Did Homer’s Odyssey — An Ancient Greek Epic — Influence Storytelling in Film?
In A Companion to Film Theory, James Naremore’s chapter titled “Authorship” describes the nature of the film and television industry as hierarchical as opposed to collaborative, summarizing it as “involving a mixture of industrialized, theatrical, and artisanal practices”. These creative contributors can be considered a kind of author in their own right, their roles ranging from that of writers and composers to even stars and corporate studio executives. While this provides a loosely-tied explanation of authorship and how it manifests in the industry, Naremore attributes directorship to possess the highest position in this hierarchy of industrialists, thespians, and artisans. Herein lies the question of whether one can identify a single “author” of a film with certitude, and if film authorship can even be valued as a theory, which according to Naremore is more so a “topic or theme” rather than an overarching theory itself.
Joel and Ethan Coen’s O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000), Jean-Luc Godard’s Le Mépris/Contempt (1963), and Preston Sturges’ Sullivan’s Travels (1941) are all about significant journeys of varying natures. However, all three of these stories find their roots or inspiration in one singular story — that of Odysseus’ journey in Homer’s Odyssey. When explored in conjunction to each other, all these…
