{"id":2081715,"date":"2026-08-06T10:14:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T07:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2081715"},"modified":"2026-08-06T10:14:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T07:14:52","slug":"classics-professor-emily-wilson-doubles-down-on-the-odyssey-criticism-we-need-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2081715","title":{"rendered":"Classics professor Emily Wilson doubles down on \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 criticism: \u201cWe need more\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Matt-Damon-and-Zendaya-in-The-Odyssey.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-2749694\" class=\"post-2749694 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_71 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>News<\/span><span>Film News<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_72 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_72\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Classics professor Emily Wilson doubles down on \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 criticism: \u201cWe need more\u201d<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_73 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_73\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>The academic wrote a new essay criticising the blockbuster<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_75 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_75\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Victoria Luxford<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-08-06T11:14:52+01:00\">6th August 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_77\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_78  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_80  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span8\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_81 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Matt-Damon-and-Zendaya-in-The-Odyssey-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Damon and Zendaya in &apos;The Odyssey&apos;\" title=\"Matt Damon and Zendaya in &apos;The Odyssey&apos;\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Matt Damon and Zendaya in &#8216;The Odyssey&#8217;. CREDIT: Universal Studios<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_83 article-content-row vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Classics professor Emily Wilson has continued her criticism of Christopher Nolan\u2019s <em>The Odyssey<\/em>, accusing the blockbuster of using \u201cmassacres as spectacle\u201d and being \u201cemotionally empty\u201d.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 review: cinema may have peaked with Christopher Nolan\u2019s blockbuster epic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Wilson, a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, published an acclaimed English translation of Homer\u2019s epic poem in 2017 that Nolan has cited as an influence on his adaptation, particularly its opening line: \u201cTell me about a complicated man.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>However, last month she gave a scathing new review for the <em>London Review Of Books<\/em>, where she said the filmmaker had failed to capture the complexity of Homer\u2019s characters and ideas. In a new essay for <em>The Atlantic<\/em>, the academic expanded on that opinion.<\/p>\n<p>When discussing the film\u2019s Trojan Horse design, she wrote: \u201cThe physical horror of people being trapped inside as the seawater rises is brilliantly and terrifyingly evoked. But on a narrative level, Nolan\u2019s horse is light as air.\u201d<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Matt Damon went all the way to Australia to see Oasis\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FYdqYQNNh7I?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>She later said of the film: \u201cIt gestures at a critique of xenophobia and violence, but it focuses primarily on the perspective of the guilty, traumatized warrior rather than that of his victims. Moreover, the movie\u2019s devoted attention to mechanics, and its heedless willingness to give us massacres as spectacle, undermines its moralizing claims of caring about man\u2019s inhumanity to man. Verbally, we are told that people matter; visually, we are shown that they do not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In her conclusion, Wilson wrote: \u201cNolan\u2019s Odyssey is itself a kind of Trojan horse. The script grandly insists on the importance of human kindness, while the camera shows us an entirely different set of values. In these times of hatred and misinformation, we need more than the \u2018apparent magic\u2019 of deceptive images. We need art that is truthful about the costs and the necessity of compassion, and that recognizes that a sense of spiritual superiority may not protect us from lies. These lessons are legible in Homer and Virgil, but are elided by Nolan\u2019s visually stunning, emotionally empty film.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\">\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p>Despite this criticism, <em>The Odyssey<\/em> has been a resounding success both critically and commercially, earning the best reviews of Nolan\u2019s career and one of the biggest openings for a live-action film this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Christopher Nolan<\/li>\n<li>The Odyssey<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_89 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>You May Also 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class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Classics professor Emily Wilson has continued her criticism of Christopher Nolan\u2019s <em>The Odyssey<\/em>, accusing the blockbuster of using \u201cmassacres as spectacle\u201d and being \u201cemotionally empty\u201d.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 review: cinema may have peaked with Christopher Nolan\u2019s blockbuster epic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Wilson, a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, published an acclaimed English translation of Homer\u2019s epic poem in 2017 that Nolan has cited as an influence on his adaptation, particularly its opening line: \u201cTell me about a complicated man.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>However, last month she gave a scathing new review for the <em>London Review Of Books<\/em>, where she said the filmmaker had failed to capture the complexity of Homer\u2019s characters and ideas. In a new essay for <em>The Atlantic<\/em>, the academic expanded on that opinion.<\/p>\n<p>When discussing the film\u2019s Trojan Horse design, she wrote: \u201cThe physical horror of people being trapped inside as the seawater rises is brilliantly and terrifyingly evoked. But on a narrative level, Nolan\u2019s horse is light as air.\u201d<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Matt Damon went all the way to Australia to see Oasis\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FYdqYQNNh7I?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>She later said of the film: \u201cIt gestures at a critique of xenophobia and violence, but it focuses primarily on the perspective of the guilty, traumatized warrior rather than that of his victims. Moreover, the movie\u2019s devoted attention to mechanics, and its heedless willingness to give us massacres as spectacle, undermines its moralizing claims of caring about man\u2019s inhumanity to man. Verbally, we are told that people matter; visually, we are shown that they do not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In her conclusion, Wilson wrote: \u201cNolan\u2019s Odyssey is itself a kind of Trojan horse. The script grandly insists on the importance of human kindness, while the camera shows us an entirely different set of values. In these times of hatred and misinformation, we need more than the \u2018apparent magic\u2019 of deceptive images. We need art that is truthful about the costs and the necessity of compassion, and that recognizes that a sense of spiritual superiority may not protect us from lies. These lessons are legible in Homer and Virgil, but are elided by Nolan\u2019s visually stunning, emotionally empty film.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\">\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p>Despite this criticism, <em>The Odyssey<\/em> has been a resounding success both critically and commercially, earning the best reviews of Nolan\u2019s career and one of the biggest openings for a live-action film this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/film\/classics-professor-emily-wilson-doubles-down-on-the-odyssey-criticism-we-need-more-3961136&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Matt-Damon-and-Zendaya-in-The-Odyssey.jpg&#8221;] NewsFilm News Classics professor Emily Wilson doubles down on \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 criticism: \u201cWe need more\u201d The academic wrote a new essay criticising the blockbuster By Victoria Luxford 6th August 2026 Matt Damon and Zendaya in &#8216;The Odyssey&#8217;. CREDIT: Universal Studios Classics professor Emily Wilson has continued her criticism of Christopher Nolan\u2019s The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2081715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2081715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081715\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2081715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2081715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2081715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}