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Did Elon Musk Fall for Christopher Nolan’s Trojan Horse?
A conspiracy theory about The Odyssey
Warning: Contains mild spoilers
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey sparked a firestorm even before it reached theaters. Once it premiered, the reaction was exactly as expected: the political left and the political right lined up on opposite sides, each declaring it a triumph or a disaster.
The biggest controversy, the nuclear power that fueled the firestorm, is the decision to cast Lupita Nyong’o as Helen. Some have speculated that Nolan’s choices were an attempt to embrace Hollywood’s DEI movement and improve his Oscar chances.
True or false? It doesn’t matter. The best way to enjoy a film is watching it on the big screen. It is unnecessary and unproductive to guess at the hidden agenda of the filmmaker, in my opinion.
I myself didn’t find the appearance of Lupita Nyong’o jarring. Helen is a very small role in this adaptation, and the cast is ethnically diverse enough, with many dark-skinned warriors that by the time Helen appears, it doesn’t feel that she is out of place. Whether she is “beautiful enough” is subjective. Personally, I thought she had remarkable screen presence.
I wasn’t satisfied with the casting, though, but for a different reason: there are…
