300

[SeattleUte]

I saw 300 recently. What a strange film. On one level, it's a ridiculous farce. Also, I kept thinking that this movie has much in common with Nazi propaganda films. On another level, it's a terrific entertainment. It captured much of that bleakness, the tribal flavor, and vivid imagery of nature and violence that make the Iliad so memorable. The writing is also admirable; simple and direct andhard bitten like beaten and polished iron. The sentimentality did not seem overdone. The battle scenes were terrific. The violence, extreme but very stylized, did not offend me. The only female of moment in the movie was beautiful, satuesque, eloquent, and a terrific lover.

For better or worse this may also be the least PC movie I've ever seen. It unabashedly associated "Asia" with emperor worship, mysticism, lack of respect for human life, overpopulation, false pride, and stupidity, as well as extocism (based on this movie, its one virtue). All the worst villians were black and/or disabled and wore kaftans and head scarves or turbans, like Muslims. All the heroes were toned and white and delightsome, and they talked about "freedom" and "liberty" as if Sparta (as opposed to Athens, which it eventually subjugated but not in this film) were ever a free place. Athenians are dismissed as lovers of boys.

I guess I have a grudging respect for this movie which I also find pretty loathsome in myriad ways. As I say, a very strange piece of work. God bless America for tolerating art like this and not banishing it. It really is an abomination in many ways, though an entertaining abomination.

[SeattleUte]

One more comment (can't believe I forgot this). 300 is a not so subtle polemic against religion. In addition to freedom and liberty, it touts reason and condemns "mysticism" over and over again. All the Greek clerics are horribly disfigured, "in-bred," disloyal to the regime, greedy, supersticious, fraudsters, and lecherous. In several sequences the narrator and characters pit "mysticism" against "reason" (as if Sparta was ever a bastion of reason, as opposed to Athens, its eventual enemy).

The final scene has Leonidis laying amid his slain warriors bristling with arrows and in an obvious crucified Jesus pose. I didn't expect to laugh at the end of this movie, but laugh out loud I did. Very campy.

Oh, and one more thing. The movie also is a polemic against politicians who don't want to send troops to stop the Asian hordes from abridging liberties.

Don't take the movie too seriously and you might enjoy it as I did.

[All-American]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

One more comment (can't believe I forgot this). 300 is a not so subtle polemic against religion. In addition to freedom and liberty, it touts reason and condemns "mysticism" over and over again. All the Greek clerics are horribly disfigured, "in-bred," disloyal to the regime, greedy, supersticious, fraudsters, and lecherous. In several sequences the narrator and characters pit "mysticism" against "reason" (as if Sparta was ever a bastion of reason, as opposed to Athens, its eventual enemy).

The final scene has Leonidis laying amid his slain warriors bristling with arrows and in an obvious crucified Jesus pose. I didn't expect to laugh at the end of this movie, but laugh out loud I did. Very campy.

Oh, and one more thing. The movie also is a polemic against politicians who don't want to send troops to stop the Asian hordes from abridging liberties.

Don't take the movie too seriously and you might enjoy it as I did.

Like I said before-- if you want to depiction of the history of the battle of Thermopylae, you'll find it elsewhere. If you want a fantastic depiction of the legend of the battle of Thermopylae, you'll not find many better.

Besides, what historian can truly be said to tell the history, rather than the legend, before modern times? Not many. If the movie gives too much credit to the Spartans for safeguarding freedom from tyranny and reason over mysticism, oh well.

[Solon]

Originally Posted by All-American

Like I said before-- if you want to depiction of the history of the battle of Thermopylae, you'll find it elsewhere. If you want a fantastic depiction of the legend of the battle of Thermopylae, you'll not find many better.

Besides, what historian can truly be said to tell the history, rather than the legend, before modern times? Not many. If the movie gives too much credit to the Spartans for safeguarding freedom from tyranny and reason over mysticism, oh well.

Good analysis, SU. I think you could make an argument that the film's hyperbolic black-and-white classification into dialectic opposites is, in many ways, akin to how the ancient Greeks themselves described the Persian Wars. I suppose it's not so off base to include fantastic elements [like the Persian monster soldiers] into such an account, since Herodotus didn't seem to have a problem with similarly far-fetched descriptions.

I too laughed out loud when the Spartans dismissed the Athenians as "boy-lovers" [the Spartans were known for institutionalized pederasty] and claimed to be the protectors of rationality. Whatever.

But I've seen it twice and I'm sure I'll see it again.

[All-American]

Originally Posted by Solon

Good analysis, SU. I think you could make an argument that the film's hyperbolic black-and-white classification into dialectic opposites is, in many ways, akin to how the ancient Greeks themselves described the Persian Wars. I suppose it's not so off base to include fantastic elements [like the Persian monster soldiers] into such an account, since Herodotus didn't seem to have a problem with similarly far-fetched descriptions.

I too laughed out loud when the Spartans dismissed the Athenians as "boy-lovers" [the Spartans were known for institutionalized pederasty] and claimed to be the protectors of rationality. Whatever.

But I've seen it twice and I'm sure I'll see it again.

Exactly. Yes, it's glorified; yes, it distorts the truth in order to tell a more compelling story (although I'll say again that I was surprised by how many historical elements WERE included); even so, it is a fantastic story

[RockyBalboa]

lol...you read THAT much into the movie.

Relax and be entertained. It's a frickin' movie. lol.

[All-American]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

lol...you read THAT much into the movie.

Relax and be entertained. It's a frickin' movie. lol.

I do think that there's a lot more being read into 300 than the makers intended; even so, you'd be surprised how much imagery and symbolism there is in movies. You remember Superman Returns? I wrote a paper on that movie as a postmodern commentary. Got an A, too. The thing is filled with symbolism.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by All-American

I do think that there's a lot more being read into 300 than the makers intended; even so, you'd be surprised how much imagery and symbolism there is in movies. You remember Superman Returns? I wrote a paper on that movie as a postmodern commentary. Got an A, too. The thing is filled with symbolism.

Ummm....you do know that Superman isn't real, right?

[SoCalCoug]

I'm not a Greek history scholar. All I know is I thought it was a great movie.

[RockyBalboa]

Originally Posted by All-American

I do think that there's a lot more being read into 300 than the makers intended; even so, you'd be surprised how much imagery and symbolism there is in movies. You remember Superman Returns? I wrote a paper on that movie as a postmodern commentary. Got an A, too. The thing is filled with symbolism.

Yes I saw 300. I thought it was overated, but beautifully filmed and fun to watch.

I find it odd and bizarre he's reading that much into a movie that was filmed explicity for the the adrenaline in your face action. And yes, the symbolism in Superman Returns wasn't lost on me.