Teachers Embrace Christopher Nolan’s New Take on “The Odyssey”
Christopher Nolan’s latest film adaptation of “The Odyssey” is making waves in classrooms across the country. Teachers are finding renewed enthusiasm for the ancient text among students, thanks to this new cinematic portrayal.
Casey Crowhurst, who has dedicated 16 years to teaching high school English, has long found “The Odyssey” a challenging text to engage students with. “It’s always been one we kind of struggled with,” he notes, recounting the difficulty in capturing the attention of students at Monticello High School in Illinois.
When introducing the epic, Crowhurst often faces skepticism: “You tell them, ‘Hey, this was written 2,000 plus years ago.’ And right away, they’re gonna be like, ‘well, why do I have to learn this?'”
To aid in teaching, Crowhurst and other educators often utilize various adaptations, including clips from the 1997 Hallmark miniseries. However, the outdated special effects often draw laughter from students rather than interest.
After viewing Nolan’s version of the epic, Crowhurst expressed his gratitude on TikTok, saying, “I just saw the Odyssey and I want to say on behalf of all English teachers: Thank you, Christopher Nolan. Thank you.”
Various adaptations of Homer’s work have populated popular culture, ranging from The Simpsons to stage renditions and films featuring renowned actors. Erin Hall, an English teacher from Charlottesville, Va., is eager to incorporate Nolan’s film into her lessons. “I love including any kind of outside media in my classroom,” she explains. “It gets kids excited to learn.”
For educators like Sarah Noll at South Lakes High School in Reston, Va., visual interpretations of the poem serve as a valuable tool in teaching English to multilingual students. “They create a kind of dictionary of the important vocabulary,” she says, citing words like ship, sea, king, and suitor.
To hear more about how Crowhurst, Hall, Noll, and others plan to use the new film in educational settings, click the audio link above.
Edited by: Nirvi Shah
Visual design and development by: LA Johnson
This article was originally written by www.npr.org
