On 300

As a family we went to see the movie 300 last night. My oldest daughter had already seen it and raved about it, so we decided to give it a go.

I am a history buff, so I was interested to see how the ancient Battle of Thermopolae would be depicted. History tells us that a band of 300 soldiers, under the leadership of King Leonidas of Sparta, held back a Persian force of 100 000 (some sources say more) for two days. The Spartan defence of the famous pass by the sea was a rallying cry for the rest of Greece, and in time, the Persians were defeated and driven off the Greek peninsula.

300 was gorey, but I’ve been watching Rome for the past two years, so I am somewhat inured to violence. Rome makes The Sopranos and 300 both look like PG-13.

300 held my attention. I thoroughly enjoyed the scene where the Spartans first engaged the Persians at the entrance to the pass – and used superior strategy (the phalanx) to win the day. There was some really good dialogue, particularly in the scene where the Spartans are dispatching wounded Persians while King Leonidas munches on an apple. Very ironic. And irony always has a way of making a situation seem more plausible.

Still a good film creates sympathy for both sides. The Persians also had wives and children back home. Yet, we are to regard them simply as bugs being squashed. Interesting.

But . . . I digress.

The cinematography was intriguing. Apparently most scenes were filmed in Montreal against a blue screen. Since I’m a fan of the old epics like The Ten Commandments and Spartacus, I’m usually annoyed by computer-generated special effects. I didn’t feel this way about 300 – apart from the scenes with the wolf and the gigantic mutant with no shoulders. They looked fake, and I therefore wasn’t engaged for those portions of the film.

I do feel 300 raises some interesting points.

First of all, I don’t think it gave a balanced view of history. The Persians were presented simply as evil – so evil that a number of them were severely mutated – as if physical ugliness is a manifestation of evil. I suppose a six-pack (or twelve-pack) is therefore equated with rightness and goodness. My daughter maintains that this is the way the Spartans would have SEEN the Persians – hence the exaggerated size of the rhinoceros and elephants.

The queen of Sparta (who wore some very nifty togas) made frequent references to “reason” in her efforts to urge the Council to send an army to aid her husband. I always thought the Spartans were an unimaginative race, and that their culture glorified physical prowess to the exclusion of all else. I didn’t know the Spartans used words like “reason.” I guess they – like most cultures – have been victims of stereotyping.

Any Spartan references to the city-state of Athens – where a person’s physical and mental attributes were developed – were disparaging. However, it’s a safe bet that our present society has been influenced far more by the Athenians than the Spartans. I shudder to think what our world would be like if we reacted to every global crisis the way the Spartans would have.

It can be argued that Leonidas was brave where the Athenians, who ran to their ships when the Persians invaded, were cowardly. And bravery and resolve in the face of certain defeat are certainly admirable. Upon reflection, admirable seems like a paltry word to describe such commitment. The bravery of the Spartans reminds me of the ceremonies presently taking place to commemorate the Canadian troops who took Vimy Ridge 90 years ago. This battle defined us as a country. At Vimy our soldiers accomplished something no other country’s forces had been able.

In 300 was there a subtle – or not so subtle message – defending the American invasion of Iraq? Were we supposed to equate the Spartans with the West – and the Persians with the Middle East? Were we to see the Spartans (Americans) as the preservers and defenders of our present way of life? Perhaps the producers of the film never intended such comparisons be made.

But, as a teacher, I always ask myself how young minds will be influenced by a film. Hence the question, will a young person’s view of the Middle East be negatively shaped by 300? I think so.

Does that mean 300 shouldn’t have been made?

Absolutely not. Anytime a movie is made about a significant historical event, I applaud. It’s an opportunity to learn something about our past. And any time history is depicted, there is always the danger that events will be twisted and coloured to suit the film-makers’ views and/or marketing ploys. We just have to keep reminding ourselves that it isn’t necessarily ALL true just because someone made a movie about it – or wrote a book – or put a blog on her website. We need to inform ourselves more about the event or issue and sort out the fact from the fiction – and more importantly the fact from the opinion.

I’m not a proponent of censorship. Any time a controversial film is made it presents an opportunity for intelligent dialogue and for the reinforcement of a reasonable, humane world view. The truth is generally complex and layered in varying shades of grey – not black and white. In short, we are not always right, and the other guys are not always jerks.

What’s really fascinating to me is the positive response the movie is getting from young people. As a whole, they are impressed by the Spartan “ideals” that the movie glorifies. Concepts like loyalty and sacrifice and honour are foreign to our society – where the wants of an individual preclude all else.

I recently read a magazine article about the attitude of entitlement in Generation X, who have been coddled and spoiled by parents, determined to shelter them from any discomfort or disappointment.

How many times have I heard a parent say, “My child deserves to play on a better team”? Too often.

How much more refreshing it is to hear: “My children need to learn to ‘suck it up.’ My children need to learn to get along with everyone they meet. Eventually they will go out into a world where I won’t be able to contrive every situation for them, and I want them to flourish in that world. I want them to understand what it means to be honest and loyal and committed because this is where true self-worth and happiness come from.”

Integrity. The determination to do the “right thing” – even when no one is watching. What a concept.

Anyway, I seem to be a long way from 300. Let me know what you think – whether or not you’ve seen the movie.

This entry was posted on April 7, 2007 at 1:51 pm and is filed under On the Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.