Joyce Carol Oates Rebukes Emily Wilson Over $683 Million Nolan Odyssey Backlash
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 30
Joyce Carol Oates Rebukes Emily Wilson Over $683 Million Nolan Odyssey Backlash
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 30
Summary
Joyce Carol Oates escalated the dispute over Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey by accusing translator Emily Wilson of using “crude” MAGA-style rhetoric in her London Review of Books attack on the film.
Wilson had called the $250 million epic psychologically and ethically shallow, saying its writing was “abysmal” and that Nolan’s version of Odysseus lacked the complexity she emphasized in her 2017 translation.
The clash is striking because Oates herself had faulted Nolan last week, arguing a 1997 Hallmark adaptation handled Circe, Hades and Odysseus more effectively.
Nolan has publicly cited Wilson’s opening line — “Tell me about a complicated man” — as a key reference, even as Universal disputes claims the film was directly inspired by her translation.
The argument lands as The Odyssey has grossed $683 million worldwide, while interest in Homer has surged too, with TGJones reporting a 1,560% jump in Iliad searches this month.