known and so much an integral part of history and
storytelling itself.
Even The
Fellowship of the Ring, which is a story that might survive that long (if
Amazon does not succeed in killing it, like Disney has with Star Wars), is a
version of the Odyssey story. In fact, "Odyssey" is not just a story,
it is a genre all of its own. That is how famous it is.
The arrogance
of some living people towards the past never ceases to amaze me. The impudence,
even. I truly hope people give this Odyssey movie as little respect as it
deserves. The only way to stop these historical vandals is to shun them,
entirely. Read the book, you won’t regret it. In this case that is much more
important than you may realize. They are trying to change your history right in
front of you, and get you to pay for the privilege of watching them do it.
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References
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