The values implicitly promoted by the movie are definitely conservative in the extreem. I'm glad it's so popular. My 17 year old son and his friends have all seen it multilple times. They went twice within two days!
Persians tried to negotiate with them for 4 days. They fought a whole day, on the 2nd day Persia was told about the flanking pass, day 3 Greeks die. 7 Days.
Fighting and defending your own "freedom" and liberty are staples of democracy not "Conservatism". Because you americans have pretty much screwed old words around, don't expect your terminology to translate well on internet message boards. Frankly the republicans in the U.S hold an outrageous advantage, their name is the name of your system of government!
I'm going to have to agree with MadAnthonyWayne: This movie, in its values, are closer to Conservative notions of country and honour, than Liberal ones in America. But as Genji showed, it has room for everyone. You know, if you like "gladiator films". WINK! WINK!
And Sparta was a conservative nation. However, the rhetoric of freedom and all that bullshit was an artifact of the writer. A construct to appeal to our Americanness, and better argue the war on terrorism through the east vs. west parallels in the movie. This isn't an over analyzation. It's there because the author wants it to be there.
Roman: The concept actually harkens back to Herodotus, who wrote of Hellenic autonomy in the Polis, compared to Oriental despotism in large empires. Moreover, Spartans were independent in the sense that they were not slaves and were all the participants were full, honoured citizens, having attained that rank through years of dedication to Sparta.
In the movie, the appeal was to a "free greece," while historically, the appeal should have been made to a "free sparta." The Greeks really liked to fight each other and enslave the losers.
I just went to the movie for entertainment. Frank Miller's political retardation isn't a concern of mine.
How could you miss it? But, to be fair, the comic book spoke of Justice, the movie changed it to Freedom. Basically, it was a blatant appeal to Jingoism. Sickeningly so, actually. In my opinion, the movie was good despite this. Someone also mentioned about how they became nauseated by the constant appeals to "the world's last hope for freedom and blah blah blah". That bugged me too. As if the Spartans could see the future.
I guess I was so overwhelmed by the look of the film that it was hard to nitpick about things like that. I have a friend that does that though. She can find something she doesn't like about Everything, then goes on & on about it, as if being overly critical means she's smarter than everyone else.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I loved it! Everything I look for in a movie. It was entertaining, interesting, arousing, thrilling and unique. Can't wait to make Frank Miller richer and buy the DVD with an Extras DVD!
I'd like to see more historical accounts of ancient battles, in the same film style though. Wouldn't have to be a documentary (though I love documentaries if the subject is interesting) but a more accurate, theism free telling of the Ancient World. 300 takes movies a step in the right direction. In a world filled with "Norbit" and "Nacho Libre" it is progress.
I would be exceedingly pleased with similar types of films becoming in vogue, too. They get one excited about history. Were I a history teacher or professor, I'd want my class to see "300".
