All articles tagged with #emily wilson
Renowned translator Emily Wilson, whose 2017 Odyssey translation sparked broad discussion, is now undertaking a full retranslation of The Odyssey, signaling a renewed effort to reframe Homer for today’s readers.
Christopher Nolan's Odyssey has sparked a high-profile scholarly debate after Emily Wilson labeled the film emotionally hollow and misreading Zeus' Law, drawing pushback from peers like Theo Nash and Daniel Mendelsohn; the controversy underscores the tension between cinematic interpretation and fidelity to the classical text, even as Wilson’s own Odyssey translation gains renewed attention.
Emily Wilson’s second Atlantic essay reaffirms her critique of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, arguing the film is visually stunning but emotionally empty and ethically muddled, notably criticizing its treatment of technology and the decision to shoot in Western Sahara without consent. The piece builds on her earlier LRB critique, tightening arguments rather than doubling down on controversy. The round-up around it also notes Spider-Man: Brand New Day becoming the year’s top-grossing film and crossing $1 billion globally in seven days, plus other industry updates like a John Wilson documentary teaser and Sony’s optimistic cinema outlook.
Emily Wilson, translator of the 2017 Odyssey, doubles down on her critique of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, calling the film emotionally empty and arguing it fails to grapple with the social, psychological and ethical questions Homer’s epic raises. In a The Atlantic op-ed she contends the movie’s technical prowess masks a lack of truthfulness about compassion and hospitality, a point she highlighted after a prior London Review of Books takedown describing the screenplay as abysmal. The piece notes backlash from Joyce Carol Oates, while the film remains a blockbuster at the box office.
IndieWire’s Screen Talk weighs translator Emily Wilson’s controversial critique of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, arguing the takedown reflects expectations rather than a full view of the film; the discussion notes the movie’s near-$700 million global gross and touches on Spider-Man: Brand New Day's box-office prospects and related Marvel chatter.
Susan Orlean joined the online feud over Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, calling translator Emily Wilson 'a bit of a jerk' after Wilson's scathing 4,200-word takedown of the film; Wilson defends her critique, regrets a paragraph on race-neutral casting, and the controversy has drawn in Joyce Carol Oates and spoofing from The Onion as Wilson's translation sales surge on Audible.
Emily Wilson’s critical takedown of Nolan’s The Odyssey—lauding its grandiosity but faulting its superficiality and racially coded casting—sparked Joyce Carol Oates to publicly pan Wilson on X, accusing her tone of dismissal and “haughty superiority” as the online discourse over the film’s adaptation continues.
Joyce Carol Oates publicly defended Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey against Emily Wilson’s London Review of Books critique, denouncing Wilson’s rhetoric as crude and defending Nolan’s take on Homer; Wilson had argued the film lacks depth and character development, while Nolan has said Wilson’s Iliad translation influenced him. The spat follows Wilson’s praise from Nolan and comes as the film has grossed about $683 million on a $250 million budget amid broad attention.
Joyce Carol Oates publicly backs Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey adaptation and criticizes translator Emily Wilson for her viral takedown, arguing that translations are subjective and Wilson spoke in dismissive, politically charged terms; Wilson’s London Review of Books critique—quoted by Nolan as inspiration—went viral after Nolan cited Wilson’s translation, and Wilson’s edition saw a sales spike, underscoring the ongoing debate over how Homer should be rendered in modern media.
Joyce Carol Oates publicly defends Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey against critic Emily Wilson and other detractors, arguing that reimagining Homer through a modern lens is legitimate and that translations are subjective. She critiques Wilson’s dismissive stance, praises Nolan’s approach for exploring conscience over pride, and notes that even the best Odyssey translations (like Mendelsohn’s) would still invite debate if used in film. Oates also recommends both Nolan’s adaptation and the Coppola-produced 1997 miniseries as distinct yet valuable takes on the epic.
Joyce Carol Oates publicly defended Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey after translator Emily Wilson posted a widely shared critical review, accusing Wilson of dismissiveness and aligning her comments with a crude political stance. Oates urged translators to be thoughtful toward others who offer different interpretations and praised Nolan’s film (and Coppola’s 1997 miniseries) as valid reimaginings of Homer. Wilson’s London Review of Books critique had argued the film lacks depth, time, memory, and ethical nuance, while Universal’s The Odyssey continues to perform strongly at the box office and is expected to dip when Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives.
Emily Wilson, translator of the 2017 Odyssey, writes in the London Review of Books that Nolan's The Odyssey is gimmicky with abysmal writing and underdeveloped characters, noting it lacks depth and even contains no sex scenes, while acknowledging its role in renewing interest in the source. Despite her disappointment, many critics have lauded the film as a major cinematic event with strong spectacle, helping drive box-office success even as she remains critical of its narrative and character development.
Classicist Emily Wilson denounces Nolan’s Odyssey as gimmicky with abysmal writing and unmoved character motivation, criticizing the casting as not progressive and the female roles underemphasized compared with Homer. She argues the film’s relentless spectacle eclipses the story, yet acknowledges its ambition has rekindled public interest in The Odyssey, helping drive theater attendance and rising sales and audiobooks of the epic.
Emily Wilson, translator of The Odyssey, offers a scathing London Review of Books critique of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, arguing the three-hour epic sacrifices Homer’s depth and female agency for spectacle, reconfigures Odysseus as a reluctant warlord, and treats violence as entertainment, fueling ongoing conversations about adaptation and representation.
Renowned Odyssey translator Emily Wilson critiques Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in the London Review of Books, praising its entertainment value and narrative complexity while arguing the film fails to do justice to Homer’s epic: Damon’s Odysseus is not as wily or compelling as the source suggests, Penelope and Calypso are underdeveloped, and the absence of the gods, plus modernized morals and casting choices, shift the story away from Homeric themes. She acknowledges the adaptation’s use of iambic pentameter and Nolan’s attempt to bring audiences to cinemas, but concludes the movie’s ambitions don’t fully gel with the original text, even as she still sees the release as a cultural event.