Post by Good Faith

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey hits theaters this week. It's not about monsters. It's about trust, pride, and coming home. Here's what to know before you go. We asked Jessica Hooten Wilson, a literature professor who's taught this poem for years, what most people miss. Her answer: "The monsters only appear in Odysseus's telling." No one else in the poem ever sees one. Odysseus stands in front of strangers and introduces himself as "the lord of lies and the teller of tales"—then starts talking. Even Athena calls him a "cunning, elusive, habitual liar." The poem is quietly training you to ask: how do you know who to trust? Curtis had his own confession here: reading it made him realize how easy it is to be an unreliable narrator of your own life, "twisting a detail here or there, and you look so much better in that light." Homer isn't just writing about Odysseus. He's writing about you. And Odysseus isn't the only one narrating a story here. Penelope has spent twenty years holding a kingdom together with no idea if her husband is even alive. Her homecoming is its own odyssey. There's more to unpack here than even a three-hour Christopher Nolan epic can capture. We talked through all of it with Jessica before the movie hits theaters—listen to the full conversation on the Good Faith podcast. It's worth hearing before you take your seat. https://lnkd.in/gJ2ApQhG