What I say about 300 – Part 1
300 to begin with do not sound that catchy or enticing. The only thing that led me to catch this movie on a late Friday night was the setting of the movie itself. Movies involving medieval warfare (especially the Crusades & European quest for supremacy) , or in this case ancient Greek, Roman warfare and American Civil Wars have always enticed me. To name some:
"Gladiator",
"Joan of Arc",
"Kingdom of Heaven",
maybe "Troy"......(Wanted to add Alexander in because of the great performance by Colin Farrell)
"Glory" - Denzel Washington rocks,
"Dances with Wolves" - Kevin Costner,
"Last of the Mohicans"
"Spartacus"
"Ben Hur"
"Jason & the Arganouts"
It is a movie that many say trying hard to keep to the 1998 graphic novel (Frank Miller) of the same title.
Well the story begins with a half blind Spartan general - Dilios giving a pre-war "morale boosting" pep talk, which has become a ubiquitous occurrence, since I do not know when (probably since Braveheart if I am not wrong). The pep-talk is the story of the movie – of the sacrifice of 299 Spartan warriors and their King, King Leonidas (not 300 because Dilios was ordered to return to Thermopylae to bear testimony to the Greeks of the sacrifice made).
The story flashes back to the brutal laws imposed on the Thermopylaen people. The law that legalize and “accelerate” natural selection, forced parents to “discard “(as quoted from the movie) infants with defects in the most unhumanely way possible by today’s standards. Though you might say that it is relatively rare to have infants with natural deformities (exclude those exposed to napalm, radiation or other unnatural agents), it is very common in those ages as incest is predominant. Incest, according to Greek and Roman academics and royalties at that time will produce heirs of pure royal blood, not tainted by commoners. For those you survived, they have to undergo a vigorous training in armed combat and brutality, very much alike to the movie Soldier – starring Kurt Russell, at a very young age, to the mothers’ despair.The Spartan boy is then thrown in the wilderness with nothing but a spear and little clothing to survive. Then there’s the scene of the wolf and the boy……..and so on, killing the wolf at a tight path between cliffs where “bigger size counts for nothing”. However King would however be slightly more fortunate as he gets to train and be with his son. There are scenes of brutality between father and son, where then king-to be, Prince Leonidas was smacked hard till he bleeds when he makes a mistake. The movie however do not depict only brutality, the fact that after each grueling session, the father, now fast forwarded to the time when Leonidas is king and a father himself, embracing his son lovingly.
The family moment was then interrupted by the Head of Greek Council, Theron announcing the arrival of a Persian messenger. The Persians are portrayed in the movie as bloodthirsty brutal slave drivers. If you think that the Spartans are portrayed as barbaric, the Persians were portrayed as less civilized to that of the Greeks. The Persians at the time was known as a conquering nation, enslaving Egypt and, Xerxes son of Darius rules the Persian Empire. Accounts of Xerxes are found mainly in Biblical contexts, which did not suggest clearly the Persian (known as Saracens by the medieval period) culture of that time. What was portrayed in the movie was the imagination of Frank Miller, believed to be the opinions of the “superior” culture of the Europeans at the time – though not that rampant till the early AD periods.
The main purpose of the house call was three words: “Earth and Water”. As simple was the message that Leonidas wrongfully rebuked, the meaning of the words was very profound, with unimaginable consequences – and Lenidas knows it. What Xerxes was asking from Leonidas were merely tributes. All Leonidas had to do to keep his position of wealth, power and authority, answerable only to Xerxes, was to pay tribute and bow to Xerxes – to treat him as a God-king which is what the Persian perceive him as. Of course King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo were against the idea, as they want to be free people, (ironically, they made so many nations a colony under their rule). Queen Gorgo then voiced her displeasure of such demands and proclaimed that a Spartan woman had a right to voice her concerns amongst men, much to the err of the messenger, who then threatened to turn Spartan children, women and elderly into slaves after killing all the men of viable age. Being slaves at that meant sexual and physical abuses, which Leonidas could not bear to let it happen to his family.
As the messenger/ emissary demanded Leonidas and his men to lay down arms, Leonidas replied " Come and get them", which became a very famous line for many.
His solution, do away (against messenger protocols – as if barbarians will honor protocols) with the Persian messengers and his escorts, pushing them into a pit of endless depth, in a CGI sort of choreography, made popular by the Matrix trilogy. That is a message of war to Xerxes. Before going for war, Leonidas has to seek blessings and permission from the Oracle, run by few corrupt lepers in hoods. It seems that to qualify as a sage or a holy person, one must be cursed with this disease. The Greek Gods will only speak through a beautiful adolescent, (so called a curse for being beautiful). The young girl will speak in ancient Latin, the “holy ones” will interpret. Well, since Xerxes has already bribed the “holy ones” through Theron in gold coins obtained from the vast taxes and tributes accumulated from the Persian Empire, there will only be one result – Submit.
Leaving dejected, Queen Gorgo tried her best to encourage him. “What should a free man do?” Profound in meaning, it stirred up sheer grit and determination in Leonidas’ heart. So Leonidas gathered his personal guards, 300 strong Spartan warriors, best the city has to offer, on a mission to keep Thermopylae a free place against the consent of Theron. The council has yet to give consent, but Leonidas has other ideas. He needs to act fast to halt the onslaught of the massive Persian army. Time was not a luxury he can afford, so he can only use the 300 guards, which are not under the command of the council but himself.
300 versus 100 000?
To be continued…..
"Gladiator",
"Joan of Arc",
"Kingdom of Heaven",
maybe "Troy"......(Wanted to add Alexander in because of the great performance by Colin Farrell)
"Glory" - Denzel Washington rocks,
"Dances with Wolves" - Kevin Costner,
"Last of the Mohicans"
"Spartacus"
"Ben Hur"
"Jason & the Arganouts"
It is a movie that many say trying hard to keep to the 1998 graphic novel (Frank Miller) of the same title.
Well the story begins with a half blind Spartan general - Dilios giving a pre-war "morale boosting" pep talk, which has become a ubiquitous occurrence, since I do not know when (probably since Braveheart if I am not wrong). The pep-talk is the story of the movie – of the sacrifice of 299 Spartan warriors and their King, King Leonidas (not 300 because Dilios was ordered to return to Thermopylae to bear testimony to the Greeks of the sacrifice made).
The story flashes back to the brutal laws imposed on the Thermopylaen people. The law that legalize and “accelerate” natural selection, forced parents to “discard “(as quoted from the movie) infants with defects in the most unhumanely way possible by today’s standards. Though you might say that it is relatively rare to have infants with natural deformities (exclude those exposed to napalm, radiation or other unnatural agents), it is very common in those ages as incest is predominant. Incest, according to Greek and Roman academics and royalties at that time will produce heirs of pure royal blood, not tainted by commoners. For those you survived, they have to undergo a vigorous training in armed combat and brutality, very much alike to the movie Soldier – starring Kurt Russell, at a very young age, to the mothers’ despair.The Spartan boy is then thrown in the wilderness with nothing but a spear and little clothing to survive. Then there’s the scene of the wolf and the boy……..and so on, killing the wolf at a tight path between cliffs where “bigger size counts for nothing”. However King would however be slightly more fortunate as he gets to train and be with his son. There are scenes of brutality between father and son, where then king-to be, Prince Leonidas was smacked hard till he bleeds when he makes a mistake. The movie however do not depict only brutality, the fact that after each grueling session, the father, now fast forwarded to the time when Leonidas is king and a father himself, embracing his son lovingly.
The family moment was then interrupted by the Head of Greek Council, Theron announcing the arrival of a Persian messenger. The Persians are portrayed in the movie as bloodthirsty brutal slave drivers. If you think that the Spartans are portrayed as barbaric, the Persians were portrayed as less civilized to that of the Greeks. The Persians at the time was known as a conquering nation, enslaving Egypt and, Xerxes son of Darius rules the Persian Empire. Accounts of Xerxes are found mainly in Biblical contexts, which did not suggest clearly the Persian (known as Saracens by the medieval period) culture of that time. What was portrayed in the movie was the imagination of Frank Miller, believed to be the opinions of the “superior” culture of the Europeans at the time – though not that rampant till the early AD periods.
The main purpose of the house call was three words: “Earth and Water”. As simple was the message that Leonidas wrongfully rebuked, the meaning of the words was very profound, with unimaginable consequences – and Lenidas knows it. What Xerxes was asking from Leonidas were merely tributes. All Leonidas had to do to keep his position of wealth, power and authority, answerable only to Xerxes, was to pay tribute and bow to Xerxes – to treat him as a God-king which is what the Persian perceive him as. Of course King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo were against the idea, as they want to be free people, (ironically, they made so many nations a colony under their rule). Queen Gorgo then voiced her displeasure of such demands and proclaimed that a Spartan woman had a right to voice her concerns amongst men, much to the err of the messenger, who then threatened to turn Spartan children, women and elderly into slaves after killing all the men of viable age. Being slaves at that meant sexual and physical abuses, which Leonidas could not bear to let it happen to his family.
As the messenger/ emissary demanded Leonidas and his men to lay down arms, Leonidas replied " Come and get them", which became a very famous line for many.
His solution, do away (against messenger protocols – as if barbarians will honor protocols) with the Persian messengers and his escorts, pushing them into a pit of endless depth, in a CGI sort of choreography, made popular by the Matrix trilogy. That is a message of war to Xerxes. Before going for war, Leonidas has to seek blessings and permission from the Oracle, run by few corrupt lepers in hoods. It seems that to qualify as a sage or a holy person, one must be cursed with this disease. The Greek Gods will only speak through a beautiful adolescent, (so called a curse for being beautiful). The young girl will speak in ancient Latin, the “holy ones” will interpret. Well, since Xerxes has already bribed the “holy ones” through Theron in gold coins obtained from the vast taxes and tributes accumulated from the Persian Empire, there will only be one result – Submit.
Leaving dejected, Queen Gorgo tried her best to encourage him. “What should a free man do?” Profound in meaning, it stirred up sheer grit and determination in Leonidas’ heart. So Leonidas gathered his personal guards, 300 strong Spartan warriors, best the city has to offer, on a mission to keep Thermopylae a free place against the consent of Theron. The council has yet to give consent, but Leonidas has other ideas. He needs to act fast to halt the onslaught of the massive Persian army. Time was not a luxury he can afford, so he can only use the 300 guards, which are not under the command of the council but himself.
300 versus 100 000?
To be continued…..
posted by cR@pS at
15:58
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