Second, Nolan uses The Odyssey to advance a left-wing sociocultural agenda, meticulously inserting core principles of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in his “artistic” casting choices. It was done on purpose to desensitize audiences to DEI practices, knowing audiences would flock to see his film and that any objections to it would eventually be silenced by the film’s financial success and popularity. It was peak cinematic propaganda, similar to the socialist realism themes and tactics used in Soviet cinema in the first half of the 20th century.

By now, everyone is familiar with Nolan casting a biological female, Elliot Page, to play the male character Sinon, a character who was not in Homer’s The Odyssey (of which the movie is supposed to be based) but rather in Roman poet Virgil’s The Aeneid, a poem written approximately 600 years after The Odyssey. He also cast the Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o as the legendary Helen of Troy, a character who is traditionally recognized as being of European descent, not African. Both were done deliberately for agenda-driven and ideological reasons.

By choosing the biological female Page to play the male Sinon, Nolan sought to legitimize transgenderism in the film industry. There was no real cinematic need to include Sinon in the film, let alone being played by Page. Yet, being a titan in the film-making industry, the Academy Award-winning director knows he could not-so-subliminally promote transgenderism without most likely experiencing significant backlash — and if there was, Nolan has the cachet to survive it. He has all the power and leverage on this ideological issue, and he used it to try to influence the culture and sway public opinion and support for accepting transgenderism in the future. 

For Nyong’o’s character, Helen of Troy, Nolan again strayed from source material in The Odyssey and the history of ancient Greek civilization. Again, there was no need to cast Helen as anyone other than someone of European descent. But Nolan’s choice to do so was his way of advancing radical left-wing socioculturalist ideology, especially in cinema. Nyong’o, as Helen (and her sister Clytemnestra), reinforced a commitment to replace white actors with non-white ones. It is a slight but subtle DEI decision that will have cultural ramifications for years to come. 

Again, given Nolan’s resume, he has the prestige to withstand criticism amid any fallout. Moreover, if any fallouts were to have happened, they would have likely been negated by left-wing audiences showing up in droves because, as their rhetoric and actions have shown over the years, replacing a white character with a black woman is every liberal, Democrat, socialist, and communist’s literary dream.

So what’s the big deal?

As mentioned above, Nolan’s casting of Page and Nyong’o was not needed. Any male actor could have played Sinon, and numerous actors of European descent could have portrayed Helen (and her twin sister) in the movie. Page and Nyong’o’s acting didn’t add anything of substance to the film, especially since their screentime was so brief. The same thing with their box-office allure. Audiences don’t rush to the movies to see Page or Nyong’o. 

Nolan did this purposely to advance a left-wing ideological agenda. The success of the movie guarantees it will serve as a precedent for future films, which will, in turn, impact culture and, over time, transform sociocultural norms. That was the entire point of his casting. That is why Nolan opted to do it. 

Nolan will be considered a pioneer for his casting choices, and other directors and films will follow suit. Over time, the objective is to continue pushing the ideological envelope to eliminate resistance to such casting decisions and establish acceptance and compliance with new norms.

Whatever happened to cultural appropriation?

For years, members of the Left have regularly stressed the horrors of cultural appropriation. They claimed that white people emulating, replicating, duplicating, or portraying people of color was a grave sin. It was regularly rebuked and admonished by the Left’s societal gatekeepers. However, all of the issues and concerns surrounding cultural appropriation mysteriously vanished when it came to The Odyssey. 

Despite it being a story from Greek mythology, not a single Greek person was cast in one of the major roles in the movie. Apparently, cultural appropriation is no big deal when the culture appropriated is that of people of European heritage. Had The Odyssey been a story rooted in ancient African civilization, and the major characters were not actors of African descent, all hell would have broken loose. Nolan and his film would have been branded racists, bigots, and oppressors for doing so. Yet, when it comes to people of European heritage, it matters none. To Nolan, DEI mattered more.

The ideological hypocrisy of ‘Odyssey’ actors

Nyong’o and actor John Leguizamo are both in The Odyssey in supporting roles. Neither of them is of Greek heritage, yet they are portraying Greek characters. Now, such a thing is a regular occurrence in the film industry, with actors portraying characters who do not match their ethnicity or heritage. However, both Nyong’o and Leguizamo previously stressed the importance of authentic ethnic representation of characters (i.e., black characters portrayed by black actors, Latino characters by Latino actors, etc.).

Leguizamo previously lamented the number of Latinos in movie roles. He has also criticized actors of European descent portraying Latinos in film. Yet when given the opportunity to star as a character of Greek heritage, Leguizamo’s principles and dedication to authentic ethnic representation of characters vanished.

Nyong’o previously made similar comments about the casting of African actors to portray African characters in the Black Panther movie franchise. While filming the movie about the Marvel comic book superhero, she complained about a frequent cinematic distortion of African culture. She lauded the production of Black Panther for its authenticity and accurate portrayal of Africans in a fictional story. While doing press for one of the films, she discussed the importance of accurate ethnic and cultural representation of characters.

In The Odyssey, however, Nyong’o’s commitment to ethnic authenticity appeared to have vanished. Just like Leguizamo, Nyong’o had zero problems with her fictional character not aligning with the accurate cultural representation of Helen of Troy.

Christopher Nolan’s oDEIssey

As mentioned earlier, Nolan’s casting choices will undoubtedly establish a precedent. Many more films in the future will cast aside actors of ethnically European characters and replace them with actors who are ideologically approved based on their ethnicities and sexual identities. The worst of the Left’s cultural ideologies will be slowly ushered in to desensitize the population and generate acceptance and compliance over the course of years and decades. 

Hollywood’s attempt to evolve into a colorless casting cadre and a left-wing ideological nirvana should be met with vigorous backlash. All of it is an attempt to legitimize DEI practices and affirmative action tactics. If artistic expression is going to be weaponized by the Left, then the instances in which they do so must be called out and rejected. 

Summer blockbusters should be entertainment for the population to enjoy, to take their minds off the rigors of everyday life. It shouldn’t be a sociological and ideological lab for left-wing political indoctrination and ideological brainwashing.