‘The Odyssey’ Gives Us the Hero We Deserve

editorializing: The author dismisses a potential critique with a rhetorical flourish rather than engaging it substantively, positioning their own view as self-evident.

“Not me. It is about modern people, but so is everything else made by modern people.”

editorializing: The author again dismisses a plausible critique with personal preference rather than analysis, framing their approval as a virtue.

“Not me. I like an artist who’s not afraid to keep gnawing at the same bone.”

narrative framing: The author frames Odysseus as unusually relatable to modern readers, implying a normative judgment about heroism without acknowledging alternative interpretations.

“One thing that may strike contemporary readers of Homer is that Odysseus is one of a handful of epic heroes whose motivations actually make sense to us.”

loaded labels: The term 'halfway hero' is a value-laden label that frames Nolan’s Odysseus as inherently flawed and incomplete, shaping the reader’s judgment.

“wily Odysseus becomes a different, if still recognizable, type: the halfway hero.”

moral framing: The description of the character as someone who 'dirties himself' and 'makes the world worse' imposes a moral judgment without balancing it with narrative context or alternative readings.

“a man who dirties himself in the name of a higher cause but then discovers that the cause wasn’t worth it, a man with the power to change the world but who, in the end, either fails to do so or makes the world worse.”

loaded adjectives: 'Culpable naïveté' and 'blinding arrogance' are morally charged terms that assign blame rather than neutrally describing character traits.

“this halfway hero seems protected from self-knowledge, either through culpable naïveté or blinding arrogance.”

framing by emphasis: The focus on Odysseus’s shock at the looting frames him as morally superior without exploring the complexity of wartime behavior or collective responsibility.

“Mr. Nolan’s Odysseus, for instance, is shocked that once he gets the Greeks into Troy, his comrades loot it and kill the inhabitants.”

editorializing: The rhetorical question 'What’s the point of that?' dismisses traditional heroism without argument, steering the reader toward the author’s preferred model.

“A figure who identifies what needs to be done and then does it without tremendous inner conflict? What’s the point of that?”

moral framing: The claim that decisive action 'seems inherently villainous' imposes a cultural judgment without evidence or counterpoint.

“perhaps the notion of doing something without feeling bad about it seems inherently villainous to them.”

framing by emphasis: The contrast between political leaders who say nothing can be done and those who say everything can be done frames contemporary politics negatively to justify the appeal of the 'halfway hero'.

“In contemporary politics, Americans tend to alternate between people who tell us nothing can be done and people who swear everything can be done, both of which disappoint in their own ways.”

editorializing: The phrase 'ersatz therapy session' carries a dismissive, pejorative tone that undermines a popular narrative form without engaging it seriously.

“In its least artful forms, this turns art into an ersatz therapy session in which you forgive yourself for your failures — and then you save the world.”

loaded labels: Labels like 'charismatic but hollow' and 'halfway heroes' carry evaluative weight, shaping the reader’s perception of the characters as fundamentally flawed.

“Instead, they’re halfway heroes, charismatic but hollow people who deem love as something best shown by their absence because their presence proves to be too dangerous.”

moral framing: The claim that these men 'deem love as something best shown by their absence' imposes a psychological interpretation without evidence from the film.

“who deem love as something best shown by their absence because their presence proves to be too dangerous.”

moral framing: The claim that 'there’s no fixing it' presents a fatalistic view of generational decay without exploring alternatives or nuances in the narrative.

“The generation they represent has gone astray, and there’s no fixing it.”

loaded labels: The term 'sin eater' is a morally and spiritually loaded metaphor that frames Odysseus’s actions as sacrificial and redemptive without neutrality.

“his Odysseus decides to become a sin eater, someone who atones for the misdeeds of others”

framing by emphasis: The description of the suitors as 'dangerously weak men' emphasizes moral weakness over other possible interpretations, shaping the reader’s view of their fate.

“They are dangerously weak men, not strong enough to rule or to exhibit self-control but strong enough to terrorize the elderly, the blind, women and children.”

moral framing: The claim that 'the project of creating a genuinely innocent new generation is over' presents a definitive, pessimistic judgment without narrative confirmation.

“so the project of creating a genuinely innocent new generation is over before it’s started.”

moral framing: The extension of the film’s characters to real-life 'dangerously weak men' generalizes a moral critique of masculinity without evidence or nuance.

“In real life, outside the movies, we are certainly presented with many examples of dangerously weak men, much like the suitors”

appeal to authority: The引用 of a Nolan film quote as a universal truth elevates cinematic dialogue to philosophical insight without critical distance.

“As one of Mr. Nolan’s characters in a different film said, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain””

moral framing: The concluding moral reflection — 'we could deserve another kind of hero' — imposes a normative judgment on cultural values without grounding it in the film alone.

“But we could deserve another kind of hero entirely.”

editorializing: The rhetorical use of a famous movie quote to frame the conclusion smuggles in a cultural commentary under the guise of literary reference.

“Maybe, to riff on another well-known line from one of Mr. Nolan’s movies — “not the hero we deserved, but the hero we needed””