Movie Review: "300"

Tonight, I went to the theater to see the movie "300," a glorified account of the conflict between the Spartan city-state (in modern-day Greece) and Persian invaders, led by the Persian king Xerxes. The movie is about the battle of Thermopylae in 450 BC, in which 300 Spartans held off millions of invading Persian armies.

The movie depicts the harsh warrior culture of Sparta in glowing, glorified terms. Children are trained in combat "from the time they could stand," and the movie depicts their fathers striking them with closed fists during intense bouts of training. No one seems reluctant to endure this suffering; ALL maddeningly embrace it. Boys are sent out into the wilderness in rags, armed with a spear, braving the ice and snow bear-chested and without so much as a shoe on their feet. I suppose to wear warm clothing would be a sign of shame, culturally-imposed by the glorious warrior culture.

Of course, the subtext behind this whole movie is that all this harsh living is necessary for the survival of the state against foreign invaders. Those who would demur in the face of such a threat would surely be called cowards, whether their motivation was cowardice or not. As the movie unfolds, it becomes immediately obvious that there is no room for tenderness, no longing for a life of peace, no enjoyment of one's existence. There is only self-sacrifice, of boys and men, who must constantly prepare to pay the ultimate price in order to defend this culture of self-annihilation. But in the movie "300," the headlong rush toward violent conflict is not depicted as a necessary evil, or even an evil at all. Death is depicted as glorious, so much so that the truly brave lust for death. This is not a movie that promotes bravery, but rather bravado. The value of each Spartan soldier is measured in terms of his lust for danger and death, for his willingness to pay for the country's "freedom" through willing self-sacrifice. This is how men are portrayed: valuable if they hope for, run toward, and drink deeply of death.

The wife of the brave Spartan king is portrayed much differently. While he is off fighting a desperate struggle, she remains behind. Her burden is the sorrow she feels that her husband is away. Her parting words to him -- as he departed from her for a hopeless battle -- were, "Come back with your shield, or with your head on it." Moviegoers are intended to respond to this display with stupefied admiration.

Our warrior hero is Sparta's King Leonidas, now on the battlefield in a desperate struggle against overwhelming odds. His wife is Queen Gorgo. Left behind, Queen Gorgo is left with the task of summoning the country's political leaders to send the full army to reinforce her husband's tiny force of 300. The leader of this council is named Theron, a corrupt politician. He intimidates her with veiled threats to kill her son, then comes at night with a promise to lend her political support if she will submit to being raped by him. He tries to shame her by pointing out that her husband is defying Spartan law by deploying troops without authorization. He tries to shame her by contrasting her comparatively comfortable existence with the gore her husband is swimming in. Taunting her, he asks her, "What do YOU have to offer?" She drops her clothes in response, turns around, and as he begins the rape, he tells her the encounter will "not be short, and it will not be pleasant."

The next time we see Queen Gorgo and Theron together is in the presence of Sparta's council. She makes a plea for the deployment of troops to assist her husband, a speech laced with platitudes about bravery and freedom. Theron, convinced that he "owns" the council ("I created it with my bare hands"), unexpectedly denounces the plan to save Queen Gorgo's husband. In a spiteful tirade, he belittles and mocks her. Some in the council speak against him ("how dare you" insult the Queen), but he shames them into silence by pointing out their own corruption in the acceptance of bribes. Even the queen's defenders lack moral value. As Theron's tirade against the queen reaches a crescendo, he insults her honor by calling her a whore. The queen turns away, defeated, insulted, her honor in disarray. Suddenly she turns the tables and stabs Theron with a sword, the picture of female empowerment -- saving her own hide despite the good intentions of her would-be saviors, the corrupt male politicians who were too impotent to defend her. As I watched this scene come to this climax, women sitting throughout the theater erupted into spontaneous applause. In the face of a non-lethal threat -- a mere insult -- the queen's honor had been avenged with lethal force, and by the only one competent enough to avenge it: the queen.

Back on the battlefield, a disfigured and weak Spartan (who was rejected by King Leonidas as unfit for battle) lends his support to the Persian enemy in a display of revenge. The Persians take tactical advantage, and soon the 300 brave Spartan warriors are surrounded, then annihilated -- including King Leonidas. The parting shot of our hero is of a man beaten, but brave -- pinned to the ground with scores of arrows dug into his flesh. He dies in agony, but he dies bravely -- a martyr -- the epitome of what all Spartan men should aspire to become. A volley of thousands more arrows are launched at his twisted body as the camera fades out.

The lesson to be learned from this movie is subtle. Men are portrayed as valuable and noble not when they lust for life, but when they lust for death. The most honorable men are indeed the ones who die. Contrast this with the portrayal of Queen Gorgo. Her worth was her dignity, not her compulsion with self-sacrifice. Her worth was shown in her desire to live -- despite the specter of rape, child molestation, and public humiliation. Her worth was shown in her empowerment to exact revenge against her male oppressor, despite having no one capable enough to risk themselves to save her. Her departing camera shot has her standing in a majestic field, gazing off into the distance as her young son runs to her side. She is the mother, the nurturer, and the intact survivor. She has braved this battle, and despite her pain has prevailed. Not only this, but she has saved all of Sparta by convincing the male politicians that they are well-served in deciding to defend themselves.

The final shot of the movie is of a sea of tens of thousands of Spartan warriors, yelling battle cries in willing anticipation of the coming military threat. King Leonidas' death, along with the deaths of the 300, had been the catalyst to convince the warrior culture to defend itself. This was, however, only possible when his wife made a speech.

If you can't see the cheapening of human life in this movie -- especially that of boys and men -- and the glorification of males only in their embrace of self-demise, you are truly a part of the misandry generation.

I haven't seen the movie, but all your implications seem to imply that the movie agrees with you and that the Queen is the most thoughtful character and that those who sacrifice themselves are somehow selling themselves short. The main thing which worries me about this movie, not as an entertainment, but as a social document, is that it might be considered a recruiting poster to the young to go and fight in Asia in a war which should never have been begun in the first place. I don't really give movies that much credit, but it's been used before, from The Birth of a Nation to Triumph of the Will to fill in the blank with war propaganda films.

I certainly plan on watching this film, and I will be doing it with a very level head.

Mr Dias, I'm not sure of the point you are making.

The information you present is correct, but whats new about ancient warrior cultures embracing death?

Are you criticizing audiences for wanting to see such a depiction of life? Or do you think that the Queen is not getting enough press, in the face of rampant patriarchal violence?

Yours, curious....

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Originally posted by John Dias:
If you can't see the cheapening of human life in this movie -- especially that of boys and men

WHAT?! What movies have you been watching? Every movie about these types of cultures glorify death. Your take on this movie is what I think to be the biggest problem with movie patrons today. You are always looking for some kind of "message", or to be "educated". What happened to going to a movie for a good time? I go to movies for entertainment. Period. I understand that this battle was a true event, but the movie is actually based off of a graphic novel. It also depends on your point of view. YOU see the Queen as the hero because she talked to the council about going to war. I see the King as a hero because he took a very small army to stand in the gap between slavery/death & freedom. While it was the Queen's words that convinced the council, it was the King's actions that inspired the soldiers.

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-- and the glorification of males only in their embrace of self-demise, you are truly a part of the misandry generation.

I am no misandrist, I'm a man & proud of it. Just because I thought this movie was BAD @SS, doesn't mean I hate men. It means I thought these soldiers were the toughest, bravest, no surrenderin', fearless mo-fo's ever to walk the earth! This movie wasn't celebrating death, it was respecting their sacrifice. They showed no weakness. Even when confronted with a no-win situation, they stood their ground!

My question to you is, why are you more willing to lift up the Queen over the King? I think I smell misandry !

That whole review proves to me that you do not understand any of that movie, which is very rare.

Why does it depict Sparta's harsh side of its culture? Because it WAS a harsh culture! You had be WANT to be a warrior and prove yourself as a king of battle! You're pretty much saying that you do not like Spartan culture.
The only moral is that you should stand for what you believe in, using the Spartans as a way to show it. It's rather funny that you didn't see that.
And the quote "Come back with your shield or on it."? THEY REALLY DID SAY THAT! Everyone that's ever read a history book knows that!

You are being ridiculous. Everything you are trying to make a point on is silly. The only problem here is that you don't like the Spartan culture.

It is true that I don't like the Spartan culture. What I have a problem with is that Hollywood glorifies it. You can't miss the fact that this movie paints that culture in a positive light, where I would have viewed it in a negative light. By glorifying (not just depicting) violence and death as what constitutes being a "real man," Hollywood sends a message to today's youth. That message is that you are valuable if you wish for violence and death.

The point is that the movie goes beyond depiction of such a culture; the movie lauds it. At least it's portrayed as an example for men to follow. You're only a real man if you suppress your will to enjoy your life.

First off, the movie isn't aimed at children. It's rated R. Nobody under 17 is to be admitted, UNLESS accompanied by a parent or guardian. If an underage child watches the film, it's the fault of the parent, not Hollywood. Did you have the same problem with "Braveheart"? The Scottsmen seemed to enjoy killing the Englishmen.

With your point of shining a negative light on the Spartans, who would've been the heroes? The Persians? These men were of a warrior culture. There was honor in death defending your land & people. You act as if they went to fight for fun or that they desired death. If they desired to die, I'm sure they wouldn't fight too hard . The other greeks DID think the Spartans were crazy. So, the movie didn't really completely say these guys were sane.

I'm not sure what you expected. The trailer couldn't have deceieved you. So, I guess my question is, why did you even go see this movie?

I liked the movie because it elevated me and uplifted me and PUMPED ME UP, like ARnord. Just kiddin.

But the movie was gorgeous to behold, a nonstop thrill ride, and made you say "are you #$@%ing kidding me!"

But the story is kinda pointless since it's just the battle of Thermopolyie. But Frank Miller turned the battle into a ride to leave you breathless

quote:

Originally posted by John Dias:
It is true that I don't like the Spartan culture.

Well, there you go. The rest of that post is dribble. You don't like how Hollywood examplifies it for entertainment or messaging.
You just don't like Spartan culture, making this a biased review.

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Originally posted by Monkey_Boy:
First off, the movie isn't aimed at children. It's rated R. Nobody under 17 is to be admitted, UNLESS accompanied by a parent or guardian. If an underage child watches the film, it's the fault of the parent, not Hollywood.

Exactly. I saw it with my dad. It's not like I could waltz right in and see it. There's a reason why I needed parental consent.

If any kids sees this movie and thinks "wow, those guys got glory for dying. I think I am going to get 299 of my best friends and go fight against an army of millions...." you see what I am getting at. This is a fantasy. Anyone who sees this as remotely realistic should be committed to an institution.

I think you should worry more about Borat (I loved it) subverting the culture into think racism is funny, than 300 inciting violence in kids. But I am sure as a film critic, you loved Borat so it probably gets a pass.

quote:

Originally posted by Count Grishnack:
I think you should worry more about Borat (I loved it) subverting the culture into think racism is funny, than 300 inciting violence in kids.

check out "satire" in the dictionary.

as for 300, i stand by my assessment that it was bone-headed, macho, poorly-written bravado. analyzing it is pointless; there is no depth in this film.

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Originally posted by Fitz:
check out "satire" in the dictionary.

I think that was his point. Did you read John Dias' original post? Don'tcha think he's putting a tad too much thought into this movie?

It was my point.

Anyway you're right about 300, it's entertainment, not some evil film corrupting the youths of America.

quote:

Originally posted by Count Grishnack:
It was my point.

Anyway you're right about 300, it's entertainment, not some evil film corrupting the youths of America.

my bad, i read your post too quickly

I watched this movie opening night and i loved it, i am starting to put Zack Snyder on my radar, two great films in a row, Dawn Of The Dead, a horror classic, and 300, bound to be a classic. I completely agree with Monkey-Boy, that would be exactly what I wouldve posted, i loved this movie,

5 out of 5 stars for me

The very fact you don't "like" the Spartan culture is inherently insulting to one of the greatest combines of Military tactics and skill, one which has been passed down and still respected today, Spartanites "The warrior class" were the elite infantry of their time and deserve your respect.

Your post is so convoluted it's astounding, I'm ever more amazed at your incredibly bias attitude, The movie did not fool you into thinking it was anything more than a graphic depiction of Thermopolae, It's a Frank Miller film! what did you expect!?.

You sir, should not be allowed to review movies when you do not even attempt to grasp the point.

I was intrigued by John Dias' first post and I felt he put a good amount of thought and time into writing it. I hadn't really thought along the lines that he made, but after some reflection I can sympathize with it in that the director and scriptwriter could have easily turned the table on the approach taken here. The glorification of war as a graphic novel as summer entertainment is certainly evident. I would have liked to have seen more of a substantive conflict incoporated into this movie like Alexander (2004), but that might have been asking for too much.

Sorry, but you lost all credibility as soon as you said the Battle of Thermopylae took place in 450 B.C. If you're going to try and criticise a film, at least get basic details like that correct. (For future reference, it took place in 480 B.C.)

As many others have said, Sparta was a military state. The lives of men revolved around Sparta and its army, it was a harsh life. Perhaps not to the extremes presented in 300, but you must remember that this is a film created for entertainment, not education, and so has taken some liberties with the actual historical information.

Also, just as an aside, how exactly can one "submit to being raped"?

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Also, just as an aside, how exactly can one "submit to being raped"?

"Rape Me"