The Odyssey

This is a great film. You will not regret seeing it. Even Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway can’t say lines like “our civilization is ending” in a way that doesn’t sound forced, but Imma let that go, Argos the dog gets them one pass each.

This film is about a lot of things. But one of the things it’s about is how, no matter how smart you are (or think you are), the world is not under your control. We are wisest when we acknowledge that we are caught in a sea of conflicting forces, over whom we have no authority. That doesn’t mean we don’t have agency. It doesn’t let us off the hook for our actions. But it does mean that we can’t predict what will happen, and we should be humble about our own power to control the world around us, the people around us, and ultimately and always ourselves.