ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Slavoj Žižek on Nolan's 'Odyssey' as End of Machine Age

opinion-review · 2026-07-23

Philosopher Slavoj Žižek interprets Christopher Nolan's film 'Odyssey' as a symbol of the ending machine epoch, soon to be replaced by the AI era. The film has sparked a rare summer break debate in culture, akin to political ones. On X, the so-called 'online right' continues to attack the film with conspiracy theories, alleging Hollywood fakes ticket sales to feign popularity while cinemas are empty. However, 'Odyssey' achieved record-breaking openings nearly everywhere; in Italy, it marked the biggest July start ever. The debate was highlighted by Freitag editor-in-chief Philipp Grassmann.

Key facts

  • Slavoj Žižek sees Nolan's 'Odyssey' as ending the machine epoch, replaced by AI.
  • The film is a rare summer break cultural debate topic, per Freitag editor Philipp Grassmann.
  • Online right-wing groups on X allege Hollywood fakes ticket sales for 'Odyssey'.
  • Despite conspiracy theories, 'Odyssey' had record-breaking starts globally.
  • In Italy, 'Odyssey' achieved the largest July opening of all time.
  • The debate was described in an article by Barbara Schweizerhof on Freitag.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Freitag

Locations

  • Italy

Sources