A Cantankerous Review of the Odyssey Movie

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick delivers an unapologetically curmudgeonly critique of Christopher Nolan’s new film The Odyssey.Check out our LIBRARY on the great books. https://www.patreon.com/cw/greatbooks/collections23 Raw Thoughts on the New Odyssey Movie https://www.patreon.com/greatbooks/posts/23-quick-on-164190324SEE OUR SCHEDULE BELOW!Fresh off a twelve-week deep dive into Homer’s epic with thousands of listeners, Deacon argues that the movie is no mere adaptation but a modern ideological rewriting that flattens Homer’s rich characters, mutes the divine, and replaces sacred myth with progressive lessons about shame, war, race, and power.From Odysseus reduced to a guilt-racked figure who “defies the gods,” to the deliberate recasting and reframing of Helen, Menelaus, Circe, Athena, and even guest-friendship itself, Deacon contends that Nolan’s version marries cultural illiteracy with calculated compromise—and that both the film and the culture’s eager defense of it reveal far more about us than about Homer.Yet this is more than a film review. Deacon uses the movie as a lens to examine how stories shape a civilization’s soul, why myths matter more than mere fiction, and why Christians and lovers of the Western tradition must resist the slow leftward drift of endless compromise.SCHEDULEJuly 28, 2026 - Holy Eros: An exploration of eros in Plato, the Bible, and Christian thoughtAugust 4, 2026 - Plato's HipparchusAugust 11, 2026 - Plato's LoversAugust 18, 2026 - Plato's Hippias MinorAugust 25, 2026 - Plato's IonSeptember 1, 2026 - Enduring Chill by Flannery O’ConnorSeptember 8, 2026 - Red Shadows by Robert E. HowardSeptember 15, 2026 - Chivalry by Neil GaimanCHAPTERS00:00 Introduction to the critique of Nolan's 'Oppenheimer'02:03 The importance of myths and stories in culture03:45 Modern ideology's impact on classical myths05:53 The cultural significance of Homeric themes07:51 Nolan's adaptation as a reinterpretation of Homer10:11 The moral ambiguity and character flattening in Nolan's film11:57 Relativism, absolutism, and cultural narratives13:58 The influence of liberalism and cultural leftward shift15:55 Myth, sacred stories, and their role in identity18:02 The critique of modern cinematic portrayals of myths19:49 The moral lessons and pedagogical messages in myth and film21:55 The significance of fidelity to original myths23:51 Casting choices and their narrative implications26:07 Nolan's reinterpretation of Odysseus and other characters27:51 The removal of key moral triumphs and their significance30:09 The reinterpretation of divine figures and divine justice32:04 The flattening of characters and loss of poetic dialectic33:51 The impact of narrative changes on character development36:00 The portrayal of women and heroism in Nolan's film38:02 The significance of myth as a mirror of society40:05 The importance of sacred stories in cultural memory41:52 The critique of modern reinterpretations of Homer44:07 The influence of modern ideology on myth retelling45:55 The cultural cult of Nolan versus Homer48:01 The divine and divine justice in myth and film50:09 The importance of reading Homer deeply52:02 The Christian themes and their authenticity in Nolan's film54:00 The critique of Christianizing myths superficially56:04 The significance of myth in shaping cultural identity57:46 The role of the bard and divine inspiration in myth59:58 The importance of fidelity to the original mythic narrative01:01:53 The impact of modern reinterpretations on cultural memory01:04:03 The shallow understanding of Homer in modern culture01:06:10 The importance of deep engagement with classical texts01:07:49 Conclusion: The cultural and pedagogical importance of mythKEYWORDSChristopher Nolan Odyssey movie review, Homer Odyssey film adaptation critique, Ascend the Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick, cultural illiteracy in modern cinema, myth versus fiction in storytelling, Odysseus shame and guilt, Nolan casting controversies Helen Menelaus, Circe Athena Penelope Telemachus character changes, xenia guest friendship Golden Rule, Trojan War regret in film, Defy the Gods tagline analysis, classical education and Great Books, piety toward Homer, liberalism compromise in culture, upcoming Plato Republic study, Holy Eros episode, short Platonic dialogues Hipparchus Lovers Hippias Minor Ion, Short Story September Flannery O’Connor Robert E. Howard Neil Gaiman Melville, and Western civilization sacred myths.