I came upon an interesting, video essay by Jonathan Pageau, of The Symbolic World, regarding Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and how the adaptation is a ruse for a succession of cloaked motives. If anything (and above all), it made me realize that Homer's staggering account (The Iliad and The Odyssey combined) uses deceit as a means to an end.
For example, entering another's home, another's land, uninvited (perhaps by passing its border via a Trojan Horse) and assaulting its citizens for personal gain, is selfish, dishonest and therefore, criminal. In a similar vein, for Penelope's suiters to assume the right to besmirch her kingdom, to disrespect the queen and her prince with cruelty and disdain, is another such treacherous case in point. And lest we forget Odysseus and his men trespassing on Polyphemus' turf. (Odysseus even blinds the poor, colossal oaf.) Do these examples mirror (if only to an allegorical degree) practices and concerns within our modern backyards? Is that what Nolan hoped we'd catch or am I seeking a means to mend a politically-correct (mis)interpretation to my liking?
Since Pageau's bipartite theory haunted me, I was prompted to re-watch The Odyssey (not an easy task, mind you, considering its length and my extreme, time constraints). I'm still uncertain if Pageau's notion does, in fact, uncover a veritable, furtive purpose, whether by Homer or Nolan (or even if my subjective speculation holds viable weight), but I'm presenting it here, nevertheless, for one and all to ruminate.
No comments:
Post a Comment