Author Joyce Carol Oates has publicly defended Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of "The Odyssey" after classicist and translator Emily Wilson published a scathing review criticising the film. Oates accused Wilson of speaking in "the crude language of MAGA folks" and argued that, as someone who translated the original text, Wilson should have engaged more collegially and respectfully with Nolan's interpretation rather than attacking him.

Wilson, whose acclaimed 2017 translation of Homer's "The Odyssey" reportedly influenced Nolan's screenplay, wrote in the London Review of Books that the film lacked "psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth" and had "nothing convincing to say." She criticised the writing as "abysmal," said the characters lacked believable motivation, and dismissed the film's spectacle as more impressive than its substance. The exchange is notable given that Nolan had previously praised Wilson's translation, saying he used her famous opening line, "Tell me about a complicated man," as a guiding reference while developing Matt Damon's portrayal of Odysseus.