The Odyssey: Epics, Empires, and AI in Hollywood
Join us on August 12 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the Parthenon for a free talk and screenwriting workshop. No previous experience necessary! This event is free and open to the public with RSVP.
Join us for an exciting for an in-person screenwriting workshop at The Parthenon with Jerod Hollyfield, Associate Professor of Media Arts at Middle Tennessee State University! This in-person event is a great opportunity to learn about Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and the rise of AI in Hollywood.
The hot ticket for the summer movie season isn’t a film about comic book heroes or animated seals, it’s an adaptation of a 2700-year-old poem. As iconic filmmaker Christopher Nolan puts his blockbuster stamp on his adaptation of Homer’s classic epic during America’s 250th anniversary, several questions emerge. Why is the United States the only Empire that never had an epic of its own? Is the Hollywood film the American version of the epic? What epic story best defines our nation?
In this combined workshop and discussion, Hollyfield will trace the importance of the epic to the emergence of Empire while discussing Hollywood’s adoption of AI technology--a trend that film purist Nolan sees as an existential threat to his own brand of epic mythmaking. Attendees will then develop their own versions of America’s epic story at a time when the nation moves into a new era where the onset of AI may lead to a new Empire of its own.
No creative writing or screenwriting experience necessary!
RSVP in advance for free museum admission to this workshop.
Speaker bio:
Dr. Jerod Ra’Del Hollyfield is an Associate Professor of Media Arts at Middle Tennessee State University whose research examines adaptations in a global context, including The American South. His book, Framing Empire: Postcolonial Adaptations of Victorian Literature in Hollywood, was released in 2018 by Edinburgh University Press. He is a filmmaker whose projects have screened at over a dozen international film festivals who is now in his third year as the executive director of the Southern Oasis Film Festival in Sevierville, TN.
Symposium sponsors:
Centennial Park Conservancy
Additional sponsors:
The Parthenon, part of Metro Parks & Recreation, would like to thank the following organizations that provide underwriting support for its exhibition and educational programming, including Symposia, through grants and corporate partnerships with Centennial Park Conservancy:
Archaeological Institute of America- Nashville Society, Amazon, the Sandra Schatten Foundation, HCA Healthcare Foundation, Tennessee Arts Commission, Hays Foundation, and Advance Financial Foundation
Individuals can support the Parthenon by making a donation or becoming a member of Centennial Park Conservancy. Learn more.