{"id":4534,"date":"2026-07-29T18:06:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T18:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4534"},"modified":"2026-07-29T18:06:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T18:06:52","slug":"joyce-carol-oates-defends-odyssey-against-translators-viral-slam-crude-language-of-maga-folks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4534","title":{"rendered":"Joyce Carol Oates Defends \u2018Odyssey\u2019 Against Translator\u2019s Viral Slam: \u201cCrude Language of MAGA Folks\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tThe literary debate over Christopher Nolan\u2018s The Odyssey<\/em> is still not over.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Wednesday, author Joyce Carol Oates defended the hit film following acclaimed translator Emily Wilson\u2019s viral review slamming the movie. <\/p>\n

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\n\tThe Blonde<\/em> and We Were the Mulvaneys<\/em> author wrote on X that Wilson\u2019s \u201ctone of dismissal & haughty superiority strike a sour note.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRather than disagreeing with interpretations of Homer in a collegial manner, this person, who has benefited enormously from Nolan\u2019s film, speaks in the crude language of MAGA folks attacking someone with ideas that differ from hers,\u201d the National Book Award winner continued. \u201cOne would expect a translator, of all people, beholden to a text, in service to a text, to be just a wee bit more thoughtful & respectful of others who are acting in good faith just as (she would claim) she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOates was responding to a commenter who had written, \u201cThis is tough because on one hand I deeply respect Wilson as a classicist and enjoy her translation of The Odyssey<\/em>, but on the other this review is grounded in such bad faith and filled with outrageous takes that make me feel like she would\u2019ve been hostile to any adaptation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn general, Oates said she liked Nolan\u2019s film: \u201c[I] highly recommend both Nolan\u2019s film and the 1997 miniseries co-produced by Francis Coppola. The adaptations are notably different: one American, with the brooding middle-aged-boy-hero Matt Damon; the other very Mediterranean, with charismatic Armand Assante who more naturally inhabits the role \u2026 no reason why Nolan, or anyone else, should not re-imagine\/re-envision a classical hero through the prism of his own invention.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWilson is an\u00a0acclaimed translator\u00a0of Homer\u2019s epic poems The Iliad<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Odyssey<\/em>, and the opening line of the latter (\u201cTell me about a complicated man\u201d) was\u00a0previously cited\u00a0by Nolan.<\/p>\n

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\n\tHer review of the film earlier this week for the\u00a0London Review of Books was a lengthy hot take on the project. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNolan\u2019s\u00a0Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0lacks many of the elements that make the poem great,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt has nothing convincing to say about time, memory, history, war, or about the relationship between one warrior\u2019s glorious return and the lives of his family, adversaries, comrades, friends and neighbours. It lacks psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth. Its narrative structure is gimmicky. The writing is abysmal. None of the characters has convincing motivation for their actions or words. There are no sex scenes, and all the food looks horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe most troubling ethical problem with Nolan\u2019s\u00a0Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0concerns the decision to film part of the movie in the occupied territory of Western Sahara, thus normalising the ongoing violence against the indigenous Sahrawi people,\u201d she added. \u201cIt is particularly galling that Nolan used this land simply as a visually striking backdrop for a film that centres, aggrandises and redeems the hero of a territorial war on account of his belated and partial acknowledgment of his own guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat said, Wilson noted that the film\u2019s release was reason for celebration given how it supercharged public interest in Homer\u2019s works \u2014 including her own translations.<\/p>\n

\nUniversal\u2018s The Odyssey<\/em> is still crushing at the box office, surpassing $727 million globally after 12 days in theaters. The film is expected to slip from its chart-topping perch this weekend, however, when Sony\u2019s Spider-Man: Brand New Day<\/em> hits. <\/p>\n

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The celebrated author weighs in on Christopher Nolan's film: 'No reason why Nolan, or anyone else, should not re-imagine\/re-envision a classical hero.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[117,119,876],"class_list":["post-4534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-christopher-nolan","tag-the-odyssey","tag-universal"],"yoast_head":"\nJoyce Carol Oates Defends \u2018Odyssey\u2019 Against Translator\u2019s Viral Slam: \u201cCrude Language of MAGA Folks\u201d - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4534\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joyce Carol Oates Defends \u2018Odyssey\u2019 Against Translator\u2019s Viral Slam: \u201cCrude Language of MAGA Folks\u201d - 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