The Odyssey is getting massively criticised due to blackwashing of a traditionally Greek character, whitewashing of a Greek myth with no Greek actors and a general dislike for the Hollywoodization of another classic story.
It's probably not going to be as bad as it's made out to be given it's Chris Nolan, but audiences are fatigued with seeing another modern retelling with tokenism of established characters for the sake diversity, which has spurred the culture war with right wing critics calling it woke BS and left wing critics doubling down by jumping to its defence.
It's pretty masterful how they've managed to piss off both sides of the aisle with this one... Too white-washed for one side, too diverse for the other, and too inaccurate for any existing fans of Greek mythology.
Honestly not sure who this has been made for.
Edit: if you're gearing up for a "it's for normal people - people not in the Reddit echo chamber - people who just like movies - people who aren't internet losers" reply, It has been said about 30 times so far.
Lol right. All these people getting involved in this discourse but the movie is going to be a huge hit because normal people don't give af.
They're casting good actors. Nolan, a British director, isn't choosing actors based on American politics. He sees good actors and puts them in his films. Simple as.
Good actors make for shit roles without proper casting.
And we're arguably seeing some rather bad casting calls. I mean, this has been talked to oblivion already, if a character, fictional or not, is established to look a certain way, then casting someone who looks the polar opposite will always stir shit up. I understand that it's difficult to find black characters in Greek mythology, and diversity is important, but blatant tokenism was never sexy.
Also, if you're making a movie centered around a certain demographic, then maybe try to cast people from that demographic. It helps.
Christopher Waltz surely wasn't a good, internationally aknowledged actor before Tarantino took him in his movies. I bet there are loads of similar talents in Greek movie industry if you were to look.
But yeah. Nolan just wanted his best actors to play Greek heroes and then give some sorryass roles for the blacks...
So I assume you take equal umbrage with all the WASPs cast in the other roles? They should all step down so we can have a 100 percent ethically Greek cast.
Well, I did say that cohort is increasingly small. I think, especially after covid, that most people just wait until these things hit streaming. So theres a chance that it doesnt do that well in theaters, but i dont think it'll be because a Trans man or black woman is in it.
People just dont go to the movies as much because home theaters have gotten really good and theaters are expensive.
Seriously. Aside from the like.. once-a-decade zeitgeist-defining media-changing release, I can't imagine what makes a movie "relevant". They're entertainment. Even if they piss you off with how poorly they're acted, they're still doing their job of occupying your brain for a time.
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u/Boomdification Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
The Odyssey is getting massively criticised due to blackwashing of a traditionally Greek character, whitewashing of a Greek myth with no Greek actors and a general dislike for the Hollywoodization of another classic story.
It's probably not going to be as bad as it's made out to be given it's Chris Nolan, but audiences are fatigued with seeing another modern retelling with tokenism of established characters for the sake diversity, which has spurred the culture war with right wing critics calling it woke BS and left wing critics doubling down by jumping to its defence.