300- Racially insensitive but not a political statement (no spoilers)
So last night I went to see 300 with Tristan, Trae, and Jabari and I must say that I have mixed feelings about the movie on the whole. The action sequences were excellent and artistic and while some parts were very unrealistic, all in all it was a great action movie which is what I was hoping to see. However, there were some aspects of the movie that I took issue with, namely the issue of white supremacy that is present throughout the entire film.
In the movie a bunch of white guys take on basically every other race on the face of the earth and totally destroy them until the very end. The Spartans are portrayed as righteous and courageous while being conveniently very European in appearance whereas the Persians give the appearance of a conglomerate of non-white barbarians. Now that being said I don't think its right to accuse the directors of the film of harboring a secret, racist agenda when I know nothing about them or the motives of making the film in the first place. The movie is at the very least, however, racially insensitive and the idea that the racist undertones are intentional can't be discounted. I would be very interested in reading more about the actual history of the Battle of Thermopylae to find out how accurate the race portrayal really is.
Now on the flipside, I've heard opinions that the movie is pro-war and thereby is a form of propaganda in support of the "war" in Iraq. I completely disagree with this on the grounds that no rational person can draw a realistic parallel between a group of outnumbered soldiers defending their own home and the United States military, much less compare the entire army of Xerxes to the insurgents in Iraq. The parallels would actually make a lot more sense reversed and even then it's still a stretch. Supposedly the directors of the movie have been accused by those against and those in support of the occupation of Iraq that the movie plays to the opposite side.
300 is not in support of the actions of the US military. 300 is not against the actions of the US military. It's about a battle that happened thousands of years ago that has few, if any, parallels to any current events today. The directors of the movie have said that they didn't make the movie with a political agenda and even if they did it would fall through anyways because it would be so unrealistic. If someone right now was to make a movie stating that sheep could fly it would not give sheep the ability to fly. This movie isn't making a political statement.
This movie does glorify war which is problematic if you take it out of context, but really isn't terribly egregious if you keep in mind how different the world was back around 500 BC. Diplomacy had not evolved to the point that it has today and people did not live in a world where a single bomb could kill millions of people. So if you're concerned that people are going to see this movie and all of the sudden generalize a fantastical display loosely based on historical events to a path towards a political agenda, you shouldn't be. Just take this movie with a grain of salt as you should anything that you watch.
Ultimately, I would recommend going to see this movie in order to hear what others have to say about it. If you don't like blood, guts, dismemberment, or decapitation you should stay at home but if you can stomach those things it's worth seeing. Oh and keep an eye out for a special on the history channel based on the true story behind the movie. It originally aired on March 8th, but judging from the popularity of the movie it's safe to say that it will be shown again. Have a good one and I hope everyone has had/is having a good break.
In the movie a bunch of white guys take on basically every other race on the face of the earth and totally destroy them until the very end. The Spartans are portrayed as righteous and courageous while being conveniently very European in appearance whereas the Persians give the appearance of a conglomerate of non-white barbarians. Now that being said I don't think its right to accuse the directors of the film of harboring a secret, racist agenda when I know nothing about them or the motives of making the film in the first place. The movie is at the very least, however, racially insensitive and the idea that the racist undertones are intentional can't be discounted. I would be very interested in reading more about the actual history of the Battle of Thermopylae to find out how accurate the race portrayal really is.
Now on the flipside, I've heard opinions that the movie is pro-war and thereby is a form of propaganda in support of the "war" in Iraq. I completely disagree with this on the grounds that no rational person can draw a realistic parallel between a group of outnumbered soldiers defending their own home and the United States military, much less compare the entire army of Xerxes to the insurgents in Iraq. The parallels would actually make a lot more sense reversed and even then it's still a stretch. Supposedly the directors of the movie have been accused by those against and those in support of the occupation of Iraq that the movie plays to the opposite side.
300 is not in support of the actions of the US military. 300 is not against the actions of the US military. It's about a battle that happened thousands of years ago that has few, if any, parallels to any current events today. The directors of the movie have said that they didn't make the movie with a political agenda and even if they did it would fall through anyways because it would be so unrealistic. If someone right now was to make a movie stating that sheep could fly it would not give sheep the ability to fly. This movie isn't making a political statement.
This movie does glorify war which is problematic if you take it out of context, but really isn't terribly egregious if you keep in mind how different the world was back around 500 BC. Diplomacy had not evolved to the point that it has today and people did not live in a world where a single bomb could kill millions of people. So if you're concerned that people are going to see this movie and all of the sudden generalize a fantastical display loosely based on historical events to a path towards a political agenda, you shouldn't be. Just take this movie with a grain of salt as you should anything that you watch.
Ultimately, I would recommend going to see this movie in order to hear what others have to say about it. If you don't like blood, guts, dismemberment, or decapitation you should stay at home but if you can stomach those things it's worth seeing. Oh and keep an eye out for a special on the history channel based on the true story behind the movie. It originally aired on March 8th, but judging from the popularity of the movie it's safe to say that it will be shown again. Have a good one and I hope everyone has had/is having a good break.