300 is not the number of reasons I hated this movie, but it's close

[kitchen_kink]

I've been meaning to write this review for a long time, and by now I've all but lost the rage that was to drive it. I'm hoping it will nonetheless still be interesting at least.

300

It seems I can count on at least one thing when one of Frank Miller's comic books gets adapted into a film: I will be outraged and disturbed enough to write an angry and hopefully thought-provoking essay about it.

But while I could see the beauty of Sin City and had some difficulty pinning down what made me sick about it, 300 gave me no such problems.

Its flaws and infuriating qualities were quite obvious.

When I left the theatre after watching this fiasco, I was boiling over. I didn't even manage to get out of the building before literally screaming to my viewing partner, "Where do I start??!!" And so it seemed possible that right then was not the right time to write a review. Instead, I ranted, from the Somerville Theatre all the way to my house and beyond, about all the the things in this film that made me want to tear my skin off while watching it.

Now let me start by saying that I know that some of the things I'm going to criticize in this movie are merely portrayals of a certain kind of society, one whose belief systems an audience member such as myself may or may not agree with. I will dispense with this objection before it is made, by pointing out the unequivocal way in which this film glorifies and fetishizes the way of life that this version of Sparta represents. Before going any further, I put forth as an argument that this film does not merely portray a particular society, however fantastically; it endorses it.

Now there's already been a bit of talk from certain astute film reviewers about 300's references to the current U.S. administration and its relationship to the Middle East; I'm certainly not going to be the first to mention it. But besides my glib snarl after seeing it that "this movie was financed by Karl Rove," there are deeper questions of the rhetoric chosen here that warrant further examination. And beyond these issues, which are troubling enough, there are vast problems of sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, racism, and outright eugenicism that need to be addressed. I've heard some people say that watching this movie was "like a video game," or that it was just "fun" and made them feel like going out and kicking ass. That's all well and good, and I'm far from being against fun, or even ass-kicking, particularly where action movies are concerned. But there are times when we need to take a closer look at what these images are telling us, and what messages we are absorbing into our psyches without further thought. Just as many of us get desensitized to the news and/or don't look at it terribly critically, other cultural markers such as film tell stories about what assumptions are present in our culture now. I believe we ignore them at our peril, both as individuals and as a society. But now I'm getting all soapboxy. On to the movie.


One of the first things this film establishes, and continually reasserts throughout, is the nature of "manhood." As Queen Gorgo, the only woman in the film with a voice, says, "Only Spartan women give birth to real men." In this moment she makes clear the role of women in this society, while simultaneously expressing extreme pride in that highly limited role. And what "real men" they are: every one of them steroidally buff, steely-eyed, and born and bred to kill - not just for kin and country, but for fun! Real men are sculpted warriors, heartless killers without pussy-ass notions of mercy or surrender - not like their neighbors, the Athenians, whom they refer to as "philosophers and boy-lovers."

And the homophobia just doesn't stop around here, which is highly ironic, given that this movie is wall-to-wall mostly-naked hot men whose top choice for company seems to be each other. No, the young fighting men spar as they jest about each others' probable sexual preferences, while the Persians - those decadent heathens - well, besides just being pure evil, they just can't seem to make up their minds about their sexuality, can they?

Let's take Xerxes, for example, the golden god-king. Sure, he's about eight feet tall and buff, though not as obnoxiously so as the Spartans. But he's got something else going on. Let's start with...let's see, how about the multitudinous facial piercings? Or the ornate golden Speedo? Then there's that swishy way he moves, the delicate hands, the smoldering looks, the way it's clear he welcomes the sexual worship of his followers, whatever their sex, not just their religious workship. And then of course there's...well, let's just say it...the eyeliner.

I mean, good gods, the eyeliner! The shimmering gold, drag-queen eyeshadow! The exquisite makeup in general! Xerxes, in short, is essentially played by RuPaul, sans dress and wig.

And take a look at his court: women fondling each other (horrors!), who turn toward the camera and reveal disfigured faces (more horrors!); sinuous androgynes who reveal themselves in the end credits to be "transsexuals;" incense and lewd dancing and really all manner of deviance. (Horrors, I tell you.)

In Sparta, of course, there are only two kinds of sex: the beautiful, moonlit, loving-but-with-definite-male-dominant-overtones kind that happens between red-blooded married royalty, and rape, which happens when a woman needs something political done. (And probably at a lot of other times, too.)

The enemy, in the form of "Persia" (which, let's face it, what are we talking about here?), is consistently portrayed in this fashion: not only are they a vicious imperialist theocracy (admittedly, something best avoided in civilized society), but they're multicolored, misshapen, queer, sexually licentious, and gender nonspecific. (Plus, ruled over by a drag queen who thinks he's a god.) And I haven't even spoken about the soldiers yet.

The Persian soldiers come in many waves throughout the movie, but one thing they have in common is this: they are completely faceless. One iteration comes with turbanned, veiled heads. The next, with weird helmets. And in the full iconic expression of the Fear of the Other being shoved down our throats, we have the Immortals: rank upon rank of black-and-silver-clad Uruk-Hai, wearing full metal face masks with tragic faces. The voice over describes these legendary fighting machines as "black-eyed, soulless."

And when their masks are removed, they are literally monsters.

Yes, Xerxes' army and court are inhabited by monsters: lobster-clawed tormentors, pig-faced goons, hideous giants. And soldiers without souls who, behind their masks, look like orcs. And meanwhile, the one monster who would fain be on the side of Spartan righteousness is turned away because he cannot, due to his deformity, form ranks with the other soldiers. And, also presumably due to his deformity, he easily gives in to the honey-stung promises of the drag- uh, god-king.

Are you feeling my fury yet?

Since the movie goes so splendidly about making clear what it feels is the source and character of evil in the world, let's look at the source and character of good, shall we? We already know the Spartans are strong, manly, without a drop of homosexual thought (*cough*), ready to kill mercilessly, happy to die in battle for their country. Turns out, though, that they're also all about Reason. Yes, they're out there fighting for Reason, in fact; a highly valued quality in men who are taken from their mothers when they're seven to begin training to fight, kill and die. The politicians and senators back home are, of course, soft, duplicitous pussies. And the 300 must go to war...led only by the word of their King...regardless of what their Senate tells them to do!

Those terroristsPersians, on the other hand, don't like reason. They're brutal and inhuman. They killed an entire village and hung the dead from a tree. But the Spartans - oh, they only used the bodies of the hundreds of Persians they killed as mortar for a wall to scare off the next wave. That's Reasonable.

Oh, and also, Freedom! Let's not forget about freedom. You see, Spartans are apparently all free men. That's why when their captain asks them if they are soldiers, they all stand in perfect formation and shout out "Ho! Ho! Ho!" while pumping their fists like Marines, or perhaps the New Kids on the Block. Or, ya know, Nazis.

And Freedom, as Queen Gorgo (or George W) will tell you, isn't free! It has to be won with blood! And in the end, those brave hunky Spartans are going to bring us - I shit you not - "freedom from tyranny and mysticism."

Mysticism. You mean like radical Islam?

Apparently yes they do, if the last few frames of the film are to be believed - and I think that they're really really asking us to nicely. King Leonidas, you see, is killed at last by a barrage of arrows. These arrows pierce his body and pin him to the ground...in a convenient crucified position, which we are conveniently shown from above.

Yes, my friends: Leonidas, naked but for his covered loins, spread out Christ-style, bearded, head turned and slumped in a familiar posture, his heroically dead body full of arrows like Saint Sebastian, and surrounded by his fellow soldiers in twisted poses, worthy of any Renaissance religious painting.

Don't worry your dear little heads: the cradle of Western civilization, home of democracy, reason, freedom, and extremely jacked but decidedly heterosexually normative men, has been saved from the cruel, theocratic, sexually ambiguous, morally bankrupt darkies of the East by the martyrdom of a selfless king.

Oh, and however strong the homosexual agenda might be, drag queens can bleed. Don't forget that.

Comments

[unknownrockstar.livejournal.com]

I'd heard some of this before about that movie, hadn't planned on seeing it, but now I plan on never seeing it, thanks. that's 2 hours of my life I got back and will spend with you over a cup of tea and philosophy sometime soon, (we need to set an actual date for it to happen)

also regarding the sin city review, I haven't seen that movie either, though I've flipped through an issue of the comic book, I don't really have much interest in it, I don't like excessive violence, (but I do need to see the scenes with Jessica Alba in it, because she is Jessica Alba <3 *le sigh*),er I recall when I saw Robocop in the theatre, laughing at the over the top violence which for it's day was the most violent film I was aware of up to that point, but afterwards feeling frankly a bit sick about it.

violence in a comic book will never be as visceral as on film, or even animation, because film is a passive medium, you sit and watch, comix are interactive, you set the pace, stop rewind, fast forward, see more than one frame at a time, effectively, it can't have the surprise impact of film and thus comic book creators must work much harder to get an emotional reaction out of people, chiefly by being good storytellers I think.

you should submit film reviews to the Phoenix, you are insightful, thoughtful, a very good writer, and maybe can make a buck or two doing it so why not?

[fanw.livejournal.com]

Ha! I appreciate your fury, but I'm going to drop in my comments, since I actually enjoyed this movie much more than Sin City. For me, Sin City was full of violent men who were motivated by nothing other than protecting their women, and all the women were helpless, kidnapped, raped, killed prostitutes. Not exactly full of role-models. 300 on the other hand is a movie that basically involves no women at all (neither did Saving Private Ryan -- it's a war movie), and the men were motivated by the fear of certain death and the fall of their culture.

Now, on to other things. I actually didn't see the homophobia as strongly as you. The Spartans go on and on about how much they would do anything for each other. They look long at each other and swear they want nothing more than to die at each others sides. It's all about the man love. The one sex scene at the beginning seemed almost an aside before Leonidas goes to where he really wants to be -- with his men.

And I'm sorry, but the Spartans were a little bit like the Nazis. You got your little Spartan Youth corps trained for war and they certainly did feel they were better than anyone else. If you think it's jingoistic, blame the Spartans, not Hollywood. Of course, in a neat little sidebar, Leonidas was played by a Scot and sported a neat little Scottish accent. This is in tribute to the traditional and intentional association between the Spartans (a somewhat uncivilized, undemocratic, and warlike clan-based culture) to the Scots (a somewhat uncivilized and warlike clan-based culture.)

And lastly, as for Persia being the enemy -- they WERE the enemy! I've now heard both sides on the blogosphere: people complaining that it's a right-wing movie about the U.S. beating Iran and people complaining it's a left-wing movie about a small band of terrorist freedom-fighters fighting the greatest army on earth and winning.

This movie has all the flaws you would expect. The Spartans are as annoyingly warlike as they actually were. The Persians are actually depicted as from Persia. And Miller used his artistic license to make the traitor a hunchback and Xerxes a monster. Hey, in a comic book it wouldn't be as good a story if good men were simply killing other good men.

I don't particularly like Miller's take on things, his view of women, or his exaggerations of evil into Evil and good into Truth, Justice, and the American Way. But for all that, I loved the parts straight out of Herodotus and I thought the execution, the post-production, the editing, were marvellous. I'll take this over a film full of gutted prostitutes any day.

[selfishgene.livejournal.com]

I agree, jingoism is an ugly thing. I knew that from history; but seeing it in real life after 9/11 was horrifying. Glorifying it in a movie deserves forthright criticism. I can't go into more detail since I didn't see the movie.

[vanguardcdk.livejournal.com]

While your critique is well written and you make some interesting points I thought I'd toss in a few things.

The homophobic comments from the Spartans was just bizarre. Meanwhile other aspects of their culture were not white-washed (IE killing deformed babies and killing messengers with bad news).

And apparently the Persian army was composed of orcs, mutants and giants. Who knew?

Still, I must disagree on some of your other points.

The massacred village and the wall of dead soldiers are both brutal but there is a difference.
The tree was made of 'innocent' villagers who were slaughtered by the invading army. The dead were civilians, including women and children.
The wall the Spartans created held the broken bodies of said invading soldiers defeated in battle.
I'm not saying either of these is nice. After all they're both constructs of desecrated bodies. But the differences are important.

Secondly I think you're misrepresenting the Spartans view of mysticism. The invading army is of a theocratic empire whose emperor is a self-proclaimed god.
Of course the defending Greeks are going to start shouting about enemy 'superstitions' and 'mysticisms'.
While it's true that the speeches tend to fall into Braveheart territory, arguing about freedom when you're about to be invaded isn't an irrelevent discussion.


Well, back to work for me. :) Thanks for the discussion.

[roy-batty.livejournal.com]

SPAAAAAAAAAARRRTAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

The only thing I asked of this movie

[deadwinter.livejournal.com]

Was that it be reasonably faithful to the book.

In this it more or less succeeded. Most of your criticisms are applicable to the book, and some of them I even agree with. I, however, while fully aware that the historical Spartans were a bunch of blood-thirsty psychopaths*, and that Xerxes was not in fact eight feet tall, expected escapist, very very simplistic fantasy and that's what I got.

I said this when I reviewed V For Vendetta and I'll say it again: people judge society by popular culture at their peril.

*I enjoyed the movie. One thing I have not enjoyed, however, is all the assh#$les on the internet identifying themselves with hoplites and bullshit of the kind. You are not hoplites, you assholes, the actual Spartans would have thrown you to the wolves, and would have gone on to one of the many times they sacked Athens (so much for fucking democracy) or allied with the Persians (so much for loyalty)

[deadwinter.livejournal.com]

This movie has all the flaws you would expect. The Spartans are as annoyingly warlike as they actually were. The Persians are actually depicted as from Persia. And Miller used his artistic license to make the traitor a hunchback and Xerxes a monster. Hey, in a comic book it wouldn't be as good a story if good men were simply killing other good men.

Since I did not see Ken Burn's name anywhere on the credits, this is about what I expected.

[the-xtina.livejournal.com]

Tonight we blog in HELL!!

[coorr.livejournal.com]

OK, I've got to comment on this homophobic thing.

This is all from the line about the boy lovers. But its somewhat historically accurate and its just not all that out of place here. The Spartans, historically, were not homophobic, they fought in tight knit teams and there is plenty of historical evidence of soldiers having sex with each other. This was not explicitly shown in the movie, but it was implied. Maybe you would have like to have seen this shown more directly, but that wouldn't really fly in holly wood and likely would have felt tacked on anyway.

This, BTW, makes them MAN lovers, not boy lovers.

Now, the Spartans didn't really like the Athenians, they were rivals, so it makes sense that the king would talk some smack about his rival city state. The Athenians were known, historcally, to have sex with BOYS, not only did grown men have sex with each other but also with boys. Now, can I say, definitively, that Spartans never had sex with boys? Nope, I wasn't around then, but this is consistent with what we know of the sexual tendencies of the two cities at that time.

If you actually look at what the king calls the Athenians (BOY lovers) then he is not being homophobic, he is instead calling them out for being pedophiles (which was socially acceptable in Athens at the time).

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

One of the more interesting analyses I read of 300 was this one.

Me? I sorta liked it despite agreeing with about 99% of your analysis. I mean... I voluntarily paid money to see a Frank Miller movie: it wasn't like I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

[satyrgrl.livejournal.com]

Normally I'm the first to jump on the media crit bandwagon, but I've restrained myself with this one. I've really gone back and forth about it. On the one hand, it had bits that pissed me off. Like every time Queen Gorgo appeared on the screen. Maybe the secret message is that we should all be slutty and perverted like the women in Xerxes court, since they seemed to be the only ones not getting raped. If they had just stuck with the manly men vs. sissy boys theme and left the women out I would have been happier.

But I think the ultimate reason it didn't sent me into fits of critique was because it struck me so powerfully as propoganda for a society that doesn't exist. It was kind of like a less overt Starship Troopers in that way. It was so completely, sometimes laughably, overblown that it was hard to see any pretense of reality in the characters. The voice-over framing the film made this effect all the more powerful. What we were watching was the story as told by a Spartan who had every reason to deify Leonidas and the Spartans and demonize Xerxes and the Persians. It was like a Spartan had come back to life and made a recruitment video in light of the iconic place Thermopylae has in western culture. I think you need a way to explain the supernatural elements of the film (army of monsters, 8 foot tall god-kings, Spartans who can fight for days without rest), and I think imagining it as pro-Spartan propoganda does it.

I may just be making up a context to validate a movie I thought was visually cool but politically questionable and of little intellectual substance. If you look at it as a film made for American audiences in 2007, with all the necessary political and cultural baggage then it is totally distubing, historically inaccurate, and kinda crappy. If you put yourself in the fictional world of the movie and view it as a story told by Spartans to Spartans, then it is kinda cool.

[catling.livejournal.com]

*gleeful cackling*

I don't know what your objection is, it sounds like a cinematic triumph, destined to be a modern classic!

*duck, run, hide*

So, I shouldn't bother, huh? I was figuring it was a wait until video kinda movie, but I'm wondering if it's worth bothering with at all, now.

Gorgeous rant, by the way... thank you! The movie may be a POS, but your review of it is most entertaining.

[shgb.livejournal.com]

If you put yourself in the fictional world of the movie and view it as a story told by Spartans to Spartans, then it is kinda cool.

I don't think that's much of a stretch at all. The narration is done by the one survivor, the guy that Leonidas told to head home to make sure their story got out. The movie ends with him finishing telling his tale to a Greek army about to fight the Persians. So, no I don't think you're making up context, I think you're spot on.