All articles tagged with #joyce carol oates
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.