listen it's not that I think epic the musical is a perfect adaption of the odyssey but it was an impressive passion project that knew what it wanted to be and knew what people gravitated to in the original work and it put significant effort into conveying this through its unique medium and tone to the point that hundreds of other people felt compelled to put effort into their own artistic interpretations of that version of the story. and that's really cool! and yes I would be more critical if it was a 100 million dollar project made by a professional because what the fuck do you mean you're a world-famous director and you cut the my name is nobody scene are you goddamn serious
This is exactly how I feel. As a Classicist, I love Epic because it captures some of the spirit of the Odyssey and adapts it to be more modernised, similar to how Disney in 1997 adapted Hercules (thereβs actually a lot of references to accurate stuff in that film which I like such as Herculesβ adopted parents being called Alcmene and Amphitryon and the inclusion of art from the Classical period throughout the film). Those adaptations donβt feel like theyβre going βfuck youβ in your face as someone who studies the ancient world. It shows the stories you love in a slightly different light. They include the key parts but are maybe slightly condensed due to time constraints. I was slightly irked when one of my friends called me a hypocrite for being against Nolanβs movie while adoring Epic the musical because the thing about Nolanβs film is that it is an adaptation with millions put into it and so many fucking celebrities in the cast to gain interest while Epic began as an indie passion project that came from the heart and love of the story and wanting to retell it. I think Nolan just saw that the Odyssey was popular and exploited it for that. The red carpet events are completely nauseating particularly Zendayaβs earrings that were created through the mutilation of ancient artefacts. The story of the Odyssey was also mutilated in Nolanβs adaptation. No one that truly loves the poem would take out the nobody trick and bed trick that define the metis (cunning) of the hero and heroine. Jorge had the grace to not call Epic, βThe Odysseyβ as he was aware he had made changes, I love him for that and heβs doing the same with Ilium which Iβm really excited for. Nolan, on the other hand, had all the grace of a reversing dump truck in titling his disrespect of ancient culture and storytelling, βThe Odysseyβ.
