National Classics Week Packet National Classics Week Packet | Page 12

Media

Stanley Kubrick ’ s movie , 2001 : A Space Odyssey , is one of the clearest examples of classical reception in modern media . The futuristic , science-fiction film is , in essence , a modern version of The Odyssey . Kubrick chose the title to suggest that the long , life-changing journey is a parallel to Odysseus ’ voyage in Homer ’ s epic .

Kubrick layers the quintessential , “ what is out there ?" question with an introspective take , creating a plot centered around the question of personal reflection , similar to the works of classical authors , such as Homer , Vergil , or Catullus . One version of the script even went so far as to name the artificial intelligence in the film Athena .

However , many other modern works have referenced the classics as well . The movie Prometheus recreates the myth about Prometheus ’ gift of fire to humans , and The Rocky Horror Picture Show , a cult classic , focuses on the Titan Atlas , another famous mythical character . The Transformers features protagonists with Latin-based names and antagonists with Hellenic names , presenting themes of the Roman-Greek Wars . Characters like Optimus Prime and Megatron battle for power . Off the screen , the popular Broadway musical Hamilton makes frequent remarks about Latin phrases and characters .