The Dictatorship

‘The Odyssey’ is majestic – and makes its conservative critics look foolish

Published

1 hour ago

July 18, 2026

Christmas. 18, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

ByBrian Lowry

Before “The Odyssey” embarked on its theatrical journey, writer-director Christopher Nolan suffered slings and arrows from conservative social media warriors. In their quest to gin up culture war controversy over casting choices in a movie they hadn’t seen, they have succeeded only in helping promote a film that hardly needed extra publicity, while making themselves look stupid.

Because those launching ill-informed broadsides against the film included Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr. — railing on social media against the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy because she’s Black, and Elliot Page as a Greek warrior because he’s trans — the attacks became difficult for the media to ignore. Plus, anti-“woke” crusading against a familiar target like “liberal Hollywood” remains one of those gifts (or grifts) that keeps on giving.

Despite the advance obsession over Nyong’o and Page’s characters, the two actors each occupy no more than a few minutes of screen time.

Yet Nolan’s film merely makes those conservative provocateurs sound foolish. At a run time of almost three hours, “The Odyssey” continues the “Oppenheimer” director’s personal war on moviegoers’ bladders. But despite the advance obsession over Nyong’o’s and Page’s characters, the two actors each occupy no more than a few minutes of screen time in a film that stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Anne Hathaway. The beauty of being Nolan, at this point, is that his reputation and track record enable him to attract identifiable talent — a la Zendaya, rapper Travis Scott and horror queen Mia Goth — for even smallish roles, a clever means of broadening the film’s appeal.

Musk and others sought to transform that into something nefarious, bizarrely arguing that the diverse casting represented some kind of cynical ploy for awards attention, as well as anti-white bigotry. Never mind that “The Odyssey” is, after all, a mythological tale, so it’s not like the producers cast Nyong’o to play J. Edgar Hoover.

Nolan himself has diplomatically dismissed the right-wing naysaying when asked about it, even as he basks in a torrent of critical praise for the film. Imbued with a visual grandeur that demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible, “The Odyssey” arguably isn’t one of the British filmmaker’s best — movies like “Inception” and “The Prestige” set a very high bar — but it certainly possesses the majesty to qualify as a worthy follow-up to the Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer.”

Without giving too much away, if one can even spoil a 3,000-year-old tale, Nolan’s take on “The Odyssey” also not-so-subtly incorporates modern and timeless themes, including questions about humanity and the toll of eroding a society’s standards of honor and decency. As Jon Stewart told the director earlier this weekthat makes it a fitting companion to “Oppenheimer,” while delivering a perhaps unintended rejoinder to Musk and his army of social media trolls.

In an interview with The TelegraphNolan politely said such criticism “comes with the territory,” calling it “irrelevant” because those griping months ago, when the anti-“Odyssey” campaign began, hadn’t seen the film. He also cited his experience with the “Batman” trilogy, a fan base with very strong opinions about what will best serve the franchise.

Nolan and Universal, happily and deservedly, appear destined to win this latest battle without stooping to engage their loudest critics.

The people grousing when director Zack Snyder cast Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight, however, mostly operated in good faith, which can’t be said for those attempting to use insufficient fidelity to Homer’s original story to tap into an inexhaustible reservoir of outrage.

The saving grace for them is that those parroting their “go woke, go broke” talking points generally don’t devour box-office reporting by the Hollywood trade papers or necessarily grasp that movies are a global product, which is the metric by which the film looks destined to shine. Although the summer box office has proved unpredictable — with horror movies like “Obsession” raking in record totals and “Moana” and “Supergirl” failing to exhibit much girl power — projections are that “The Odyssey,” tailor-made to premium large-screen formats, will earn roughly $200 million worldwide its opening weekend. That voyage began with nearly $18 million in Thursday previewsthe highest domestic total this year.

Whatever the final tally, it should go a long way toward erasing the prospect of a “go broke” scenario for Universal Pictures, the studio releasing the film. Nolan and Universal, happily and deservedly, appear destined to win this latest battle without stooping to engage their loudest critics. But with such relentless foes, consider that one modest victory in what has become a seemingly endless culture war.

Brian Lowry

Brian Lowry is a media columnist and critic, most recently at BLN, and before that Variety and the Los Angeles Times.

The Dictatorship

Trump joins Republicans calling to punish Canada for hazardous wildfire smoke in the U.S.

Published

1 hour ago

July 18, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Trump joins Republicans calling to punish Canada for hazardous wildfire smoke in the U.S.

Christmas. 18, 2026, 11:51 AM EDT

President Donald Trump is threatening to increase tariffs on Canada over wildfire smoke that has blanketed large swaths of the Midwest and Mid-Atlanticjoining several Republicans who have called for the U.S. ally to be punished for the intense air pollution.

“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!” Trump wrote on Truth Socialon Friday, adding: “This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying.”

Trump did not elaborate on his tariffs threat.

Smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires has caused air quality from Detroit to Washington, D.C., to plummet to unhealthy levels in recent days.

There are dozens of active wildfires in the U.S. as well. A Canadian helicopter pilot was was killed last week in a crash while fighting a fire in Colorado.

Trump is not the only Republican who has criticized Canada over the wildfire smoke. Earlier this week, four House Republicans from Michigan wrote a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with a warning that appeared to allude to Trump’s threat to annex Canada.

“Sovereignty comes with responsibility,” the lawmakers wrote.

“This is the third consecutive year we have had to write to Canadian officials about a crisis that Canada has the tools to prevent and has chosen not to,” they wrote, later adding: “If Canada will not manage its forests to prevent these fires, the United States will look elsewhere, and act on our own, to protect our people.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, has also said he intends to introduce a bill “to sanction Canada and the responsible Canadian government officials for this atrocity.”

In a statementMoreno’s office said: “Canada’s government failed to invest in wildfire prevention methods including forest thinning, fuel reduction, prescribed burns, and stronger enforcement against arson.”

Hotter temperatures and drier conditions as a result of the climate crisis have been major drivers of recent wildfires in North America. The Trump administration has cut funding for climate science, withdrawn the U.S. from global bodies and agreements aimed at tackling climate change and promoted the fossil fuel industry while rolling back renewable energy initiatives.

In response to the GOP complaints, some Canadian officials have noted that their country has helped with firefighting support in the U.S. during recent wildfires.

“If there’s some politicians out there chirping away, well, maybe what you should do rather than complain is send support, send help,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Friday, “because we have done the exact same thing for our American friends.”

Doug Ford on American complaints over wildfire smoke: “If there’s some politicians out there chirping away, well, maybe what you should do rather than complain is send support, send help. Because we have done the exact same thing for our American friends.” pic.twitter.com/9e2TCVbqxC

— Scott Robertson (@sarobertson_)”https://x.com/sarobertson_/status/2078166329811460324?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 17, 2026

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.

The Dictatorship

The ICE shooting in Maine upended Susan Collins’ re-election race

Published

1 hour ago

July 18, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Christmas. 18, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

Nothing has absorbed Maine politics like the candidacy of Graham Platner. Almost from the moment he announced his run for the U.S. Senate in mid-August 2025, he drew big crowds and lots of attention. His strongest backers stuck with him through controversy after controversy until Jenny Racicot publicly accused him of sexual assault. Platner denied the allegation, but his support collapsed.

Yet even after Platner officially withdrew as the nominee on July 10 and the Maine Democratic Party began the process of replacing himit seemed like Mainers were going to keep talking about him for a while. Many of his committed voters were deeply disappointed about what they learned; others were very angry that the news had been revealed. Some suggested they might write in Platner’s name or not vote at all in the fall.

Then came an awful event that starkly shifted Mainers’ attention, and moved the focus of the Maine Senate race from Platner to Sen. Susan Collins.

The killing of 26-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday was a real shock in the state. Maine often has the lowest rate of violent crime nationally and homicides are rare, with only 21 in 2025.

Maine, like Minnesota, is a highly participatory state, and both places responded similarly to ICE incursions this past winter.

Of course, it wasn’t just Guerrero’s death that was the story, but also who shot him — an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer — and the circumstances of his killing. For one, unlike other shootings by ICE officers, the Department of Homeland Security did not even claim that Guerrero posed any sort of imminent threat or that the shooter feared for their life. Rather, DHS said that Guerrero’s “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.”

Moreover, Guerrero was legally in the country, according to local immigrant rights groups. And Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said Guerrero wasn’t even the person ICE was seeking.

Witnesses were shaken by what they saw. One bystander, Daniel Boucher, “choked up” recounting his experience, reported The Associated Press. “His face was bloody. His head was bloody,” Boucher said of the victim. “I clearly heard the victim say, ‘I tried to stop.’” In Akerleyanother neighbor who heard the shots and looked out the window to see some of what happened, told a local news station, “You know, it shatters the illusion that Maine is safe … I don’t know what he did, but he didn’t deserve to be executed in the street.”

Mainers quickly mobilized, with demonstrations in Biddeford Portland Bangor and Scarborough. “This is a land for people who want to be here,” said one rallygoer. “It doesn’t matter who you are, where you came from, what color your skin is. That’s what America is about.”

Both Senate candidates and members of the public criticized Collins. Protesters in Biddeford crowded the doorway at the senator’s local officeshouting, “Vote her out!” Senate candidate Shenna Bellows argued that she had already acted when, as secretary of state, she blocked ICE from getting undercover license plates and proclaimed, “There should be no secret police in our state.” Another contender, Troy Jackson, referred to “ICE’s rogue actions” and blasted Collins for voting “to send $70 billion dollars to ICE with no reforms.” A third potential Democratic nominee, Nirav Shahcontended, “There is a straight line from Sen. Collins to the lawlessness we saw yesterday.”

While, as I’ve noted, some Platner supporters were deeply unhappy that he wasn’t going to be the Democratic nominee, his absence in the aftermath of the shooting didn’t seem to matter in the least.

And why should it have? Maine, like Minnesota, is a highly participatory state, and both places responded similarly to ICE incursions this past winter.

Collins tried to claim credit for ending the winter surge. But Democrats and immigrant rights leaders were skeptical and pointed to her support for increased ICE funding without any reforms.

In both places, ICE showed up with face masks and randomly detained people, including those in the country legally. Agents smashed in the car windows of a University of Maine-trained civil engineer, Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñozand took him away with the car still running. He had a valid permit to work, an engineering job and no criminal record. A man training to be a corrections officer in southern Maine suffered the same fate, and as did others, including asylum seekers.

Then, as now, Mainers came togethersometimes via social media and sometimes through various groups, to try to counteract ICE.

As in Minnesota, ICE was heavy-handed and showed disrespect for civil rights. Two Maine women observing ICE were told they would be put on a domestic terrorist watch list and sued. “Only 11 of the nearly 200 people detained in Maine during a massive January immigration enforcement surge were recorded as having a criminal record,” the Bangor Daily News reportedmaking ICE look even more abusive.

At the time, Collins tried to claim credit for ending the winter surge. But Democrats and immigrant rights leaders were skeptical and pointed to her support for increased ICE funding without any reforms.

Now, Collins is again responding in her classic both-sides way. On the one hand, the incumbent urged DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin “to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops” and tepidly acknowledged that the lack of a recording device on the shooter was “extremely unfortunate.” On the other hand, Collins blamed Democrats for a delay in body cameras and contended that eliminating ICE “would make our country less safe.”

Platner’s fall upended the state’s biggest race for a time. But there are plenty of ICE critics, both political leaders and not, who are taking charge of the response to Collins and the agency.

And, though the Democratic Senate nominee is unknown again, Mainers are rising up, speaking out and moving on.

Amy Fried is professor emerita of political science at the University of Maine. She also has a Substack, Political Sightlines.

The Dictatorship

John Fetterman is threatening to leave the Democratic Party. I say good riddance.

Published

1 hour ago

July 18, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Christmas. 18, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

Sen. John. Fetterman, D-Penn., has”https://www.ms.now/morning-joe/watch/country-over-party-sen-fetterman-on-why-he-voted-to-reopen-the-government-251960901751″>broken from and criticized his own party so often over the past year that in May, he felt compelled to write in op-ed in The Washington Post clarifying that he had “no plans to leave” the Democrats. He said he valued being an independent voice within the caucus and that he believed he’d be “a terrible Republican.”

But in an interview Thursday with NBC NewsFetterman appeared to change his tune. He laid out for the first time a specific reason he would leave the party: Israel policy.

“If they put that in our platform — no aid for Israel — and officially become the anti-Israel party, then yeah, that’s a red line for me,” Fetterman said. “Democrats, we always should support Israel [sic]that’s our special ally, you know? … In the only democracy in the entire region, that’s Israel. So I’m always proud to stand with Israel.”

Fetterman’s warning foreshadows a tectonic shift on the electoral left — and a positive one.

Fetterman did not say whether he would become an independent or join the Republican Party if he were to leave. But his departure from the party in order to support Israel would still be a remarkable development for a politician who was once widely — and, in my opinion, misguidedly — hailed as an exciting exemplar of populist progressivism. His threat of an exit also reflects how quickly the Democratic Party is reorienting on Israel policy, and growing less hospitable to those who advocate for backing the country’s government unconditionally.

There’s been no indication that the Democratic Party plans to add cutting off aid to Israel as part of its platform. In 2024, even as the genocide in Gaza was fracturing the party’s base — even sending some disgruntled Democrats to vote for Trump — the Democratic Party platform aligned with President Joe Biden’s backing of Israel and stated it “strongly supports Israel in the fight against Hamas.”

But the party is changing. More than 100 House Democrats — nearly half the caucus — voted to cut off aid to Israel on Wednesday. Most strikingly, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, a former Speaker of the House, voted in support of the bill. That vote is what prompted Fetterman to voice a “long-term concern” that the party may “turn their back to Israel” and spur him to leave.

Come 2028, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the dominant opinion among Democratic presidential candidates is that Israel should be cut off from U.S. aid. And depending on who the nominee is, that position could end up in the party’s official platform. But there’s a greater chance it becomes the party’s de facto position. It’s not clear at the moment whether that would be enough to compel Fetterman to leave the party, and even potentially caucus with the GOP. (My requests for clarification from Fetterman’s office were met with no response.)

But losing a lawmaker in a battleground state would deal a blow to Democrats, who already have to fight tooth and nail for razor-thin majorities in the Senate.

Regardless, Fetterman’s warning foreshadows a tectonic shift on the electoral left — and a positive one. Just a few years ago, it would be hard to imagine a Democrat threatening to leave the party because they felt the party was insufficiently devoted to giving Israel aid.

“Progressive except Palestine” has long been a well-established political norm in Democratic politics. Of course, it was always a contradiction. That Fetterman is glancing at the exit sign — and he might not be the only one — indicates the party is moving in the direction of resolving that contradiction.

Ultimately it will be best for the left if Fetterman, who seems to spend more time on Fox News by the day, is replaced by a progressive in Pennsylvania. The Democratic Party cannot re-establish moral authority unless, at a minimum, it looks to put an end to backing Israeli domination of Gaza and observing human rights with consistency. If Fetterman feels threatened by this incredibly low bar, good riddance.

Zeeshan Aleem is a writer and editor for MS NOW. He primarily writes about politics and foreign policy.