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"A complicated man" is a stupid translation in the first place Polytropos means: a man of many twists and turns, describing simultaneously a person who has tra

"A complicated man" is a stupid translation in the first place Polytropos means: a man of many twists and turns, describing simultaneously a person who has traveled widely and been "turned" by many hardships and places, as well as someone whose mind is clever, resourceful, versatile, and cunning enough to turn any situation to their advantage Or as W2 academics chasing book reviews and podcasts slots translate: "a complicated guy" the perfect actor would be someone with james bond spy thriller feeling not commercial guy that has the energy of a little league coach

keiferski 2mo ago
It’s a shame Michael Fassbender wasn’t in the running, as his character in The Agency is kind of exactly how I imagined Odysseus: clever, with a heart for the people he cares about but absolutely brutal against people he doesn’t need.
- DaedalusII 2mo ago
  maybe like this, gary oldman 1990s would have been good. there needs to be a feeling of some edge or at least mystery, depth
  - keiferski 2mo ago
    I think it was more because of the Nolan script. Damon is capable of playing that kind of character; see The Talented Mr. Ripley, for example.
Gander5739 2mo ago
They wrote at length on this particular translation choice: https://emily613.substack.com/p/on-complicated https://emily613.substack.com/p/on-complicated
TheCoelacanth 2mo ago
Every translation has to make tradeoffs. There's no way to perfectly translate a 2500 year old poem whose audience had an almost unfathomably different world view than a modern audience. Wilson chose to prioritize making the translation uncomplicated and metrical the way it would have been to the original audience instead of trying to capture the full meaning of every single word. No other translation has done that before. They either aren't in meter or they torture the English language into strange and complicated grammar that has a very different effect on the audience than the original would have. If you want different tradeoffs, then there are countless other translations to choose from. There would be no point writing a new translation if you aren't going to choose different tradeoffs.

keiferski 2mo ago

It’s a shame Michael Fassbender wasn’t in the running, as his character in The Agency is kind of exactly how I imagined Odysseus: clever, with a heart for the people he cares about but absolutely brutal against people he doesn’t need.

DaedalusII 2mo ago
maybe like this, gary oldman 1990s would have been good. there needs to be a feeling of some edge or at least mystery, depth
- keiferski 2mo ago
  I think it was more because of the Nolan script. Damon is capable of playing that kind of character; see The Talented Mr. Ripley, for example.

Gander5739 2mo ago

They wrote at length on this particular translation choice: https://emily613.substack.com/p/on-complicated https://emily613.substack.com/p/on-complicated

TheCoelacanth 2mo ago

Every translation has to make tradeoffs. There's no way to perfectly translate a 2500 year old poem whose audience had an almost unfathomably different world view than a modern audience. Wilson chose to prioritize making the translation uncomplicated and metrical the way it would have been to the original audience instead of trying to capture the full meaning of every single word. No other translation has done that before. They either aren't in meter or they torture the English language into strange and complicated grammar that has a very different effect on the audience than the original would have. If you want different tradeoffs, then there are countless other translations to choose from. There would be no point writing a new translation if you aren't going to choose different tradeoffs.