FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2026
A TDH movie review: We went to see The Odyssey this very afternoon. We lasted until midway through the Cyclops.
We attended the 4 p.m. show at The Charles. We were airlifted back to our sprawling campus in time for the start of The Five!
What went wrong on our trip to The Charles? Let us riddle it out:
The following passage comes from Professor Fagles' 1990 translation of the Iliad. Yes, that's the Iliad, not its sequel, but you may get the idea:
So Ajax and Odysseus made their way at once
where the battle lines of breakers crash and drag,
praying hard to the god who moves and shakes the earth...
Where the breakers crash and drag! But what was Odysseus praying for? Let us complete the offering:
So Ajax and Odysseus made their way at once
where the battle lines of breakers crash and drag,
praying hard to the god who moves and shakes the earth
that they might bring the proud heart of Achilles
round with speed and ease.
Achilles was sulking in his tents, refusing to fight, assisted by sacred Patroclus. A wily tactician had been sent by Agamemnon, lord of men, to urge him to beat back his anger and return to the war against Troy.
So much takes place in the lines which follow—though yes, that isn't the Odyssey. But whatever made anyone think that some such experience could somehow be moved to a screen?
We expect to continue our review tomorrow. "Emily Wilson was way too kind," several young analysts said.
A Daily Howler point of concern: Warning! Every speck of the Iliad is built around the human impulse sometimes described in modern times as "toxic masculinity."
On The Five, the children scream about the use of that term. But all in all, at the dawn of the West, let's face it—there it was!
Is Somerby saying he left early and didn't watch the entire film? If so, he really shouldn't be reviewing it.
ReplyDeleteIt's the movie's fault, no doubt, for failing to meet Somerby's Olympian standards of acceptability -- as does everything.
DeleteIt makes perfect sense that Bob’s criticism of the movie centers around a different mythological story.
Delete"Warning! Every speck of the Iliad is built around the human impulse sometimes described in modern times as "toxic masculinity."
ReplyDeleteThe Iliad is a work of fiction written long after the described events took place, hundreds of years later. It's purpose was to entertain men sitting around in the evening, perhaps around a campfire. It thus has survived as oral history and later as a written epic poem because it was of interest to and appreciated by men. Why wouldn't it contain stories and ideas that appeal to men?
Somerby also tends to emphasize the parts of the Iliad that are about exploits and war and sacking troy, not about the doings of the Gods that set up the Trojan conflict and not about the way the politics of those Gods played out in the actions of those men on the beach (or Helen or Troy itself). The agency involved belongs to those Gods and the acts Somerby attributes to men are also caused by the Gods. For example, Paris didn't steal Helen and she didn't leave her husband and children to go with him voluntarily. Paris was offered the most beautiful woman as a prize for judging a beauty contest between various Greek goddesses squabbling over their own vanity. The Goddess he picked awarded Helen to Paris as a bribe for choosing her as most beautiful in that contest. Helen had no agency in the situation, nor did Paris make the choice of Helen. Yet Somerby quotes a speech of regret that Homer puts into Helen's mouth, as if Helen was responsible for anything that occurred.
Because Somerby himself limits his focus to the parts of the Iliad exhibiting toxic masculinity, it is not only unfair for him to attribute that to Homer, but also oblivious to other lessons that might be exhibited by the Iliad. That makes me doubt whether Somerby is equipped to evaluate Nolan's different take on The Odyssey either.
The fact that some type of toxic masculinity is describe in war among men in Ancient times does not establish any continuity with men's toxic masculinity in our modern context. It does not show that it is "bred in the bone" (a favorite phrase Somerby uses to suggest innateness) nor does it show that it is confined to men (when female Greek goddesses show their own bad behavior). Most importantly, Somerby appears to have no idea what feminists mean by the term and he is mistaken in his hints about examples from the Iliad. For one thing, feminists believe that toxic masculinity is toxic to MEN, not just women, and consider it a social and cultural phenomenon that has not existed across cultures and time and place, but is invented to serve goals, as is true for racism and sexism and xenophobia.
If we get rid of masculinity, we’ll get rid of toxic masculinity.
DeleteWith respect, whether Helen voluntarily eloped with Paris has been disputed and debated from the time the tale was first told around campfires until this very day, thousands of years later.
DeleteHelen was awarded as a prize/bribe to Paris. How is that voluntary? We do not believe in the existence of Greek gods, so how is that anything but a story? There can be versions and translations but not a debate about reality. This is like debating whether Superman could beat up Mighty Mouse.
DeleteMaybe Somerby wants to treat The Iliad like a Bible study but glorifying hand-to-hand combat clothed in mythology is a bizarre obsession shared with some unsavory internet cults. With respect to who? Not Helen. It makes a difference whether misogynists think a woman would abandon her husband, kids and social status so cavalierly because the guys who idealize The Iliad have a low opinion of women. There is no history involved so no way to defend Helen’s character against such men who hate women. This is thin ice for Somerby.
If you want to know why the modern left cannot connect with the average man, 11:07 has done a fine job of illustrating it for you.
DeleteIf you want to know why we have a communication problem in this country, look at 2:27 who takes an individual opinion (11:07) and treats it as a collective opinion, thereby erasing the individuality of 11:07’s response. It’s a perfect way of dehumanizing others.
DeleteIf it were an individual opinion it wouldn't be important, would it? But it's not an individual opinion. It reflects something woven into the fabric of modern progressivism that makes it objectionable to men, especially young, white men. Sure, the person who wrote it is battling some personal demons and shouldn't be taken as a typical progressive, but, well ... if you think it is some unique example, I don't know what world you live in.
DeleteI heard a group of women -- you should be able to imagine the type in a moment -- say they thought the movie was OK, BUT one of them complained that Athena wasn't wearing badass armor in the film, and then another agreed, and someone else said it was a typical example of "the patriarchy" not portraying women as being as strong as men or some such, and things went sideways from there. The right wing is far worse, as the reaction to this film demonstrates, but there is a bright streak of unreason on the left as well. The difference is, the right can afford it.
"OK, BUT one of them complained that Athena wasn't wearing badass armor in the film,.."
Deleteyou are full of shit, maggot
I heard a group of guys saying that Helen wasn’t black and that no army would fight over an ugly n****r like Lupita Nyong’o. I didn’t make any assumptions about those guys.
DeleteIf you didn't make any assumptions about those guys, you're on the same level as the one who was blathering on about Helen being the victim, misogyny, and all the rest. Incredible. What's even more incredible is that you think that's somehow a smart thing to say.
DeleteBtw, the comment @10:02 is more or less what Elon musk thinks.
Delete"...you are full of shit, maggot"
DeleteEven this dullwit knows how freakin' stupid the armor thing is. Now, imagine what a normal person hearing it thinks.
What are you saying 10:09? That the ugly racism of those guys clearly makes them Trump voters?
DeleteI'm saying that, IF they vote at all, the odds are overwhelming they vote for Trump. So should anybody with a C-note IQ.
DeleteWow. Tell DG.
DeleteCan't argue with Somerby if he doesn't like that the movie isn't following a fictional story line that has been rewritten/interpreted thousands of times..
ReplyDeleteLasted until midway through the cyclops? It was clearly a Herculean effort to engage with this widely acclaimed movie when The Five was due on the tele. One that Bob was incapable of, being a mere human. As for this Emily Wilson, who Bob references as a solid critic ( given her credentials as a translator): her critique is self glazing, pompous and tediously pedantic. She finds multiple prior Nolan movies boring. She thinks it is a shame that no time was spent on the construction of the horse. Bizarre nonsense, that lacks any apparent insight into how a movie of less than three hours needs to be constructed. Oh well. Bob will have more to say about all this tomorrow and will undoubtedly try to upstage the dear Ms. Wilson as a pedantic critic of roughly half a movie.
ReplyDelete"It was clearly a Herculean effort..."
DeleteDifferent story, different culture.
Hercules had led a prior attack on Troy and its king Laomedon. Hercules spared Laomedon’s son, who became king of Troy, Priam.
Delete"widely acclaimed movie"
DeleteHow dare Bob not like a movie that is widely acclaimed. How dare Emily Wilson find Nolan's boring movies to be boring. After all they're widely acclaimed!
Must just be a coincidence that the one movie Somerby chooses to review (and pan) is one hated by the right wing.
DeleteAlso, who da fuck reviews a movie he stopped watching halfway through?
Delete8:40. Nobody is daring anybody. I am reviewing the work of these two self proclaimed critics. And correct, 9:27. The right wing finds it offensive that a transsexual actor and a black woman acted in this film. Jesus was a Caucasian, after all, dontcha know?
DeleteThe Gospels don’t provide any evidence that Jesus was straight.
Delete"Must just be a coincidence that the one movie Somerby chooses to review (and pan) is one hated by the right wing."
DeleteExcept that the closest thing to a reason Somerby gives for walking out of the film has to do with the transferral of the Odyssey from book to screen, while the right's complaints are of a more Muskian, anti-woke nature.
The right wing dislikes this movie.
ReplyDeleteCue Somerby.
Nailed it.
DeleteI recall Somerby’s endless scathing reviews of The Shape of Water, saying its purpose was to make liberal audiences feel smug and condescending by mocking conservatives. When I finally saw it, it bore no resemblance to Somerby’s description.
ReplyDeleteAny film where the heroes don't rape children is mocking conservatives.
Delete“US attorney in Washington, Jeanine Pirro, said that her office had received documents showing the damage to the pool “was the result of a flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration” on July 4”
ReplyDeleteThey (Pirro, Blanche, Fox) massively pushed Trump’s lie and indicted an innocent man. The “others” approve of this, one assumes, because a president who lies as blatantly and directs his doj to create a scapegoat and punish an innocent man should be impeached and removed. So should Pirro and Blanche. Republicans: crickets.
Something you will never hear spoken by the reasonable "others":
DeleteWe are sorry for voting for this racist tyrant.
ReplyDelete"toxic masculinity" is a stupid sissy idiom. The Iliad is about excellence, courage, honor, and glory.
I thought of Donald Trump after reading your comment.
DeleteI also thought of Rep Max Miller.
DeleteAchilles was gay.
DeleteCome on now, everybody knows Achilles was a heel.
Delete“The Iliad is about excellence, courage, honor, and glory.”
DeleteTell that to Briseis.
When Achilles dragged Hector’s dead body around the city of Troy, was he exemplifying excellence, courage, honor, or glory?
DeleteOr how about when Hector’s baby son was thrown over the city walls to be dashed on the rocks below? Is this your idea of excellence and honor?
DeleteAchilles is an anti-hero, for his inability to control his temper, petulance, excessive pride, and vindictiveness. A lot of y'all need to read the book (or poem for all you wannabe pedants) and think about it. It's much more sophisticated than a simple action story.
DeleteType words "heroic epic" into your search engine DG, and inevitably "The Iliad" will appear before your sissy Dumbocrat eyes. Enough said.
DeleteThat said, I find it fitting that people who use terms because Trump tells them to would claim to be interested in heroism, excellence, courage, honor, and glory. Just as he's the living embodiment of the seven deadly sins, yet accepted as some kind of savior by phony Christians, he's the absolute antithesis of heroism, excellence, courage, honor, and glory, yet people who think they themselves embody these virtues chose him as their leader. In this sense, they are also like Achilles: demonstrating what something is by NOT being it.
Delete“We went to see the Odyssey”. Who is we? Somerby and his imaginary analysts?
ReplyDeleteHe went with me.
DeleteA team of one for 26 some years.
ReplyDelete