NOLAN ODYSSEY'S ODDITIES: STEREOTYPES AND THE DISTORTION OF THE HERO ARCHETYPE.
What actually Nolan is doing by projecting a protagonist 'trickster' hero archetype from Homer's poem from 2500 years ago? It does not take us much to see through his camerawork which does not celebrate his big screen character Odysseus.
He is not given a classcial hero treatment such as Achilles or Hector together with their own theme song. Instead he is shown as someone in crisis, along with mostly ambiance instead of a theme song to emphasize his ambivalent screen presence.
Nolan is portraying the same tragic hero as in Oppenheimer. The bringer of disaster. In Odyssey's case, Odysseus lost all of his crews along his journey home mostly due to his flawed strategy and decision making.
Nolan's treatment of Odysseus as a returning saviour is a peculiar one, especially after all the tragic misadventure he went through. Perhaps this is his cynical criticism towards the contemporary culture which distorts the hero archetypes. Look at who the media wants us to see as heroes nowadays.
Those corporate owners with bottomless pockets to fund their agendas have zero knowledge in writing a character for their propaganda campaign.
They end up feeding us with endless row of 'Mary Sue's. Which makes us yearning for the return of a classic hero. A good example is Captain America from the MCU. He represents honor and righteousness and also have a complete circle in his 'Hero's Journey' writing.
Thus, Captain America is one of a good example of an archetype. While, the 'Mary Sue's these cartels are feeding us are mere stereotypes. John Rambo from the film First Blood is an archetype. But yet again, the greed of those with money turned him into an action hero stereotype to carry the American image of military superiority globally.
In Malaysian movie scene, we have a character such as Dato' Meor Abdul Rahman turned to a stereotype in his own so-called bio-pic. It was a huge missed opportunity when his silat guru was eliminated in the opening scene, while he could've been use as a mentor archetype to have Beto's character start with a proper and correct 'Hero's Journey's arc.
Only then, like how the MCU did Captain America, audience will have deeper empathy and catharsis towards the protagonist.
In film, there is no limitation on the subject you are spoken, just how it is being done.
Back in 2018, there was a screening of a film Moon Over Malaya in Central Market. After the screening I was introduced by Pak Hassan Muthalib to Yee Hwa who directed a short film entitled Tudung Saji Buah Hati.
The film is not even 5 minutes long but speaks of a subject many storytellers do not have. In the opening scene a Malay young girl got scolding from her father for not wearing the tudung (headcover). The girl then distance herself and got attracted by a beautiful dance performance downstairs done by girls wearing tudung.
Subtlety is how you do it. Especially if you claim to be a Malay. Don't get me started with the big screen glorification of rempits and gangsters stereotypes. And they wonder why there are escalation of bully cases in schools and rempit gangs on the road.
Attached AI generated graphic: Orson Welles have warned us in Citizen Kane about the people speaking from on top of the stage. How Nolan is subtlely speaking of the current breed of narcassist 'Odysseus' made hero.