A Classicist's Critique of Classicists on Nolan's Odyssey

A former classicist turned art blogger critiques how classicists engage with Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey, arguing their expertise in ancient texts does not extend to film studies or filmmaking. The author, who studied Classics at Cambridge (1998-2001) and taught at Ohio State University (2006-2012), notes that classicists are invited to comment on the film but their perspective is limited. They recall similar frustrations with how classics engages with contemporary art, focusing narrowly on artists like Cy Twombly or Jean-Michel Basquiat using classical themes, while ignoring broader art scholarship. The post compiles a reverse-chronological list of the author's own earlier writings on the Odyssey from the blog Minus Plato (2012-2025), including pieces on artists such as Eric Baudelaire, Pierre Huyghe, Jeff Koons, and Kerry James Marshall, as well as references to documenta 14 and Adam Szymczyk's Daybook.