Past versus Present: Selective Reception in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey

Abstract

In a time when the cinema has become less of a cultural staple, and its role as a third place has waned, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has proven its exceptional cultural relevance upon release, something which was immediately obvious because I struggled to find available seating across all screening dates, and since my theatre was entirely packed when I could view it. Thus, I could immediately tell that Nolan’s film would be a marvel of modern cinema and began taking notes on the film and its relationship with its source material (i.e., Homer’s Odyssey). I will focus primarily on the connection between mythology and its framing in the film and discuss the contrast between scholarly and public perception to explore the film and its engagement with the ‘past’ and ‘present’. As such, I argue that Nolan’s film has a highly selective fidelity to its source material which the film aims to overshadow through cinematography and modern design choices for broad audience appeal.