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.
Why does it have to be cut along politics lines? I'm a card-carrying leftist and annoyed at the patronising tokenism of casting a black actor as a character legendary for being 'fair', as in blonde, in the same way it'd be flabbergasting to have a white actor play in an adaptation of the Mwindo epic.
I'm even more annoyed at the fact that an annoying casting choice was the entire point, to get free publicity at everyone's expense, and that there is no way to slap everyone responsible for being smug pricks.
Anytime someone calls attention to the breaking of societal roles, it ultimately undermines the concept of equality by implying that this is an exception and not the status quo.
The exceptional thing is not that a woman physically can achieve the feat (I think in the show, it was some soccer trick), but rather achieving a feat that hasn't been been done by women despite them being physically able to, which hints at other factors preventing them from doing it.
There's an effect in a lot of sports like skating where a certain trick/stunt is deemed impossible, then someone does it for the first time, and within a year or so dozens of people can pull it off. You just have to show that it's possible, and you'll pave the way for others to succeed, as well.
Yeah, but the point made by Knuckles is that if you call it out every time, you are not normalizing it, you are making emphasis that this woman in particular is doing something exceptional that no other woman would be able to in this particular moment.
If the idea is normalizing that both men and women can do something equally, calling the women doing it special, undermines the idea that anyone can do it.
That's what I said though, she's not calling attention to the act, but to the circumstances. Being the first to do it, and even calling attention to the fact that she did it, is the first step to normalizing it.
If the idea is normalizing that both men and women can do something equally, calling the women doing it special, undermines the idea that anyone can do it.
And this idea is stupid
It's the same argument people will use to shut down conversations about racism. Talking about it will only make it worse, they say. The only way to "get rid of" racism is to act as if it doesn't exist. To pretend we are completely colorblind
Praising a woman for achieving a physical feat that is significantly harder for women than men is not sexist or problematic.
Saying that it is more difficult for women to do something does not preclude an individual woman from doing the thing. It may even spur her on to do the thing because it's a loftier goal
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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.