“Cyclops” from Charles Berkowitz on Vimeo.

This sounds like a rather intriguing talk and film.  From Emory’s Carlos Museum…

Jonathan Shay, clinical psychologist and winner of the 2007 MacArthur “genius” award, will discuss his groundbreaking work to treat combat trauma and other effects of warfare on veterans and their families using Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey in a lecture titled, War is War is War is War is War on February 27 from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The lecture will be followed by a screening of Odysseus in America by filmmaker Charles Berkowitz.

Shay’s book, Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character (1994), draws parallels between the depiction of the epic warrior-hero Achilles and the experiences of the veterans he treats. In Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming (2002), Shay focuses on the veteran’s experience upon returning from war. Since 1987, Shay has been a staff psychiatrist at the Department of Veteran Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts.

Berkowitz has just completed a documentary based on Odysseus in America. After a short reception, Berkowitz will introduce the new film, which documents the struggle of veterans to reintegrate into society after the traumas of war. Weaving together voices of soldiers from Korea to Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, with excerpts from Homer’s Odyssey, Berkowitz creates a striking parallel between ancient and contemporary times.