Literary Theory and "Nautilus"
Disney began filming “Nautilus” in 2023, with Shazad Latif cast as Captain Nemo. The first ten-episode season was shot and produced, and then Disney sold the show to AMC while the second season was still under production in order to cut tax costs, blah blah blah.
It aired late last year first in Sweden, and recently it’s arrived in the US, streaming on services such as Amazon Prime.
“Nautilus” is set as a prequel to “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.” It begins shortly after the Indian uprising of 1857, with a prisoner in a British penal colony who calls himself “Nemo.” He and his fellow prisoners are being forced to build a submarine for the British navy under the guidance of a French scientist named Benoit. Unbeknownst to the British Government, however, Nemo was actually the one who designed the submarine (you guessed it, “the Nautilus”) and Benoit is in cahoots with him.
When the Nautilus is complete, Nemo, Benoit and several other prisoners commandeer the Nautilus and escape, setting out on an epic quest for justice while being pursued by the British.
The characters are charming and loveable. Along the way they’re joined by a vainglorious lady engineer (predictably, Nemo’s love interest) and a female ex-convict. They travel all around the world, have adventures in exotic locations and, of course, encounter strange sea monsters of all sorts.
It’s exciting, full of action, and tells an original story while still adhering closely to the lore of Jules Verne. It’s also fairly family-friendly (though I might think twice about showing it to, say, a five-year-old. There’s some fight scenes, depictions of blood, a couple innuendo jokes, and the sea monsters might be scary for small children). An impressive amount of true history is included in the show, which gives it potential to be used as an educational tool.
Ok, gushing over.
It’s hard to choose one critical theory to apply to “Nautilus.” Postcolonialism is an obvious choice, as is New Historicism. However, the references to Jules Verne’s various works and some delightful allusions to classic Bollywood make Cultural studies a compelling choice as well, which is why I think I’ll focus on the latter. (I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible in case I convince anyone to watch this masterpiece.)
Some of the shots were recreations of first edition TKLUTS illustrations by Édouard Riou:
In Episode 4, they meet some eccentric castaways on an island. One of them has a map pinned up on a cave wall, which fans will recognize as Lincoln Island from “The Mysterious Island.”
In Episode 7, the Nautilus experiences engine trouble in the arctic while a British Navy ship gets lodged in ice. They make a truce to help each other, and during this odd situation the British sailors strike up a game of cricket with the crew of the Nautilus. This was a reference to the iconic Bollywood movie “Lagaan,” in which Indian villagers challenge British colonists in a game of Cricket to contest unfair taxation.
There’s another (admittedly, rather absurd) scene in Episode 2 where Captain Nemo swashbuckling-ly jumps on the back of a sperm whale to free it from the harpoons of whalers. (Which is funny considering he hunted sperm whales himself in TKLUTS.) While I don’t believe this scene was intentionally based on anything in particular, it was highly reminiscent of the grandiose acts of heroism one will find in a South Indian action film a lá Rajnikanth.
I highly respect James Dormer for avoiding eurocentrism in his sources of inspiration. It added to the show’s cultural depth.
In Episode 9, Nemo salvages a ruby from a horde of treasure which he recognizes as an artifact stolen from India. Those who recognize Nemo’s ire may see it as an allusion to India’s Koh-i-Noor diamond which was taken by the British during the time of Queen Victoria. It’s currently still held in the Tower of London.
In the final episode, during a covert foray in England, Captain Nemo meets with someone named “Cornelius.” At the end of their exchange, Nemo says, “Best to Phileas!”
In Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days” the protagonist, Phileas Fogg, rescues a Princess in Bundelkhand. Captain Nemo’s true identity, one may recall, is Prince Dakkar, son of the Maharajah of Bundelkhand.
Since Verne dropped hints that the stories from his “Voyages Extraordinaires” series took place in the same universe, I myself have wondered before if Aouda and Nemo are related. This is the first show I’ve seen which implies that Nemo knows Phileas Fogg, and is apparently grateful to him.
Why? Is it because he saved one of his relatives? It’s up to us to fill in the gaps, and I think that’s delicious.
I think virtually anyone who loves a good adventure story will enjoy “Nautilus.” However, applying a lens of Cultural studies will bring an added layer of enjoyment, because it will reveal how remarkably clever the show’s writing really is.
Clearly, Mr. Dormer and the writers for “Nautilus” are very knowledgeable about history, culture and the lore of Jules Verne’s work.
“Nautilus” is my favorite retelling of Captain Nemo’s story, and has inspired me as I pursue my own dreams of becoming a writer and English teacher. The only thing I disliked about it was the fact that it ended with several major loose ends, and subsequently left me feeling sad. One may hope another company like Amazon Prime or AMC will pick up where Disney left off. (But when all hope is lost, we have fanfiction.)
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