Post

To me, complaining about historical accuracy in a Hollywood blockbuster film is kind of like complaining that a metal album is too loud. It's not really engaging with the media on its own terms. Cinema is a medium of spectacle, especially Hollywood Cinema.

There's a tradition of filmmaking that cares a lot about accuracy, it's called documentary. I love documentary, but it's generally not a medium of spectacle. That's because good historicism requires careful thought, nuance, cautious speculation, and approaching things from multiple perspectives.

This doesn't mean that Hollywood blockbusters can't try for historical accuracy, it's a tool in the kit of any creative team, but ultimately it's something that bends to the spectacle of the work.

Obviously I'm talking about the Odyssey here but I'm also just talking about filmmaking trends generally. For pretty much my entire adult life there's this cultural desire for "realism" that is just exhausting and kind of ignores the fact that the wonder of film is in its ability to defy reality.

I think there's room for nuance in this conversation, especially when it comes to films that portray people and events in living memory. But even so, the role of this kind of film is to narrativize and mythologize, not to portray reality.