“The Odyssey” was released this week and it shot to the top of the box office in spite of harsh criticism from the conservative right.
Once again - the conservative right has wasted energy condemning a movie before many even saw it. The conservative right is on a crusade to seek and find ways that Hollywood is trying to push a liberal agenda.
Let’s start with Hollywood - and a term that reflects the entertainment industry - has a right to freely produce any movies it feels will attract people to the box office. But let’s also recognize that many of these conservative right snowflakes are defying their self-imposed philosophy to not allow someone else’s opinion to bother you.
Some of the early criticism of “The Odyssey” came from Donald Trump, Jr., Elon Musk, and Matt Walsh. They were critical of the movie before it was even released. Or course - the movie was criticized for being “woke” - but the criticism specifically criticized the selection of award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy. In Homer’s original work - Helen of Troy is described as a “white-armed” - but in the context of the time Homer wrote his classic - “white-armed” translated into higher class and someone who stays indoors. Never did Homer specifically describe Helen of Troy as “white” - but she was described as a beautiful woman - which in the opinion of many - Lupita is just that. But the conservative right picks up on one phrase and mistranslates it to mean “white” in order to discredit the movie. As Lupita Nyong’o said - she’s a mythical character and not a real person. A Black actress - Eartha Kitt - played Helen in a 1950s Orson Welles production on stage. And what about all the pictures of Jesus depicted as a White man with blue eyes? The region from which The Bible was written defies the notion that Jesus was anything but a Black man. But many Christians seem to refute that reality.
One of the other areas criticized in “The Odyssey” was the selection of Elliot Page as Achilles - a tough hero of the Trojan War. (I can’t imagine a war over condoms - but it is a mythical story!) Elliot Page is a transgender actor and casting him as Achilles is ridiculous in the minds of many on the right who have launched condemnation of the movie. One of the Bozo anchors on NewsMax accused Christopher Nolan of “rewriting history.”
Here’s what exposes this criticism from the conservative right as simply stupid - Elliot Page did not play Achilles - he played Sinon - Odysseus’ cousin! So the criticism of casting Elliot Page as Achilles is cancelled out by ignorance. And there is nothing in the role Elliot Page portrays that shows him to be transgender - in fact - his shows his bravery several times.
Other movies criticized for ridiculous reasons:
- “Braveheart” (1995) was criticized because there is nothing historic about the love with Princess Isabella and the blue face paint was also not based on history.
- “Dances With Wolves” (1990) was criticized for ignoring the complexed nature of Native American culture and the relationship with Europeans.
- “Gladiator” (2000) was bashed because there was no real Maximus in history - the character was a make-up of several Roman warriors and the gladiator fights were exaggerated.
But criticism of movies has become more political in recent years.
- “Barbie” (2023) was criticized for promoting a liberal agenda.
- “The Little Mermaid” (Remake) (2023) was criticized because the Little Mermaid was Black - played by Halle Bailey.
As I pointed out on my talk show on WWL-New Orleans - Mermaids are not real! Get it? Mermaids are a myth and I don’t understand how a creature that is made-up can be inaccurate. The fact that the first “Little Mermaid” was White does not mean mermaids are White.
“Barbie” may have had a liberal agenda - but the movie was an incredible success. And even with the criticism from right-wingers - “The Odyssey” was #1 at the box office this weekend. Wonder how much those criticizing the movie realize they totally wasted their time because people did not pay attention to them. That’s a lonely place to be.
“The Odyssey” was based on fiction and with the cinematic version - the responsibility is to create entertainment and attract an audience - not fulfill every aspect of a piece of fiction.
“The Odyssey” starts out very slowly. Don’t get up and leave. It’s worth it. The movie is a bit boring up to the point of the introduction of the Cyclops. This is when the action begins - and so does the meaning of the story. The physical Cyclops is freakish and well-done.
The movie takes you on a wild ride with action - but with a meaningful story about life. Now I know why we were told to read Homer’s “The Odyssey" in school. There is great symbolism and great teaching movements about life. (BTW - I never actually read “The Odyssey” - I tried but it was too boring. I admit I read the Cliff Notes!)
The greatest lesson I learned from “The Odyssey” was to not allow fear to stop you from doing what you know you need to do. Don’t entertain fear - focus on relaxing and living life and following the compass in your heart that guides you. It’s a wonderful lesson about life and something I can relate to right now in my life.
The criticism of movies for not being the way the conservative right wants them to be is a ridiculous waste of time. The criticism doesn’t keep people away from movies. And the criticism is based on such ridiculous things as a mythical character not living up to someone’s image. It’s a mythical character - it can be anything the creator wants it to be.
It’s interesting that there is no similar concerted effort from the left-wing of the Democrat Party to look for reasons to criticize movies. The highly-publicized criticism comes from the conservative right. It’s another example of the crusade to inflict will on people and to tell other people how to lead their lives - which defies the foundation of conservative ideology.
