I've been interested in seeing it simply because I love a good classic sword-and-sandals epic. And because I've been getting into comic books/graphic novels, which the movie is based on.
So I'm really disappointed in what I've been hearing about it. Misogyny and racism I can handle as long as they're historically accurate. The Spartans were just as misogynistic as other ancient Greeks, and more racist than most. Cartoonish bad guys I can handle, since it is adapted from a comic book, after all. But I've heard that the history is very, very inaccurate.
I saw the trailer, and the men in short leather skirts and lots of chest hair do look good. But what happened to their hair? These guys all have short hair, and that is so wrong! (The Spartans prided themselves on their long hair. Most soldiers in most armies over the ages have kept their hair short so an enemy can't hold them by the hair -- but the Spartans thought that was weeny behavior. They showed off their bravery by growing long hair and decorating it with braids and bright beads, taunting their enemies and daring them to try to grab them by the hair.)
I could go on, but, well, crew-cut Spartans are already so wrong, does anything else really need to be said?
Frank Miller specifically changed the history and always corrects people that this is not a historical telling, but more an interpretation of the "legendary" aspects of the battle of Thermopylae. Again, the emphasis is entirely on the underdog status (it entirely ignores the several thousand allies the Spartans had, though they were still outnumbered).
I totally agree with the crew cut thing. I giggled for a good long while over that. There's only one historical thing I hope they include (because it's one of my favorite history tidbits ever!): the wives handing the shields to their husbands saying "with this or on it."
So I'm really disappointed in what I've been hearing about it. Misogyny and racism I can handle as long as they're historically accurate. The Spartans were just as misogynistic as other ancient Greeks, and more racist than most. Cartoonish bad guys I can handle, since it is adapted from a comic book, after all. But I've heard that the history is very, very inaccurate.
I saw the trailer, and the men in short leather skirts and lots of chest hair do look good. But what happened to their hair? These guys all have short hair, and that is so wrong! (The Spartans prided themselves on their long hair. Most soldiers in most armies over the ages have kept their hair short so an enemy can't hold them by the hair -- but the Spartans thought that was weeny behavior. They showed off their bravery by growing long hair and decorating it with braids and bright beads, taunting their enemies and daring them to try to grab them by the hair.)
I could go on, but, well, crew-cut Spartans are already so wrong, does anything else really need to be said?
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I totally agree with the crew cut thing. I giggled for a good long while over that. There's only one historical thing I hope they include (because it's one of my favorite history tidbits ever!): the wives handing the shields to their husbands saying "with this or on it."
Yay that we can have these discussions!
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