I didn't realize before I said this that it was going to be the next big problematic media on tumblr, but to be clear, no it isn't a meticulous one-to-one retelling of the Odyssey, it's a spin on the story, and no it isn't a deep dive into Greek culture, it's a Hollywood blockbuster, so it's got some anachronisms and story differences and the cast is various big name actors. Pretty common occurrence for adaptations of literature, honestly, and that's fine actually.
Deciding which details should change is part of the art, and some adaptations are going to be looser than others, it's how we get Romeo + Juliet (1996) and O Brother Where Art Thou (2000). Each one will have its flaws, but if you're expecting a precise recreation where every detail is spot on and every line is quoted verbatim, then adaptations will always disappoint you, because that's not what they're meant to be.
I don't think you can properly appreciate (nor, therefore, critique) a work of art if you aren't willing to take it on its own terms. What is the movie actually trying to do? What does it have to say?
I've seen people saying on here that it treats Ancient Greece as the "pinnacle of civilization" in the way that American and British culture so often does, but I have to push back on that because it very explicitly challenges that exact thing. The plot is driven by people's failures. Spoilers incoming, but the whole story is about how the mythologies of war are incompatible with the realities of war. There are no heroes in war, what they did was ugly and wrong, and yet they'll be celebrated for it. Mythologized even. Odysseus can't go home until he accepts that he cannot be the great man everyone thinks he is. The myth has displaced the man, along with every victim, innocent and otherwise, of all that violence. And where does it lead? Does Odysseus return to find his home happy and thriving? Is it the "pinnacle" of civilization? If you watched the movie you know the answer to that.
Now consider why a message such as that might be directed at American and British audiences. Both cultures idolize Ancient Greece, don't they? And now here's a story where their cultural mental image of Greece is questioned. And if they're wrong about that, what does that say about their own histories? What kinds of ugly truths might be hiding behind their own mythologized pasts? Hell, what stories are we telling ourselves about our present?
The movie had something to say, and it said it well.
I'm not saying you gotta fuck the film. It's got its flaws, and it came out of the Hollywood movie industry which is well known to be fucked up. That's worth talking about with respect to the broader issues with the industry. But all I'm saying is, if you're gonna criticize the movie, think critically, have some nuance, don't just react. Tumblr primed me to hate it, but when I watched it, I actually really liked it, the story was solid.
theartofmadeline
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