50s machismo has come a long way
Before I saw 300 I had read a lot about, how there are apparent parallels between the film and current American politics, and fortunately I think I've seen it in just enough time to catch the bandwagon. No no, I'm not going to shove any more Liberal vs. Conservative nonsense down your collective throats; I'm going to shove a different brand of nonsense down your throats: good ol' sexism!
For those of you who aren't aware, 300 is a movie based on the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller - a big name in comics and the writer of the Sin City series - which follows Spartan warriors in leather thongs fighting off 600 bajillion Persian soldiers in different colored leather thongs.
Now, this isn't a review (there are plenty of those, I'm sure), think of this as more of an observation. From the very beginning of the movie, we've got the western idea of masculinity penetrating our skulls and thrusting violently back and forth through our minds.
We're supposed to believe that the Spartans are the good guys and right away we're told that no Spartan (aka man) is ever to reveal any sign of weakness (aka emotion) or he won't be considered a real Spartan (aka man).
As soon as King Leonidas, played by Gerard Butler, who was cast as a very interesting Beowulf in the humanized version of the epic in the indie film Beowulf and Grendel, shows up on screen you get exactly what you paid for; a guy with lots of muscles screaming and a lot of fighting.
It's a little past the opening scene and we've got a little kid learning to fight, maim and kill. Throughout the entire movie he doesn't have a single line of dialogue, but we see him learning war tactics straight from the get go.
Some of the first few lines are educating the kid with a cliché: dad says fight with the head, then mom says fight with the heart. Appropriate, a combination of male logos and female pathos. Because first you're supposed to think, then feel (which, if you need me to tell you, is certainly not always the case). The male characteristic is said first, followed by the less emphasized female characteristic. And of course, real men are never associated with the female characteristic and women are never associated with the male one.
Moving on, in the next scene, Messenger for Tyrannous Dictator comes with a message and tells Leonidas that Tyrannous Dictator wants an offering of dirt and water so the two kingdoms can get along: doesn't sound like a bad deal at all. Somewhere along the lines Leonidas' wife steps in and spews insults to the messenger to which he asks, “Why does this woman think she can speak among men?” She responds with, “Because Spartan women are the only women that give birth to real men,” simultaneously defending and lowering the female station in life.
Anyway, the messenger says this offering supposed to be a sign of submission, which is an insult to Leonidas' pride: it's officially on. Leonidas considers the offer mentioning that the nearby Athenians refused and that if a bunch of “philosophers and boy lovers” can turn Tyrannous Dictator down, than why shouldn't the Spartans?
Leonidas screams a lot and then kicks the messenger into a well (you got served) because God forbid he be upstaged by “philosophers and boy lovers.” This is probably the best display of masculinity in the movie: a king sends a nation to war to uphold his image, and there's no bigger part of masculinity than fear of what other people think of you.
So the King tries to get permission from the council, who refuse to send an army to war against a larger and richer nation for such a poor reason, and Leonidas just goes anyway. The wife and son send him off tearfully while the narrator specifies that he betrays no emotion (because he's all man). Then Leonidas and his 299 other bronzed, shirtless men march off in a scene that in no way could be the opening to a big-budget porno (come to think of it, with the number of orgies in this movie, that's not really that far off).
The last bit I'll touch on is after the first battle, when we finally meet Tyrannical Dictator who we're supposed to detest because of his ego. Leonidas, who we're supposed to adore for his ego, offers to meet with him saying, “There's no reason we can't be civil,” while one of the shirtless extras impales a wounded man on a spear. This is intentional (it's supposed to get laughs) and it does — but it furthers the point of headstrong masculinity: sure, we can talk about it, but why do that when we can fight. Of course the talking only provokes further violence (is there any other point of talking?).
There's more I could talk about - like the political council not wanting to support a brazen and irresponsible leader, about how women are repeatedly used as sex symbols and nothing more, about how diplomacy is a tool of cowards, how acting without thinking is so much manlier, about how any emotion other than hate, anger or horniness is useless - but I think I've made my point already.
Again, this isn't a review: I actually liked the movie, but by the end it's so filled with macho ideology that it gets a little (aka extremely) absurd. Frank Miller is a writer, and I'd bet my dying dollar that he's killed a lot less people than the “philosophers and boy lovers” that he makes fun of repeatedly in his work. The movie is just a testosterone stimulant from beginning to end and if you're going to see it (or have already) you should be aware of that. But just try not to think to hard, leave that for the women.
For those of you who aren't aware, 300 is a movie based on the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller - a big name in comics and the writer of the Sin City series - which follows Spartan warriors in leather thongs fighting off 600 bajillion Persian soldiers in different colored leather thongs.
Now, this isn't a review (there are plenty of those, I'm sure), think of this as more of an observation. From the very beginning of the movie, we've got the western idea of masculinity penetrating our skulls and thrusting violently back and forth through our minds.
We're supposed to believe that the Spartans are the good guys and right away we're told that no Spartan (aka man) is ever to reveal any sign of weakness (aka emotion) or he won't be considered a real Spartan (aka man).
As soon as King Leonidas, played by Gerard Butler, who was cast as a very interesting Beowulf in the humanized version of the epic in the indie film Beowulf and Grendel, shows up on screen you get exactly what you paid for; a guy with lots of muscles screaming and a lot of fighting.
It's a little past the opening scene and we've got a little kid learning to fight, maim and kill. Throughout the entire movie he doesn't have a single line of dialogue, but we see him learning war tactics straight from the get go.
Some of the first few lines are educating the kid with a cliché: dad says fight with the head, then mom says fight with the heart. Appropriate, a combination of male logos and female pathos. Because first you're supposed to think, then feel (which, if you need me to tell you, is certainly not always the case). The male characteristic is said first, followed by the less emphasized female characteristic. And of course, real men are never associated with the female characteristic and women are never associated with the male one.
Moving on, in the next scene, Messenger for Tyrannous Dictator comes with a message and tells Leonidas that Tyrannous Dictator wants an offering of dirt and water so the two kingdoms can get along: doesn't sound like a bad deal at all. Somewhere along the lines Leonidas' wife steps in and spews insults to the messenger to which he asks, “Why does this woman think she can speak among men?” She responds with, “Because Spartan women are the only women that give birth to real men,” simultaneously defending and lowering the female station in life.
Anyway, the messenger says this offering supposed to be a sign of submission, which is an insult to Leonidas' pride: it's officially on. Leonidas considers the offer mentioning that the nearby Athenians refused and that if a bunch of “philosophers and boy lovers” can turn Tyrannous Dictator down, than why shouldn't the Spartans?
Leonidas screams a lot and then kicks the messenger into a well (you got served) because God forbid he be upstaged by “philosophers and boy lovers.” This is probably the best display of masculinity in the movie: a king sends a nation to war to uphold his image, and there's no bigger part of masculinity than fear of what other people think of you.
So the King tries to get permission from the council, who refuse to send an army to war against a larger and richer nation for such a poor reason, and Leonidas just goes anyway. The wife and son send him off tearfully while the narrator specifies that he betrays no emotion (because he's all man). Then Leonidas and his 299 other bronzed, shirtless men march off in a scene that in no way could be the opening to a big-budget porno (come to think of it, with the number of orgies in this movie, that's not really that far off).
The last bit I'll touch on is after the first battle, when we finally meet Tyrannical Dictator who we're supposed to detest because of his ego. Leonidas, who we're supposed to adore for his ego, offers to meet with him saying, “There's no reason we can't be civil,” while one of the shirtless extras impales a wounded man on a spear. This is intentional (it's supposed to get laughs) and it does — but it furthers the point of headstrong masculinity: sure, we can talk about it, but why do that when we can fight. Of course the talking only provokes further violence (is there any other point of talking?).
There's more I could talk about - like the political council not wanting to support a brazen and irresponsible leader, about how women are repeatedly used as sex symbols and nothing more, about how diplomacy is a tool of cowards, how acting without thinking is so much manlier, about how any emotion other than hate, anger or horniness is useless - but I think I've made my point already.
Again, this isn't a review: I actually liked the movie, but by the end it's so filled with macho ideology that it gets a little (aka extremely) absurd. Frank Miller is a writer, and I'd bet my dying dollar that he's killed a lot less people than the “philosophers and boy lovers” that he makes fun of repeatedly in his work. The movie is just a testosterone stimulant from beginning to end and if you're going to see it (or have already) you should be aware of that. But just try not to think to hard, leave that for the women.
