The two big Summer 2026 blockbuster movies, The Odyssey and Spiderman: Brand New Day, convey how the mind typically encounters the burdens of trauma and guilt.

The latest gigantic movie hits taking international box offices by storm, The Odyssey and Spiderman: Brand New Day, offer wonderful coverage on the categories of guilt and trauma by capturing them through the conflicts directly grappled with by the primary character in each story.

In The Odyssey, the protagonist Odysseus tackles the ongoing degradation of his historical epoch: a traumatic piece of knowledge he clashes with throughout his journey back home, along with the guilt of his own actions taken at Troy which are heavily liable for this astronomical collapse. He understands that his guilt cannot be subdued - repressed - within him because it won’t do him any favors in his quest for ethical redemption and political progress. For these reasons, inter alia, he exists as a hysterical individual over the course of his prolonged return voyage. How so? Because he consistently disobeys and interrogates the divine authority of the Gods who had unquestionably ruled over mankind and earth up to the events of Troy. Deities who ruthlessly exploited both domains for their machinations and self-interests, to the extent of exercising their own hubris which they had hypocritically judged humanity for.

By the end of the movie, when he finally arrives in Ithaca, Odysseus fathoms how the present conditions are bringing about a new yet unclear social structure. His past violent crimes in Troy, in tandem with comparable conquests launched by other Greek missions - spanning across continents - over the past two decades, are the causal perpetrators behind the structural dismantling of the existing political, economic, and ideological systems within the lands covering the Bronze Age civilization. The invincible power of the Gods are gone; chiefly stamped by the sacrilege and demolition of Zeus’ law. There is no possibility of a return to it. Hence, a new civilizational order will have to be forged on its ashes. He has no idea what will unfurl but nevertheless recognizes how he must act as a free subject who actively participates in the world towards building the future and taking responsibility for it.

In Spiderman: Brand New Day, the protagonist Spiderman / Peter Parker harmfully reacts to the traumatic knowledge about the loss of his romantic partnership with MJ and his platonic friendship with Ned. The particular bonds he had with MJ and Ned are irrevocable in the aftermath of the large-scale memory wipe as to his secret identity as Spiderman. Although he knows that this sacrifice he made to protect his loved ones was courageous and selfless, he can’t accept the fact that there can’t be a return - a way home -  to the past timeline. This trauma is too painful to bear and it forces him to repress this knowledge within his unconscious. This in turn fosters the four year period of melancholic-voyeuristic attachment to MJ and Ned. He does this by converting the memory of their shared past into a fetish object (anything that lets you sustain your existing practices and beliefs) which provides him the ability to dodge the truth regarding his trauma. However, an intense guilt snowballs during these four years because he fails to honor his promise of restarting his relationships with them both after the memory wipe incident. He becomes very ashamed of this character flaw because it inhibits him from granting agency over to MJ and Ned concerning their autonomous decision on how to best deal with this tragic ordeal once it’s revealed to them.

Spider-Man / Peter Parker is finally able to grapple with the guilt of his actions by taking responsibility for it through the help of others: MJ herself, the Punisher, Jean Grey, and the specific advice given from Aunt May prior to her death. By the end of the movie, he begins to construct new facets of his symbolic identity - everyday subjective existence - on the foundation of his resolved trauma and guilt; consequently conquering the obsolete features of his identity which he had clung on to with the aid of his fetish objects. Therefore, new desires, new social interactions, and new fantasies are ready to be conceived and materialized by Spider-Man in his matured life.

In conclusion, both movies are fantastic encapsulations pertaining to these indispensable qualities of the libidinal economy (the mind). Although The Odyssey is a better film overall and dissects in greater detail the two mental features of guilt and trauma; Spider-Man: Brand New Day in contrast, is more relatable to wider audiences because of its contemporary setting, common setbacks, and relevant issues (AI, discrimination against people, young adulthood, etc). I think they are both must-watch movies of 2026, in addition to doing artistic justice to these complex and challenging human experiences. We get a rare episode of Hollywood getting it right. 

Intro: The two big Summer 2026 blockbuster movies, The Odyssey and Spiderman: Brand New Day, convey how the mind typically encounters the burdens of trauma and guilt.

The latest gigantic movie hits taking international box offices by storm, The Odyssey and Spiderman: Brand New Day, offer wonderful coverage on the categories of guilt and trauma by capturing them through the conflicts directly grappled with by the primary character in each story.

In The Odyssey, the protagonist Odysseus tackles the ongoing degradation of his historical epoch: a traumatic piece of knowledge he clashes with throughout his journey back home, along with the guilt of his own actions taken at Troy which are heavily liable for this astronomical collapse. He understands that his guilt cannot be subdued - repressed - within him because it won’t do him any favors in his quest for ethical redemption and political progress. For these reasons, inter alia, he exists as a hysterical individual over the course of his prolonged return voyage. How so? Because he consistently disobeys and interrogates the divine authority of the Gods who had unquestionably ruled over mankind and earth up to the events of Troy. Deities who ruthlessly exploited both domains for their machinations and self-interests, to the extent of exercising their own hubris which they had hypocritically judged humanity for.

By the end of the movie, when he finally arrives in Ithaca, Odysseus fathoms how the present conditions are bringing about a new yet unclear social structure. His past violent crimes in Troy, in tandem with comparable conquests launched by other Greek missions - spanning across continents - over the past two decades, are the causal perpetrators behind the structural dismantling of the existing political, economic, and ideological systems within the lands covering the Bronze Age civilization. The invincible power of the Gods are gone; chiefly stamped by the sacrilege and demolition of Zeus’ law. There is no possibility of a return to it. Hence, a new civilizational order will have to be forged on its ashes. He has no idea what will unfurl but nevertheless recognizes how he must act as a free subject who actively participates in the world towards building the future and taking responsibility for it.

In Spiderman: Brand New Day, the protagonist Spiderman / Peter Parker harmfully reacts to the traumatic knowledge about the loss of his romantic partnership with MJ and his platonic friendship with Ned. The particular bonds he had with MJ and Ned are irrevocable in the aftermath of the large-scale memory wipe as to his secret identity as Spiderman. Although he knows that this sacrifice he made to protect his loved ones was courageous and selfless, he can’t accept the fact that there can’t be a return - a way home -  to the past timeline. This trauma is too painful to bear and it forces him to repress this knowledge within his unconscious. This in turn fosters the four year period of melancholic-voyeuristic attachment to MJ and Ned. He does this by converting the memory of their shared past into a fetish object (anything that lets you sustain your existing practices and beliefs) which provides him the ability to dodge the truth regarding his trauma. However, an intense guilt snowballs during these four years because he fails to honor his promise of restarting his relationships with them both after the memory wipe incident. He becomes very ashamed of this character flaw because it inhibits him from granting agency over to MJ and Ned concerning their autonomous decision on how to best deal with this tragic ordeal once it’s revealed to them.

Spider-Man / Peter Parker is finally able to grapple with the guilt of his actions by taking responsibility for it through the help of others: MJ herself, the Punisher, Jean Grey, and the specific advice given from Aunt May prior to her death. By the end of the movie, he begins to construct new facets of his symbolic identity - everyday subjective existence - on the foundation of his resolved trauma and guilt; consequently conquering the obsolete features of his identity which he had clung on to with the aid of his fetish objects. Therefore, new desires, new social interactions, and new fantasies are ready to be conceived and materialized by Spider-Man in his matured life.

In conclusion, both movies are fantastic encapsulations pertaining to these indispensable qualities of the libidinal economy (the mind). Although The Odyssey is a better film overall and dissects in greater detail the two mental features of guilt and trauma; Spider-Man: Brand New Day in contrast, is more relatable to wider audiences because of its contemporary setting, common setbacks, and relevant issues (AI, discrimination against people, young adulthood, etc). I think they are both must-watch movies of 2026, in addition to doing artistic justice to these complex and challenging human experiences. We get a rare episode of Hollywood getting it right. 

Intro: The two big Summer 2026 blockbuster movies, The Odyssey and Spiderman: Brand New Day, convey how the mind typically encounters the burdens of trauma and guilt.

The latest gigantic movie hits taking international box offices by storm, The Odyssey and Spiderman: Brand New Day, offer wonderful coverage on the categories of guilt and trauma by capturing them through the conflicts directly grappled with by the primary character in each story.

In The Odyssey, the protagonist Odysseus tackles the ongoing degradation of his historical epoch: a traumatic piece of knowledge he clashes with throughout his journey back home, along with the guilt of his own actions taken at Troy which are heavily liable for this astronomical collapse. He understands that his guilt cannot be subdued - repressed - within him because it won’t do him any favors in his quest for ethical redemption and political progress. For these reasons, inter alia, he exists as a hysterical individual over the course of his prolonged return voyage. How so? Because he consistently disobeys and interrogates the divine authority of the Gods who had unquestionably ruled over mankind and earth up to the events of Troy. Deities who ruthlessly exploited both domains for their machinations and self-interests, to the extent of exercising their own hubris which they had hypocritically judged humanity for.

By the end of the movie, when he finally arrives in Ithaca, Odysseus fathoms how the present conditions are bringing about a new yet unclear social structure. His past violent crimes in Troy, in tandem with comparable conquests launched by other Greek missions - spanning across continents - over the past two decades, are the causal perpetrators behind the structural dismantling of the existing political, economic, and ideological systems within the lands covering the Bronze Age civilization. The invincible power of the Gods are gone; chiefly stamped by the sacrilege and demolition of Zeus’ law. There is no possibility of a return to it. Hence, a new civilizational order will have to be forged on its ashes. He has no idea what will unfurl but nevertheless recognizes how he must act as a free subject who actively participates in the world towards building the future and taking responsibility for it.

In Spiderman: Brand New Day, the protagonist Spiderman / Peter Parker harmfully reacts to the traumatic knowledge about the loss of his romantic partnership with MJ and his platonic friendship with Ned. The particular bonds he had with MJ and Ned are irrevocable in the aftermath of the large-scale memory wipe as to his secret identity as Spiderman. Although he knows that this sacrifice he made to protect his loved ones was courageous and selfless, he can’t accept the fact that there can’t be a return - a way home -  to the past timeline. This trauma is too painful to bear and it forces him to repress this knowledge within his unconscious. This in turn fosters the four year period of melancholic-voyeuristic attachment to MJ and Ned. He does this by converting the memory of their shared past into a fetish object (anything that lets you sustain your existing practices and beliefs) which provides him the ability to dodge the truth regarding his trauma. However, an intense guilt snowballs during these four years because he fails to honor his promise of restarting his relationships with them both after the memory wipe incident. He becomes very ashamed of this character flaw because it inhibits him from granting agency over to MJ and Ned concerning their autonomous decision on how to best deal with this tragic ordeal once it’s revealed to them.

Spider-Man / Peter Parker is finally able to grapple with the guilt of his actions by taking responsibility for it through the help of others: MJ herself, the Punisher, Jean Grey, and the specific advice given from Aunt May prior to her death. By the end of the movie, he begins to construct new facets of his symbolic identity - everyday subjective existence - on the foundation of his resolved trauma and guilt; consequently conquering the obsolete features of his identity which he had clung on to with the aid of his fetish objects. Therefore, new desires, new social interactions, and new fantasies are ready to be conceived and materialized by Spider-Man in his matured life.

In conclusion, both movies are fantastic encapsulations pertaining to these indispensable qualities of the libidinal economy (the mind). Although The Odyssey is a better film overall and dissects in greater detail the two mental features of guilt and trauma; Spider-Man: Brand New Day in contrast, is more relatable to wider audiences because of its contemporary setting, common setbacks, and relevant issues (AI, discrimination against people, young adulthood, etc). I think they are both must-watch movies of 2026, in addition to doing artistic justice to these complex and challenging human experiences. We get a rare episode of Hollywood getting it right.