Greece, Gays, Greats, Golf
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage, which is apparently a win for Alexander the Great (among others).
Does Hollywood Even Like International Films?
They probably do. But you wouldn’t know that from the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category, which is riddled with flaws, from foreign language requirements to the film selection process to strange “creative control” rules.
I wrote about those flaws, and why it would very much behoove Hollywood to reform the category, in a recent article for World Politics Review.
Check it out here.
Notes on Greece
I saw, among my social media bubble, just two kinds of reactions to the news two weeks ago that Greece had legalized same-sex marriage, both very much understandable:
Celebrations of the victory for LGBTQ+ rights
Memes
A few of the memes were about Mamma Mia, but most of them were about how modern Greece was finally falling in line with Ancient Greece, where homosexual relationships were relatively common (although—important asterisk here—sexual orientation wasn’t thought of in nearly the same way as we think of it now.)
I have to assume that at least some of the prevalence of these memes, especially within the queer community, is a result of the novel The Song of Achilles—a retelling of the Trojan War from the perspective of Patroclus, focusing specifically on his romantic relationship with Achilles—which came out in 2011 but enjoyed a spike in popularity a few years ago.
Among the wider public, though, the issue was more recently reevaluated because of the release of Netflix’s Alexander: The Making of a God, a miniseries about Alexander the Great that blends documentary with dramatic reenactments, which was released late last month to surprising popularity.
Early in the first episode, the series depicts Alexander having a sexual, and potentially romantic, relationship with one of his generals, Hephaestion—a depiction that, while oversimplified (as is most of the series), is likely accurate.
The depiction was, as to be expected, met with furor from social conservatives, who decried it as part of the so-called woke agenda, not only in the US but also in Greece, where the president of Niki, a far-right party, called the series “deplorable, unacceptable and unhistorical” in parliament and said it aimed to “subliminally convey the notion that homosexuality was acceptable in ancient times, an element that has no basis,” according to The Guardian.
The Minister of Culture, too, called the series “extremely poor-quality fiction,” adding that “there is no mention in the sources” that Alexander and Hephaestion’s relationship went “beyond the limits of friendship, as defined by Aristotle.”
On the one hand, these criticisms reflect how politicians often bend historical narratives, and history’s depictions in popular culture—in order to justify the foundations of modern agendas. That’s particularly true in a country like Greece, where ancient civilization plays such an important role in the nation’s image of itself. (We saw a similar dynamic play out in Egypt last year, over the depiction, also by Netflix, of Cleopatra as Black.)
On the other hand, the comments by a member of Greece’s cabinet also speak to how controversial of an issue homosexuality remains in Greece, even as same-sex marriage was literally just legalized in a bill pushed through by the ruling government.
Those two things would seemingly be at odds, but only without political context.
You see, the fact that gay marriage was legalized in Greece is actually kind of odd from a political perspective. The most recent polling showed that just 35% of Greeks support gay marriage, compared to 49% who opposed it, not surprising in the heavily Christian Orthodox country.
Meanwhile, the ruling party—New Democracy, which holds a solo majority in parliament—is conservative. In fact, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who made legalizing gay marriage a personal priority, had to rely on support from opposition lawmakers because around a third of the MPs from his own party didn’t support legalization.
So why did he push it through? The most likely reason is that the move is part of Mitsotakis’ broader effort to do some rebranding among Greece’s international audience, partly for the country but mostly for himself.
Since taking power in 2019, Mitsotakis’ government has increasingly been criticized for its human rights record, particularly when it comes to treatment of migrants and press freedoms. Legalizing same-sex-marriage, and in doing so bringing Greece in line with Western Europe, is an easy way to counteract those criticisms. In fact, Mitsotakis quite literally did that last week.
The extension of marriage rights to LGBTQ+ Greeks is undoubtedly a good thing. It was also likely a rebranding move by Mitsotakis. The celebrations (as understandable as they were) and the memes about Ancient Greece (as funny as they were) played right into his hand.
Bonus: My review of that Alexander the Great docu/drama
The Greek culture minister wasn’t necessarily wrong to call it “extremely poor-quality” and yet I was weirdly enraptured by it. Would recommend, with the caveat that I did not fact check anything besides the homosexuality stuff.
Golf Plagued By Social Media (Yes, Really)
It’s now been a little over two weeks since the 2024 WM Phoenix Open, part of the PGA tour, had to suspend alcohol sales because the crowd got too unruly. The event has historically been known for its excessiveness, but in the past that excess was mostly fun, like a tailgate.
Now, it seems to have jumped the shark. This year things got completely out of hand, to the point where it’s unclear if anyone was actually having fun.
I would argue the now-negative excess is because the age of social media has made attending the tournament, and being unruly at it, an easy way to grab attention. The more the worst offenders are amplified, the worse the excess gets.
What Else I’m Following
The surprising popularity of the Russian movie “The Master and Margarita,” which critiques authoritarianism, and the pro-government pushback against it.
Alissa Wilkinson’s notebook on what it’s like watching the documentary “Navalny” after the Russian pro-democracy activist’s death last week.
The concerning news that Google tested getting rid of the “News” tab on Search.
This podcast on the roles of memes in a political atmosphere that is often more vibes-based than policy-based:
And that’s all for this edition of Cansler Culture, which as you may have noticed is now a Monday thing so I can write in over the weekend instead of weekday nights.
I’ve got some exciting stuff planned on Dune for the next go around, as well as some special editions in March.