Jeff Yang
@originalsp.in
TheyCallUsBruce podcast w/AngryAsianMan: http://bit.ly/listen2TCUB; Guardian US & NPR PCHH; Threads/IG: @originalspin Books: RISE—A Pop History of Asian America from the 90s to Now; The Golden Screen—The Movies That Made Asian America Pic: thx @gregpak!
This piece by Jeff Yang (aka @originalsp.in) was so satisfying to edit. It covers different aspects of The Odyssey and contextualizes them as examples of political filmmaking through allegory—the tale of a 21st century empire reeling from karmic blowback. www.rogerebert.com/features/the...
The People from the Sea: How "The Odyssey" is About America
A reading of Christopher Nolan's blockbuster as a commentary on the current state of America.
rogerebert.com
“But also, it’s not that long ago that a Black woman, Kamala of Frisco, was simultaneously portrayed as the most aspirational person on Earth and as the ruthless destroyer of her white male patron, and, like Helen, left humbled and scarred.”
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · 22h ago“Lupita N’yongo as Helen of Troy and her regicidal twin sister Clytemnestra seems like equally pointed casting: We see her as both ultimate object of male desire and as enraged madwoman, two caricatures regularly painted on Black women.”
“Lupita N’yongo as Helen of Troy and her regicidal twin sister Clytemnestra seems like equally pointed casting: We see her as both ultimate object of male desire and as enraged madwoman, two caricatures regularly painted on Black women.”
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · 22h ago“The inclusion of Elliot Page, a centerpoint of outrage from the Right, seems particularly notable given his casting as Sinon, who becomes an unwitting human sacrifice to enable Odysseus’s glory; out of all of America’s groups, none has been more overtly used as a decoy target than trans persons.”
“The inclusion of Elliot Page, a centerpoint of outrage from the Right, seems particularly notable given his casting as Sinon, who becomes an unwitting human sacrifice to enable Odysseus’s glory; out of all of America’s groups, none has been more overtly used as a decoy target than trans persons.”
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · 22h ago“THE ODYSSEY was not a surprising choice…It’s a war chronicle, a superhero story, a revenge movie, a tale about an unreliable narrator (an amnesiac who’s unsure if he’s awake, dreaming, deluded or unhooked from the flow of time). It contains the seeds of every Nolan movie, everywhere, all at once.“
“THE ODYSSEY was not a surprising choice…It’s a war chronicle, a superhero story, a revenge movie, a tale about an unreliable narrator (an amnesiac who’s unsure if he’s awake, dreaming, deluded or unhooked from the flow of time). It contains the seeds of every Nolan movie, everywhere, all at once.“
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · 22h agoThe brilliant voices behind RogerEbert.com asked me to expand my thread on Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY as a pointed assessment of America as “empire at dusk” into a full essay, which I was honored to do. Please read/share—and thanks to @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social @briantallerico.bsky.social for the invite!
The brilliant voices behind RogerEbert.com asked me to expand my thread on Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY as a pointed assessment of America as “empire at dusk” into a full essay, which I was honored to do. Please read/share—and thanks to @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social @briantallerico.bsky.social for the invite!
RogerEbert.com@ebertvoices.bsky.social · yesterday"Nolan’s film is not a misbegotten attempt to modernize a classic—it is a deft and purposeful reflection of America in this moment, seen through the glass of mythological metaphor." Jeff Yang writes about THE ODYSSEY and the “people from the sea.”
Really strong work here by @originalsp.in, edited by @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social.
RogerEbert.com@ebertvoices.bsky.social · yesterday"Nolan’s film is not a misbegotten attempt to modernize a classic—it is a deft and purposeful reflection of America in this moment, seen through the glass of mythological metaphor." Jeff Yang writes about THE ODYSSEY and the “people from the sea.”
The brilliant voices behind RogerEbert.com asked me to expand my thread on Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY as a pointed assessment of America as “empire at dusk” into a full essay, which I was honored to do. Please read/share—and thanks to @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social @briantallerico.bsky.social for the invite!
RogerEbert.com@ebertvoices.bsky.social · yesterday"Nolan’s film is not a misbegotten attempt to modernize a classic—it is a deft and purposeful reflection of America in this moment, seen through the glass of mythological metaphor." Jeff Yang writes about THE ODYSSEY and the “people from the sea.”
Okay, animation looks great, there are some funny beats in the new trailer and I THINK ONE OF THE FILIPINA HEROINES FIGHTS WITH A GIANT WOODEN FORK FORGOTTEN ISLAND, you had my curiosity, *now* you have my *attention*
FRANCESCA EFFIN’ HONG IS GOING TO BE THE NEXT GOVERNOR OF WISCONSIN. COUNT IT! www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/u...
Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes Exits Race for Wisconsin Governor (Gift Article)
With a democratic socialist, Francesca Hong, leading in polls, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes said he was ending his campaign in the closely divided state.
nytimes.com
The big issue with extraordinary responses to horrific government actions is that this admin has near-infinite resources, and is willing to bankrupt America if need be to carry out harm. Individual humans can’t always summon up the reservoir to respond. Victory in courts and elections is critical.
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg@theradr.bsky.social · 7d agohey do you remember when we all found out about the horrors of the Muslim Ban under Trump 1.0 and fucking went to the airports to protest the horrors done to our fellow humans and pro bono lawyers were all over and stuff? the olden days of January 2017? when the overton window was over there?
UNPOPULAR OPINION: PIGS COULD FLY IF THEY HAD WINGS
Max P III@blackballer.bsky.social · 7d agoThe US would have won this war if physical reality was totally different lol
Most implausible aspect of the image: ELAINE IS DEPICTED WEARING A $12 CHICO’S SHIRT HOLY CRAP SHE WOULD RATHER DIE
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · last wk.I’ve known members of the Chao family—specifically, Elaine’s apolitical sisters (Grace and the late Angela)—since our college years. I can’t imagine Elaine, one of the most put-together people in existence, releasing a pic wearing a thin shirt over a visible black bra, UNTUCKED. Just implausible.
I’ve known members of the Chao family—specifically, Elaine’s apolitical sisters (Grace and the late Angela)—since our college years. I can’t imagine Elaine, one of the most put-together people in existence, releasing a pic wearing a thin shirt over a visible black bra, UNTUCKED. Just implausible.
I’ve known members of the Chao family—specifically, Elaine’s apolitical sisters (Grace and the late Angela)—since our college years. I can’t imagine Elaine, one of the most put-together people in existence, releasing a pic wearing a thin shirt over a visible black bra, UNTUCKED. Just implausible.
I don’t know why commenters always pivot so rapidly to insulting the intelligence or priors of people they disagree with but I haven’t done this here to you or anyone and I’m getting itchier on the mute button when it happens (to me or anyone), so have a good day
Just a note for anyone who comments on my posts: If you make a point that’s significant—whether I agree or disagree—and I quote tweet it, it’s not to “dunk on you.” It’s because I think what you’ve said is interesting/germane enough for others to see it as part of the discourse. So, fair warning?
Whoops, this should have been “Penelope shouting that she’s the competent one and should have been the queen *IS* Kamala, Hillary, Liz Warren and dozens of others shouting from the archives.”
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · last wk.Odysseus is reliant on others (mostly women) to save him and protect his legacy because, well, that’s history and our could-have-been. Penelope shouting that she’s the competent one, and should have been the queen, isn’t Kamala, Hillary, Liz Warren and dozens of others shouting from the archives.
THE ODYSSEY is Christopher Nolan’s long-form white-guy take on Childish Gambino’s THIS IS AMERICA, all the way down to Matt Damon’s beard. No further comments at this time.
Childish Gambino - This Is America Dance
Alt: Childish Gambino - This Is America Dance
static.klipy.com
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · last wk.Also her acknowledgment suggests that the movie is about the “Anglophone world” and cites Brexit. But…no. It’s explicitly about AMERICA.
Major media kind of has to reassess how they cover all the fascist billionaires including the one in the White House
Paris Marx@parismarx.com · last wk.After The Economist’s interview with Elon Musk, will major media finally reassess how they cover the fascist billionaire? As its editor-in-chief did the rounds saying she was “not a Musk hater,” he was on X calling her a traitor to the West and suggesting she be murdered. Please, have some dignity.
Even the modern American speech of the actors, full of anachronisms, is a tell. There are so many other layers to the film as a portrait not of forgotten Greece but current America. If you don’t see them, your glasses are on upside down. And you don’t have to like the film to be shaken by it.
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · last wk.Odysseus is reliant on others (mostly women) to save him and protect his legacy because, well, that’s history and our could-have-been. Penelope shouting that she’s the competent one, and should have been the queen, isn’t Kamala, Hillary, Liz Warren and dozens of others shouting from the archives.
Odysseus is reliant on others (mostly women) to save him and protect his legacy because, well, that’s history and our could-have-been. Penelope shouting that she’s the competent one, and should have been the queen, isn’t Kamala, Hillary, Liz Warren and dozens of others shouting from the archives.
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · last wk.THE ODYSSEY is big and noisy and full of fury because that’s how America represents itself to the world. And that’s also why Odysseus is neither as smart nor as complex nor as resourceful as he thinks. It’s not an error of characterization on Nolan’s part. It’s just a reflection of our reality.
THE ODYSSEY is big and noisy and full of fury because that’s how America represents itself to the world. And that’s also why Odysseus is neither as smart nor as complex nor as resourceful as he thinks. It’s not an error of characterization on Nolan’s part. It’s just a reflection of our reality.
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · last wk.Naturally, it’s the marginalized persons who die for the mistakes and hubris and bloodymindedness of the white male leader, are abused and scarred, are abandoned and cast adrift. They follow and enable him to their own peril. Again…because that’s our history and our present.
Naturally, it’s the marginalized persons who die for the mistakes and hubris and bloodymindedness of the white male leader, are abused and scarred, are abandoned and cast adrift. They follow and enable him to their own peril. Again…because that’s our history and our present.
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · last wk.Nolan doesn’t make his cinematic choices without purpose. THE ODYSSEY is cast as it is, with a white leader protagonist surrounded by people of color, women, trans folk, and other marginalized persons, not out of “wokeness,” but because that’s what America has been for almost all of its history.
Nolan doesn’t make his cinematic choices without purpose. THE ODYSSEY is cast as it is, with a white leader protagonist surrounded by people of color, women, trans folk, and other marginalized persons, not out of “wokeness,” but because that’s what America has been for almost all of its history.
America is the nation that has broken the precedents and norms that we helped created. America is the aging warrior-navigator that’s trying to find its way home, only to have our own narcissism, stubbornness and lack of concern for our allies send us adrift. America is the people from the sea.
Wilson even cites adaptations that are “strong misreadings” of their source material while failing to recognize that that’s…exactly what this film is?
Jeff Yang@originalsp.in · last wk.I feel like everyone other than the very smart Emily Wilson and a bunch of extremely thickheaded conservatives have since realized that Nolan’s ODYSSEY is a willfully twisted reinterpretation of the original as an allegory for America. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
I feel like everyone other than the very smart Emily Wilson and a bunch of extremely thickheaded conservatives have since realized that Nolan’s ODYSSEY is a willfully twisted reinterpretation of the original as an allegory for America. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Emily Wilson · An Uncomplicated Man
As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Christopher Nolan has read at least the first line of my...
lrb.co.uk
I feel like everyone other than the very smart Emily Wilson and a bunch of extremely thickheaded conservatives have since realized that Nolan’s ODYSSEY is a willfully twisted reinterpretation of the original as an allegory for America. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Emily Wilson · An Uncomplicated Man
As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Christopher Nolan has read at least the first line of my...
lrb.co.uk
