Everyone Is Being So Weird About Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey

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When it comes to the discourse surrounding Christopher Nolan's latest film The Odyssey, I've largely avoided it. But over the last month (and the arrival of a new trailer) it's become harder and harder to forget its existence. Almost like a massive wooden horse is hanging out on my timeline. And yet that horse is an appropriate symbol because Nolan's latest is starting to feel like an attempt to do something....else with this movie and I want to look at it.

There's been at least three social media "controversies" that have popped up since longer trailers started dropping for the movie earlier this year, and they've all intertwined into one big Odyssey ball. It started with questions about why the actors, telling a story set in Greece, were all using American accents. This transmorgified into questions about whether it was period appropriate for Tom Holland's character to say the word "dad." Then it went from dumb to just plain ugly and racist when everyone (including Elon Musk) had opinions about the alleged casting of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy.

I'm less interested in why people are arguing over these things, and when I put out a call on social media I got the gamut of responses. I haven't liked a Nolan movie since Inception, personally, and it's easy the racism and silliness behind the issues. I'm more interested in why this movie, specifically, is a weird online touchstone, our sudden gravitation towards an Old Hollywood genre like sword and sandals films, and whether this online controversy is going to help, hinder, or do absolutely nothing for Nolan in July.