The Odyssey (2026)
- Thread starter KurganAU
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zzeris
The Real Benny Johnson
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A willing ignorance too. I read both in 5th grade just because the cover to the Iliad looked cool. Was my understanding of the total product limited? I’m sure but I craved interesting knowledge of the world even then. She came from a group of peoples who never figured out the wheel. Who still have issues with complicated concepts. Curiosity just isn’t a cultural plus or need.
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zzeris
The Real Benny Johnson
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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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Gavinmad
Mr. Poopybutthole
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Intrinsic
Person of Whiteness
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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.
Cybsled
Naxxramas 1.0 Raider
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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
Gavinmad
Mr. Poopybutthole
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I should have specified 'this conversation' instead of saying the entire forum.
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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Szlia
Member
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Maybe you see it as a straw man because my point was not clear: I am not equating Homer and Tolkien, I am not equating "not having read" with "not having heard of", I am saying we don't give a damn about what actors know or don't know about the source material, because it has no correlation with the quality of their job. It is weird to have never heard of The Odyssey as an adult who studied and lives in the US, even if you grew up in Kenya, but it has no impact on her abilities to do her job as an actor, so I am not sure why I or anyone should care, unless you are making bad faith arguments that are not about acting.
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.
On a side note, Kenneth Branagh would be a false equivalence because he directed and wrote many of the movie adaptation of Shakespeare he stared in. That being said, if a director came forward and said "I found this great play I never heard of before called Richard III, I am going to make a movie about it" it would be weird, but it still wouldn't mean it would be a bad movie. Being very knowledgeable about something and being a big fan of that something ensures great passion and motivation, but not necessarily a good end result.
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Drinsic
privileged excrementlord
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You're not wrong, it really doesn't say anything about what kind of performance she's going to deliver here. It's more of a criticism of her ("what kind of retard has never heard of the Odyssey?") and her school.