War propaganda? In MY entertainment?

[Kokoba]

It's more likely than you think.

This discussion will probably be spoilerific, for those of you who haven't yet seen it.

So Frenrir and I just got back from seeing 300. And while I liked the movie, I couldn't help but notice extremely jingoistic overtones that honestly disturb me. I'm still waffling on whether it's just coincidence, or something more...icky? tasteless? Fill in the appropriate adjective here. I figure talking it over with you folks will help me come up with an answer.

There are basically two big things about the movie that made my eyebrows go up a bit.

1. Leonidas doesn't have permission, according to Spartan law, to go to war, but he goes anyway, and in the movie it's "justified" because the council/lawmaking official types are portrayed pretty much as either corrupt (the priests, Theron) or incompetent/clueless (the old dudes in the council), and I guess you can interpret that as you will, though it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

2. There is constant talk of "free men" fighting against "tyranny" and defending "liberty," "reason," etc. Just lots of buzzword dropping.

Granted, this 300 is based on the Frank Miller comics (which predate the Iraq war), which is in turn influenced The 300 Spartans from 1962, which is in the earlier years of the Vietnam War, and so it could be just be residual 1960s attitudes leaking in. But I don't know, I haven't read the comics. I want to, because any differences between the movie and the original would be pretty telling.

So anyway, I'll cut myself off there. What do youse guys make of it?

[Digs]

Any movie about Sparta's going to be at least modestly jingoistic, I figure. Considering DC's general politics, I don't think they meant it to be any kind of tool for making this particular war any more popular, tho'. Perhaps they meant it as a reminder that war is capable of being a just tool.

Also, don't think those centipede meme overtones went unnoticed, they were an amusing touch.

[Kokoba]

Apparently Frank Miller is something of an ultra-nationalist, so that kind of stuff is going to leak into a war story whether you mean it to or not. (I've been discussing this with other friends, who are bigger comic book nerds than me.)

The movie has gotten a bit of flak for such stuff, apparently, and the director has responded by saying, "We wanted to make a movie about men stomping the shit out of each other. Criticizing it for politics is missing the point." (parpahrased) And other reviewers have said that it's just too silly to think it's trying to say anything politically.

I guess I was just kind of surprised (and irritated) to hear buzzwords like FREE MEN and FIGHT AGAINST TYRANNY and all of that in a movie about the battle of Thermopylae. I don't think that was something the Greeks were thinking about when Xerxes was breathing down their necks. Again, I haven't read the original so I don't know if Miller included those bits or if that's filler.

And the "lolol she's adulteress" scene is total WTFery. That makes no sense in the historical context, either.

PS lolol centipedes

[punkinside]

well, of course its a bit "embellished" but the battle of Thermopylae was a real event as far as we know (archeological evidence supports it) and Leonidas did go to wage war without permission. The stuff about freedom and all that may have very well been made up, but don't read that much into it. It was a hell of a good movie!

[-AoG-Kero]

It was a great movie with alot of kickass scenes and such but i highly doubt it was made specifically to raise spirit. It might have inspired some drunks to sign up with the army but thats it lol.

Now the time it was released is a bit suspicous but that would be the only way to take it. I think it was just meant to be a good movie

[Can Not]

first off--lol, 4chan.

I didn't care, whatever war propaganda that was in this movie did not get in the way of the ass-poundingly sweet fight scene that I desperately looked forward to.

[Lunchbox]

I think too much is being read into it. It's an embellishment of a real-life event turned into a comic book. People who want to find conspiracy theories and hidden meanings are going to find them no matter what. I think everyone else should just enjoy the film for what it is, not what others want it to be.

Hell, they're even finding hidden shit in Moby Dick (http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/dilugim/moby.html)!

[Can Not]

I think too much is being read into it. It's an embellishment of a real-life event turned into a comic book. People who want to find conspiracy theories and hidden meanings are going to find them no matter what. I think everyone else should just enjoy the film for what it is, not what others want it to be.

Hell, they're even finding hidden shit in Moby Dick (http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/dilugim/moby.html)!

Oh lack of god, that gave me a good laugh.