I tend to like Casablanca even though it is full of Communists. Below is a very good article by Cinnamon Stillwell on the movie 300 on the SFGate.Com website... enjoy
'300': Critics Hate It, America Loves ItCinnamon StillwellWednesday, March 28, 2007When it comes to the offerings of Hollywood, rarely does a film resonate strongly with both mainstream America and the largely liberal world of film critics. For the two seem to inhabit different universes, particularly when it comes to depictions of patriotism, war, religion and the age-old struggle between good and evil.
When bad reviews and huge box office numbers coincide, the gulf between critics and audiences is laid bare. Such was the case with "The Passion of the Christ" and "National Treasure," both of which Americans flocked to see even as critics shook their heads in disbelief.
The unprecedented success of the recent film "300" is further evidence of this pattern. While critics have largely panned "300," Americans clearly haven't been listening. The film's opening weekend brought in $70 million, with all 57 of its early IMAX midnight showings selling out, making it the highest-grossing March opening ever and third-highest opening for an R-rated feature. And its box office numbers have remained high ever since.
Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller (of "Sin City" fame) and directed by Zack Snyder, "300" is a fictional recounting of the famous Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The battle pitted King Leonidas and his bodyguard of 300 Spartans -- aided by the Thespians -- against the vast army of the Persian King Xerxes. Seeking to block the Persian army at a narrow mountain pass until Sparta and the rest of Greece could amass the will and forces to fight, the greatly outnumbered Spartan warriors used their superior fighting skills, bravery and determination to hold the "Hot Gates" to the last man. It was the Spartan sacrifice at Thermopylae that enabled the Greeks to later triumph over the Persians and carry on a civilization that brought us democracy and the rule of law.
Critics See the Wrong Film
While critics described the film as overly violent, juvenile, stupid, macho, right-wing, race-baiting and, according to Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger, an expression of "Saturday-matinee xenophobia," "300" clearly has resonated with the masses. The reasons for this are obvious, at least to anyone who doesn't inhabit the ranks of the intellectual elite. The film's time-honored themes of bravery, honor, camaraderie, sacrifice, courage against all odds and, above all, the struggle between good and evil, are tailor-made for mainstream America during a time of war. Its success bespeaks a yearning for stories that tap into the ideals of a nation fighting for its survival.
Throughout "300" are references to the sort of absolutes and eternal values that undoubtedly led to the discomfort of some of its liberal critics. The militaristic Spartan culture, where young men were raised from birth to be warriors in service to protecting the city-state, is portrayed in all its brutal glory. King Leonidas' equally strong wife, Queen Gorgo, seeking to enlist the military aid of the reticent Spartans, reminds the general court of Sparta that "freedom is not free." Indeed, had those 300 Spartans failed in their stand at Thermopylae, their people would have been slaughtered or enslaved. In other words, "300" reminds us that free people will only remain so if they are willing to fight.
The film is definitely a bloody affair, and there are moments when the violence is almost pornographic. But given that it depicts battles fought with swords, spears, shields and, at times, bare hands, the film's gory details are likely historically faithful. Other sword-and-sandal epics have covered similar territory. Unlike films where the violence is gratuitous, the violence in "300" is part and parcel of the story and to omit it would be to omit the nature of the beast.
One certainly cannot complain about the visual beauty of the film, which to my mind is unparalleled. Presented in a dream-like sepia tone punctuated only by splashes of red and brown, "300" successfully marries the art of the graphic novel with cinematic form. While the film relies on computer-generated backgrounds, it never feels cold or cartoonish. It also managed to stay true to the historical basis for the story, even as fantastical elements such as monsters, giants, grossly misshapen hunchbacks and the seemingly immortal ephors inhabit the film. Iconic images -- such as the scenes where the Persian emissaries arrive atop a hill on horseback and where the Persian soldiers are pushed off a cliff during battle, both in slow motion -- stay in the mind long after the film ends.
Spartans vs. PersiansThe film may look spectacular, but what most critics object to is its simplistic portrayal of Persians as bad guys and Spartans as good guys. While neither civilization was what we'd today call progressive, the film's juxtaposition is fairly accurate. On the one hand, there were the Persians with a military made up largely of slave conscripts and bent on conquest. On the other, there were Spartan and Thespian citizen soldiers defending their freedom. The film alludes to this contrast when the Persian King Xerxes, in wooing the Greek traitor Ephialtes to his side, says disdainfully: "Leonidas would have you stand. All I ask is that you kneel."
The differences between the two cultures' treatment of women is also evident throughout the film. The relationship between King Leonidas and his wife is that of equals; indeed, Queen Gorgo is as much a partner in her husband's political life as she is at home. This does not go unnoticed by a Persian emissary, who, while meeting with Leonidas and Gorgo to demand Sparta's surrender, questions why "this woman thinks she can speak amongst men?" To which she answers, "Only Spartan women give birth to real men."
Yet Spartan culture is not entirely glorified in the film. The practice of infanticide when newborns were deformed or seen as weak is portrayed in "300" and not in a sympathetic fashion. Like just about every other civilization of the ancient world, Spartan society included a slave class, in its case called the Helots.
Mullocracy vs. RealityStill, the contrast between the Spartans and the Persians in "300" cannot be denied, which may account for another of the film's critics -- the Iranian government. Rankled by the depiction of Spartans as heroic and Persians as oppressive, Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham called the film a "cultural intrusion against Iran" and threatened that "the Iranian nation and those involved in cultural activities [would] respond to such a cultural aggression."
In the sort of paranoid, anti-Semitic approach that has become emblematic of the Iranian government, the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network chalked the film up to the machinations of the "famous and rich American Jew." Presumably, that would be the founder (actually, there were four, all brothers) of Warner Bros. Pictures, which, for good measure, IRINN TV labeled the "Zionist Warner Company."
If the Iranian government truly objected to the film's depiction of the age-old conflict between East and West, it might want to temper its own belligerence. For such commentary comes during a time when Iran is holding 15 British sailors for allegedly entering their waters, even though they were picked up in Iraqi territorial waters. The seizure may be an attempt to try to distract the international community from its focus on Iran's nuclear program, seeing as the U.N. Security Council toughened its sanctions against the country just this past week. Either that or the Iranian government is trying to provoke Britain and the United States into a military reaction with what is in fact an act of war. It doesn't help that Iran continues to be a proven player in the insurgency in Iraq, helping to cause the sort of chaos and destruction that is affecting Coalition troops and fellow Muslims alike.
At the same time, the Mullocracy that rules Iran presides over a largely unsupportive and restive populace -- one that, when put to the test, is actually among the most pro-American in the Muslim world. So perhaps the Iranian government's thin-skinned reaction to a simple piece of entertainment hints at a larger insecurity of its own making.
While at the end of the day "300" is merely a film, its historical lessons are well taken. In a time when some would have us capitulate to tyranny instead of fighting -- not only for our freedom, but for that of other, subjugated peoples -- the example of the brave Spartans is one we would do well to follow.
This, it seems, is what the critics don't understand.
Cinnamon Stillwell is a San Francisco writer. She can be reached at
[email protected]. Read her blog at cinnamonstillwell.blogspot.com/.
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