The Odyssey (2026)

Since when do we care whether or not actors know about the source material of the film adaptations they act in? Half the cast of Lord of the Rings had not read the books, somehow I don't remember an uproar about that.

How many of them were drama majors from ivy league schools who never heard of LOTR or Tolkien?

Szlia said:

Since when do we care whether or not actors know about the source material of the film adaptations they act in? Half the cast of Lord of the Rings had not read the books, somehow I don't remember an uproar about that.

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Exactly what "we" do you think you are part of on this forum?

Big Phoenix said:

Lives in western society and works in the highest echelons of culture yet had no idea what the odyssey is?

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zzeris said:

Homer was the foundational author of the foundational civilization of The West. Now, I wouldn’t expect everyone to know his works in today’s world but it should have been shown in some capacity to a drama major in an Ivy school.

Almost every fantasy author over a 60+ year period discussed the impact of Tolkien on just a singular genre of books. Because they were well educated. See the difference?

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I think you guys underestimate the general knowledge level of a) random person in the west b) a drama/performing arts student who became an actor. If you weren't forced to study it in grade school or high school, how many would realistically know about Catcher in the Rye? Or MacBeth? Or Death of a Salesman? Or To Kill a Mockingbird? If you aren't exposed to those works through school, then the only way you're getting exposed to them is by stumbling across them or getting recommended them by others.

Do you guys honestly think places like Hampshire College (RIP) or Yale do The Odyssey for drama class or whatever (Odyssey isn't practical for drama class anyways unless you're doing some deconstructed or reimagined version of it - shit would be expensive as fuck. There's a reason most plays they do tend to be more modern era - shit is cheaper to produce and have minimal set changes)? Probably not, for the same reason they aren't going to go over MacBeth or To Kill a Mockingbird - because that shit is so standard in lower education, there typically isn't a need to go over it again in higher education outside of a course that goes really in-depth into those types of works. Same reason you're typically not going to go over basic Algebra.

Summed up: Most actors aren't exactly the pinnacle of knowledge and education and even outside actors, I can't speak for the middle or high school curriculum of schools in Africa or Asia or Latin America, but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess they probably focus more on regional works and only lightly dabble in international stuff in terms of literature

Intrinsic said:

Szlia has great insight into film and foreign stuff I’d never even have a chance to know about. He’s as much a part of the “we” in the movie forum as you or anyone and has been for decades. That being said, it certainly doesn’t excuse the stupidest of stupid hot takes of equivocating Homer and the Odyssey to Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings, and the actors or their backgrounds.

Not the least of which AGAIN glances over the fact she said she had NO IDEA what The Odyssey was. Not that she had not read it. It wasn’t that she “wasn’t familiar with the source material,” she wasn’t even aware of the existence of the source material. A ridiculous straw man.

A better example would be if Charlton Heston said he’d never heard of The Bible or Moses. Or Kenneth Branagh unaware of the existence of Shakespeare.

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I should have specified 'this conversation' instead of saying the entire forum.