Odyssey's Huge Success Proves That The Internet Is Not Real Life

By Chris Snellgrove | Published 7 seconds ago

Right now, Christopher Nolan The Odyssey storming theaters like a one-man army. The film is a modern adaptation of an ancient Greek text about a soldier trying to find his way home after helping win a costly war. Specifically, Odysseus helped end the Trojan War, which is ironic when you think about it. After all, the success of this myth may end up ending real-world conflict. Namely, the endless culture wars fought by the intrepid keyboard warriors on this side of 4chan.

For months now, all the usual suspects have been complaining about Nolan's decisions. This included having Lupita Nyong'o play Helen of Troy and having Elliot Page play Sinon, the Greek hero. With the anticipation of (gasp!) a black woman and a trans man playing Greek characters, the haters began to cry that the film was resurrected garbage that was going to bomb at the box office. That, then, is the common wisdom of the old saying: “go broke, go broke.” However, The Odyssey grossed $264.1 million in its opening weekend, providing a lesson for everyone to learn. What is the lesson? Repeat after me: the internet is not real life.

Nothing Normal

When it comes to movies and TV shows, I'm a humble state college professor. One of the life lessons I try to give to all my students is that there is no normal; there is only normal around you. Are you in an empty room with no flat-earthers? In that case, you can do it is considered crazy. After a while, you might start to believe what they say. This is just human nature…everyone wants to be equal rather than an outcast. In the end, it's easier to drink the Kool-Aid of wacky groupthink than to speak the truth to a group of idiots.

What does this have to do with it? The Odyssey? Everythingindeed. Despite having once stuck to the mantra “facts don't care about your feelings,” the conservatives who predicted the movie would explode had no real data to suggest it would; instead, they just had everyone vibe in their favorite spots insisting that the movie would go swimmingly. This is a working example of the flat example above. You can only hear the majority of people in your favorite online groups predicting doom long before those predictions seem inevitable. No one wants to question the narrative because that is the fastest way to get kicked out of the group.

The Internet Is Not Real Life

Now, the success of The Odyssey (It made more than a quarter of a billion dollars in the first weekend!) has destroyed that narrative itself. What did that do to the opponents who predicted its destruction? Some have retreated from conspiracy theories; millionaires must buy empty theaters! The film was successful only because it raised special people! It only makes money because of presales! Expensive IMAX tickets have increased the numbers! These are just a few tricks that crazy people can't understand. The Odyssey popularity and success. Their narratives are scattered, proving just that the internet is not real life.

Regardless of political leanings, every online group you belong to has its own biases on countless topics. This includes awakened or unawakened. But part of becoming an adult is realizing that the views of these groups no longer reflect the wider culture any more than the views of your childhood friends reflect the views of everyone in your town. If you and your friends hate the new bar but it's crowded every month, most people clearly love it. And if a movie that all your friends on the internet called a piece of trash grosses hundreds of millions in its first weekend, then it's popular and successful.

The Culture War is over

Everyone votes with their dollars. If having a black woman or a trans man portray a Greek character was sad, mainstream audiences would boycott it. The Odyssey. If the average film actor had cared to adapt the story of a 3,000-year-old poem, he would have avoided the film. The fact that the film is doing blockbusters at the box office is proof that the majority who will see it are not concerned with politics. or culture war stories. They just wanted to see a big blockbuster full of big actors; Christopher Nolan, every successful film, gave that audience indeed what they wanted, and you are rewarded for it.

That's how you can say (and you might want to sit down about this) that the whole idea of ​​a culture war is false. Under capitalism, culture and dominant cultural preferences are represented by what people pay for. The Mandalorian and the Grogu it did not fail because it had risen; it failed because it was another labored film from a fading franchise. Infatuation it didn't work because it didn't wake up; it succeeded because it had fresh ideas, killer performances, and a visionary director. In short, the audience just wants a it's a good movieand a film's box office is a reliable measure of the general audience's perception of a major blockbuster film.

Freaks and Greeks

Given its huge box office, The Odyssey it's clearly a movie that appeals to a lot of people. Now, that doesn't mean you have to like it or that it's a really good movie; after all, there is plenty badly movies are still insanely profitable. And you don't have to allow imitation, either; if boycotting this movie because of those two actors is very important to you, no one will drag you to see it. But if you're still hating and saying this movie will blow up, you're definitely a minority opinion on Christopher Nolan's latest film, which could easily earn more than a billion dollars when all is said and done.

Also, the takeaway here is that the internet is not real life. Did everyone in your online scoldmaxxing circles predict The Odyssey will you fail? Now you know how important those predictions are. Were you absolutely convinced that Elliot Page's brief appearance in this film would kill Nolan's chances of success? Now you know how much the average person doesn't care about these things. Fortunately, you can avoid these problems by putting down the phone, walking away from the computer, and going outside at least once a day. When you start talking to real people and not digital avatars, you might start to care less about what the internet says.

Getting outside regularly is the best thing or anyone who has spent months liking countless how-to posts The Odyssey it will fail. If that's you, do us all a favor and touch the grass while you're at it!