u/unfettered2nd

I was just trying to survive the dysfuctional household from which I could not escape and studying seemed the only escape hence I thought shunning myself from school's extra curricular will help me achieve a decent job that would earn me enough money to escape. But the moment I realized that I wasn't good at studies, I simply gave up as there was no alternative. I should have noticed the first sign the moment I realized I would never be with my tuition crush from 12th grade. The college went uneventful minus the part I almost failed a whole semester because Dad decided to make it hell for a whole year. And then there were taunts the aunt who had given us shelter for ulterior motives during my days of unemployment.

I cannot go back in time to take part in school sports that I wanted to but chose not to. I cannot go back in time to ask out my crush but chose not to. I cannot go back in time and be more candid and frank to my batchmates but chose not to. At mid-30s, I am at a deadend, with no prospect of having a family, better career or anything. I have no other option than the job I have at hand, a lower group clerical job.

When I hear people telling about their eventful life, I get jealous. I used to wonder, what is stopping me from doing what they are doing, what is stopping me to enjoy things for its own sake instead of feeling being tied to a pole. Turns out it was me all along, waiting for a third act for all the justices to be done and punishments to be met out to those who wronged me. Turns out, there is no third act and I have missed my chance.

I can only wait for the next life, while lingering what span in this one I have.

I admit that I have not read the translations of the epics. I admit for simply going through summaries to get the core ideas and took help of the automatons. I admit as a dabbler my thoughts will be wrong and will not fit the standards needed when talking about the epics. But I wanted to understand the aspects of the movie beforehand anyway,and drudgery of life that Achilles would prefer given the choice in his dialouge to Odyseus, thwarted my efforts. Thus, I took the shortcut, very opposite to the hero's journey I was going to watch.

Firstly I would like to appreciate the vibrant colours of cinematography, especially of that of the voyages. The vfx was immersive, and the Imax sound system (whatever we got here) was bombastic within limits thus not diminishing the experience.

The Odessey(2026) is ultimately about a man feeling guilt for commiting the ultimate desecration - destroying the trust among humans. His commits decite in the name of the deity he and the Trojans worshipped - the wooden horse that was meant to be a gift to Athena. After victory, he witnessess the result of it as the fine line between barbarity and civility, of which the ancient greeks used to take pride of, vanish and savagery prevail. The crux of all this lies on Odyseus's monologues in the final act about his actions, his thoughts on the rise and fall of civilizations as his life becomes a poem for the generations to come. In a way, it also makes us to reflect various acts of destruction of life and society over the course of human history, and the one that still goes on.

Such take on the atrocities of greek heroes that followed the success of the siege isn't a new one. The Trojan Women, the play on prominent women characters on the Trojan side awaiting their horrific fate after the war, was produced in 415 BCE by Euripides, too reflectson it. Even the lost Homeric poem of the cycle, Iliou Persis, covers it.

I feel this is how Nolan is modernizing an epic by going to the heart of the conflict - the sacrilage that offended the Gods which causes much trouble to the heroes during their journey back home being reframed as breaking the spoken and unspoken laws of trust that keeps a civilziation alive and by extension, life. The audience in 21st century does not fear the Gods the listener of Homer did then. Nolan incorporates the rumors of sea people, a theory that certain war bands ravaged the bronze age civilization that caused its collaspe, as a result of the actions of the greeks post-victory, that their acts of raids and banditry have set an example for more such actions that ultimately threatens the very foundations of civilization. I can see why he decided to include Sinon (played by Elliot Page) a character from The Aenied, the famous unofficial sequel written as myth making of the Roman empire, to encompass the overarching theme, instead of keeping Achilles during it's crucial middle act. Perhaps it was easier to make a character and its backstory fit within the narrative of the movie instead of keeping all the call backs to the Illiad. I can see that such narraitve decisions, although risky, was taken for the brevity of the script.

I did not find the other modernizing aspects like Travis Scott being the bard for a few scenes or lacklustre armour designs (Agamemnon ate the budget for that) that much of a hindrance in the experince as the Odyssey unfolded on those big IMAX screen(I know the one in my city isn't that accurate but still).

Pardon me for finding it overwhelming, as those well versed in the canon may find it underwhelming.

I admit that I have not read the translations of the epics. I admit for simply going through summaries to get the core ideas and took help of the automatons. I admit as a dabbler my thoughts will be wrong and will not fit the standards needed when talking about the epics. But I wanted to understand the aspects of the movie beforehand anyway,and drudgery of life that Achilles would prefer given the choice in his dialouge to Odyseus, thwarted my efforts. Thus, I took the shortcut, very opposite to the hero's journey I was going to watch.

Firstly I would like to appreciate the vibrant colours of cinematography, especially of that of the voyages. The vfx was immersive, and the Imax sound system (whatever we got here) was bombastic within limits thus not diminishing the experience.

The Odessey(2026) is ultimately about a man feeling guilt for commiting the ultimate desecration - destroying the trust among humans. His commits decite in the name of the deity he and the Trojans worshipped - the wooden horse that was meant to be a gift to Athena. After victory, He witnessess the result of it as the fine line between barbarity and civility, of which the ancient greeks used to take pride of, vanish and savagery prevail. The crux of all this lies on Odyseus's monologues in the final act about his actions, his thoughts on the rise and fall of civilizations as his life becomes a poem for the generations to come. In a way, it also makes us to reflect various acts of destruction of life and society over the course of human history, and the one that still goes on.

Such take on the atrocities of greek heroes that followed the success of the siege isn't a new one. The Trojan Women, the play on prominent women characters on the Trojan side awaiting their horrific fate after the war, was produced in 415 BCE by Euripides, too reflectson it. Even the lost Homeric poem of the cycle, Iliou Persis, covers it.

I feel this is how Nolan is modernizing an epic by going to the heart of the conflict - the sacrilage that offended the Gods which causes much trouble to the heroes during their journey back home being reframed as breaking the spoken and unspoken laws of trust that keeps a civilziation alive. Nolan incorporates the rumors of sea people, a theory that certain war bands ravaged the bronze age civilization that caused its collaspe, as a result of the actions of the greeks post-victory, that their acts of raids and banditry have set an example for more such actions that ultimately threatens the very foundations of civilization. I can see why he decided to include Sinon (played by Elliot Page) a character from The Aenied, the famous unofficial sequel written as myth making of the Roman empire, to encompass the overarching theme, instead of keeping Achilles during it's crucial middle act. Perhaps it was easier to make a character and its backstory fit within the narrative of the movie instead of keeping all the call backs to the Illiad. I can see that such narraitve decisions, although risky, was taken for the brevity of the script.

I did not find the other modernizing aspects like Travis Scott being the bard for a few scenes or lacklustre armour designs (Agamemnon ate the budget for that) that much of a hindrance in the experince as the Odyssey unfolded on those big IMAX screen(I know the one in my city isn't that accurate but still)

Pardon me for finding it overwhelming, as those well versed in the canon may find it underwhelming.

It is the little fragile things that keeps a civilization going and ultimtely, life.

Disclaimer: Just my experience and some memories. It is kind of off my chest post.

The year is 2018. Month of July. My exam was on 8:00 AM shift at TCS Gitobitan. But I have to catch the early morning train to Bidhan Nagar and then catch a bus or auto there to reach the exam center. The metro was under construction. It was drizzling and Mom and I were making way all the way to bus stop, don't ask me where as I am not familiar to the place. We reached RS Software More, the usual stop. It was still drizzling and we were making our way to the centre on foot. We had arrived early in the morning with nothing in our stomatch and nothing on the street restaurents, except that one rickety stall. An old women, old enough to be my maternal grandmother, with a stove on fire, some glass jars of bakery biscuits, was sitting in the stall. My mom and I asked if there is some lemon or black tea (we prefer it over usual tea). The old lady said yes, and thus we breaked our fast as we kept waiting for entry at the center to begin.

For many years of my struggle trying to crack any of the job exams whether it be Bank, SSC or Railways, TCS Gitobitan was used to be the common fixture, and the Road Side stalls, which originally served the IT workers, were life savers when it came to food. Whether it be needed of breakfast before exam, or lunch after a long session, those were there for quick food. Only one or two small restaurents used to be crowded already so for many, the stalls were the only option. Whether it us simply candidates or our parents accompanying us, we did have to worry about finding something eat. The rapport we had built over the years was the reason my mom could sit and wait for me for the day long session of SSC CGL Tier 2 in 2019, 2 hours session at forenoon and 2 hours session afternoon. For years, for hundreds and thousands of candidates, they were the usual go to place for breakfasts and lunches. For my mom and I, a place of solace as peace was elusive at the relative's place we had taken shelter at after escaping our dysfuncitonal home in MP.

For me, there are lots of memories attached to those stalls around Gitobitan. After the news of removal drive, I informed mom to enquire the Kaku-Kaki ma, the one we used to frequent between 2019 and 2022 and still visited during one or two exams I could still sit after. Now those places from the days of my sturggle are now memories, stored in some selfies and snippets I had taken there.

Am I asking to keep things as it is for the sake of my memories? No. I know this is how life goes. The tress and mountains I saw grewing up at my village in MP are gone now. I can't add anything worthwhile to the debate around it. I can only show my sympathy and empathy to those who were there in those days of my long gone youth. That's all.