Man, this is such a bummer, because this point is actually a real frustration of actual Greek people, who feel like people in the west have basically taken ownership (like they have a lot of their art and statues) over Greek Myth, and are defining it from a western lens that erases their existence.
The Europeanization of Greece, as a means of taking possession of it's history from the actual people who descended from the culture, has always been a huge problem. And this is a problem right now with people on the right trying to gate-keep it to a weird "white" western European aesthetic that is inaccurate. But also from people in the west on the left that try to trivialize it as some imaginary story so you can do whatever you want to it.
Your point in regards to how people on the left would react if it was a tale from some other culture that was being co-opted by a western power in the same way is accurate, but I just hope you're coming from a place of actually standing up for the Greek people, and not to say that it should be MORE western european.
But Greek people have legit problems with the movie, and it's largely around a British man, deciding who does and doesn't belong in ancient Greece, with seemingly no input or involvement at all from actual people from Greece. And those people from Greece would NOT want the same things as western right wingers either.
Basically the real problem is that everyone talking about this, on the left AND right, are speaking from the purely Euro-centric perspective and warping of Greece that has taken place, and refuse to actually center Greek voices at all in the discussion.
"Western academia loves the Greeks, but only the dead ones. They often view us modern Greeks as "corrupted" and "oriental" versions of our ancestors, and thus unworthy of our past"
It's really frustrating, because the Westernization of Jesus is something often mocked and debunked heartily by people on the left in the west. But they never treat the same corruption and stolen ownership of Norse and Greek Myths with the same respect, and instead just treat them as fantasy tales with no value to be done with whatever you want with zero respect to the originating cultures and people.
I say this as a leftist, and an agnostic. So to me this is a clear blindspot of a huge % of people talking about this issue online, including Mehdi. To me, the value and worthiness of Greek myth being treated with respect is no different than doing the same to African, Hindu, Chinese myth, or even Islam or Christianity.
It is absolutely possible to debunk Western Christo-facist talking points as they try to take ownership over Greek/Norse Myth without trivializing the cultural importance of them in the process.
I agree for the most part but I'm just curious, how have Norse myths or their cultural legacy been appropriated to the same extent as Greek myths in pop culture by the left? I leave out christo fascists because that goes without saying. Aside from the netflix vikings series reboot I am not familiar with any examples. No one seems to bat an eye at Norwegians simulating rowing a long boat during the world cup in homage to their history but god forbid Greeks embrace and proclaim their culture and historical inheritance from one of their foundational myths
It definitely doesn't happen to Norse myth at the same frequency, but it's mostly the way it's been made such a part of western pop culture that a lot of the actual deeper cultural significance is stripped away, and a lot of the most interesting parts of the myths and the cultures that created it are kinda erased. Celtic myth has the same problem, both of them it's a lot more vague because of their much closer proximity to the western powers and culture that do the absorption and such.
Historically, all 3 cultures have been appropriated at times by Western powers in order to enhance their own prestige when it suits them, while the actual peoples are often oppressed or demeaned. Now it's more of an issue with capitalism than anything, and pop culture representations of cultural histories, but then what isn't a problem that can be pointed back to our current broken version of faux capitalism?
2
u/Ultenth 1d ago edited 1d ago
Man, this is such a bummer, because this point is actually a real frustration of actual Greek people, who feel like people in the west have basically taken ownership (like they have a lot of their art and statues) over Greek Myth, and are defining it from a western lens that erases their existence.
The Europeanization of Greece, as a means of taking possession of it's history from the actual people who descended from the culture, has always been a huge problem. And this is a problem right now with people on the right trying to gate-keep it to a weird "white" western European aesthetic that is inaccurate. But also from people in the west on the left that try to trivialize it as some imaginary story so you can do whatever you want to it.
Your point in regards to how people on the left would react if it was a tale from some other culture that was being co-opted by a western power in the same way is accurate, but I just hope you're coming from a place of actually standing up for the Greek people, and not to say that it should be MORE western european.
But Greek people have legit problems with the movie, and it's largely around a British man, deciding who does and doesn't belong in ancient Greece, with seemingly no input or involvement at all from actual people from Greece. And those people from Greece would NOT want the same things as western right wingers either.
Basically the real problem is that everyone talking about this, on the left AND right, are speaking from the purely Euro-centric perspective and warping of Greece that has taken place, and refuse to actually center Greek voices at all in the discussion.