‼️I HAVE A NEW BOOK COMING OUT‼️
Light of the Mind, Light of the World: How New Science is Illuminating Ancient Truths About God.
Humanity is not a mistake.
The world is not a machine.
There is a far greater story to be told.
Pre-order now at the link in my bio.
I’m very excited to let you know about a new project @theandrewklavan (no relation) and I are starting on January 22. It’s a father-son Substack in which we exchange essays and emails on the nature of faith in the 21st century. Sign up to catch the launch at the new link in my bio!
Chris Nolan has stepped (unwittingly?) into a fierce ongoing debate about how to do justice to the classics. At @thefreepress , I write about the Odyssey: the trailer, the casting, and most importantly the poem, whose greatness may be hard for Nolan to capture. Link in stories!
Achilles in #TheOdyssey is the drained shadow of an unmade non-man, yearning for the time when he was real and alive. His power sapped, he bitterly regrets the trade-off he made by dying young in exchange for immortal fame. “I would rather be a serf and till a poor man’s field,” his ghost says to Odysseus, “than rule among all the dead in their decay.” It’s part of Homer’s greatness that he both celebrates the glory of martial valour and undercuts it with this harrowing image of what happens even to the proudest fighters after they are slain: they turn into empty spectres, grieving the loss of their former selves.
They behave, in other words, a lot like those poor souls who go through gender transition and regret it, wishing they could recover the vitality of their natural bodies. If this is what #ChristopherNolan has in mind by casting #ElliotPage as Achilles, assuming he’s actually done so at all, it could serve as a daring commentary on the dark side of this industry.
Read the full article by Spencer A. Klavan on the UnHerd website at the link in the bio. #Trans #Politics
It’s been pure bliss to launch this new discussion on the culture with @theandrewklavan . And we’re so grateful for all your support. Though I say it who shouldn’t, I don’t think there’s anything quite like it at this level. Join us if you haven’t.
Today in unpopular opinions you didn’t expect me to have: if Elliot Page really is playing Achilles in Chris Nolan’s Odyssey, it might be weirdly fitting—since, after all, Achilles in the Odyssey is a hollowed-out shadow of his former self, which is basically what Page looks like after all the therapy and hormones.
Full piece linked in my stories.
Is it okay to like the Michael Jackson movie? How about his music?
In this latest episode of Klavans on the Culture @realdailywire , @theandrewklavan and I had a really interesting discussion about whether you can separate the art from the artist, and whether you should. Full episode linked in my stories.
People have been asking what’s become of our cheese boards. @joshherr7 and I are in the midst of an epic remodel, which means we’ve whittled down to a limited selection of kitchen implements for now. Hence no big parties. But we do still have a Sunday evening ritual: we go to a little Japanese market near us for snacks and sake, then read aloud to each other amid our slightly chaotic construction zone (just off camera is MADNESS). Right now it’s Twain. Cheese boards will be back one day but I’m not mad about this chapter one bit.
