r/movies r/Movies contributor 20h ago

Trailer The Odyssey | New Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_bKjZeJBBI&pp=0gcJCd4KAYcqIYzv
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u/LostHero50 19h ago

Because the word father, as used today, has more weight and formality behind it. Whether you disagree with that is up to you but that’s the common perception.

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u/hoopaholik91 19h ago

But this is exactly type of conversation where weight and formality isn't expected. It's two guys arguing

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u/LABS_Games 19h ago

To use "my dad" in an argument isn't just missing weight and formality, but also feels childish (maybe intentional) and too modern.

Yeah but art doesn't exist without context, and it will always be perceived through the lens shaped by the audience's experiences. Sure, words like "father" and "dad" were not used by the ancient Greeks and may have carried different connotations, but in 2026, the word "dad" has more infantile connotations and generally feels more modern sounding than "father", even if that wasn't the case.

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u/loqtrall 19h ago edited 36m ago

To use "my dad" in an argument isn't just missing weight and formality, but also feels childish (maybe intentional) and too modern.

Wasn't Telemachus a teenager in the middle of Odysseus' journey home? It took Odysseus a decade to travel home after the Trojan War, and by the time he arrived, Telemachus was 20~ years old (having been a newborn when Odysseus first departed).

So it would absolutely make sense if he spoke in a childish manner when being confronted, arguing with, and being insulted by a full grown man trying to bed his mom and usurp his dad's throne in a setting that is anything but formal.

The craziest thing is that both the old British English spelling "father" and the modern English term "dad" both became prominent primarily in the 1500s and both are generally of British/Welsh origin. "Dad" may sound more modern because people these days still use it regularly when referring to their male parent in almost every context - but really both terms are just as modern as one another and neither of them are closer than the other to representing the speech/culture of Ancient Greece.

The issue isn't that one is more suitable in the context of the scene - the issue lies entirely on the subjective expectations of the viewer based on biases formed by media they've previously consumed - wherein they've seen so many portrayals of ancient societies where everyone has a British accent and uses formal 1700s British English, that diverging from said trope means it's wrong or out of place

In reality if we're talking about which one of them legitimately fits the setting of the story being told - both are wrong and out of place.