What the h*** was this movie "about?!"

[Willowhugger]

What the hell is 300 about?

It's about 300 extremely macho men wearing no armor and wielding spears fighting the Orcs of Mordor. That's what its about.

At heart, it's purely escapism because the Spartans aren't totally admirable but extremists that no audience in their right mind would want to exactly duplicate.

On the other hand, they possess admirable qualities. Still, the primary quality of this movie is to shock and awe audiences with its over the top behavior.

 

[whorehalo]

ymmmm de sex no?

 

[Nivek]

yeah... someone needs attention?

 

[Spider-Who?]

Bullsear, I think you are overreacting, over analysing and overbearing in your opinions. Thats alot of overing. Too much even.

Yes, I understand that you want this thread to be discussing the possible "deeper meanings" an attempt to translate the symbolism you found in this movie. Your thread is an attempt to dissect an elegant piece of film making and I respect that. ...only that.

First off, if you want to start a discussion like this, it would be wise to lead by example. In other words, instead of shouting from the mountian top "THERE IS A DEEPER MEANING HERE!!!", why dont you provide your OWN thoughts on the deeper meaning, your OWN ideas on what was symbolic and how it was so. Maybe no one saw what you did, or the way you did. Maybe by letting them in on it, they might see it too, and even offer alternate ideas.

If you just shout out that there is more to the movie then meets the eye, then offer nothing to cement your idea, then you will be falling on deaf ears; which is exactly what is happening now.

SO, what, my dear Bullsear, do YOU find symbolic about the movie? What did your eyes see that caused your mind to ponder such things as a deeper meaning in a very simple, straight forward war movie?

 

[Hyperion1320]

While 300 is a gorgeous, well-done piece of fantasy, it would be a huge loss to take it just as a gory, sexy, popcorn flick. Beyond Iraq and Bush, I believe the movie taps into some very deep, archetypal themes that are ingrained into the human psyche. The Spartans were an extreme warrior society, bred, trained and cultured to be killers. They fight to defend their sense of honor and autonomy, as ordained by their laws and society. The Persian army was a collection of mercenaries and slave, men who lived by the sword and died by the sword, under the iron fist of a leader who identifies himself with Divinity. They fight for conquest and glory, or because of a whip at their back. I think it is important that we can see these two forces battle and see what comes of it. The Spartans, despite their conviction, die. The Persians, despite their grandeur and overwhelming numbers, fail in taking Greece. Instead of viewing the Spartans as good and the Persians as evil, look from a higher perspective. They both fight for ideas they believe in. They think, therefore they fight. And ultimately, they are consumed by their violence. The deeper message of the film might be to find other ways to create change in the world beyond physical violence. The Queen's role is an interesting one. She uses her words and her sexuality, in addition to wielding a blade. Her efforts, too, are in vain, and fail to save her husband. Does her address to the Council help in the Greeks later ability to unite? Perhaps. Ultimately, the fruit of anyone's actions can only be determined in a larger scope, in a cumulative effect that ripples out over time and space. We must be careful what we put out there.

 

[GL1]

what, does every freakin movie now days have to have some stupid political meaning?

Because people have:
A) Subconcious thoughts
B) Assumptions about their world

No matter what they create this subconcious thoughts and assumptions creep into their creations... It doesn't matter whether or not the director means to put messages into a movie, he draws on his brain, a brain which contains his biased picture of the world. If he explores themes (Honor, Duty, Glory, Combat and Victory) then they are explored from his biased perspective, with his assumptions, correct or not, and parallels to real life, where he got those assumptions and subconcoius thoughts from, can be drawn.

Some psychologists make a living analyzing writing for the thoughts of it's writer, even though he did not mean to put them down... even if it's a completely fictional story...

To assume that there are no messages within a movie, simply because you didn't see them, or would like to enjoy the surface level of a movie, or because the director didn't mean to put them there, then you are making an ignorant assumption. I believe if you continue your education, particularly in psychology or philosphy or human behavior, you will find that you are wrong.



As for what this movie was about?
Martyrdom. Plain and simple. This movie centered around the concept of dying for the freedom of others... that's your climax. To say that that theme has relevance in today's Join-the-Army-but-we-won't-draft-you world is an understatement and "Freedom don't come free" type propaganda found it's way into the movie, no doubt. The power of a martyr turned everything around. Look at the Civil Rights movement... heck, look at Iraqi insurgents... would they fight so hard if they hadn't seen Saddam hung on international television live? Not likely. Jesus Christ. No, literally, Jesus Christ. Martyrdom is, quite possibly, the most powerful thing in the world, and it was Leonidas' plan to use it to save his people from the beginning.

And Freedom. The power to bow to no man. The movie slyly posits that for such a right, to have no master, one must die. Xerxes bows to no man, but he is not free, for he has to serve his own imaginary godhood, and thus, is not truly free... Leonidas is, but he cannot remain free and live, and so he chooses death... but then isn't death unavoidable... wouldn't he just prolong his death by waiting in the city at the orders of the council? "What must a free man do?" A free man must die... obviously... and back to martyrdom.

There are other minor themes here, you can draw parallels to any army that believes it's cause noble and it's enemy overpowering, so that includes viewing the either the Spartans OR Xerxes as Bush/America in the Iraqui war, depending upon what you want to focus on... there is some anti-religious sentiment to be had (not exactly rare nowadays, is it? I swear, no one knows what balance is anymore), with the only religion portrayed being strictly adhered to and obviously corrupt and wholly incorrect. The illusion of kindess is implied (the good guys are cruel, and the villain is kind (why did they center on that so hard?)). As the origional post posted, there is a TON of imagery here, and you don't have to 'dig deep' and come up with imaginative parallels for the spartans pushing the persians off the cliff... the messages are hit over the head of the alert pretty thoroughly...

Doesn't make it not a good movie... doesn't mean the action doesn't take center stage, but I'm not going to blind myself to something simply because it's inconvenient for some...

 

[Willowhugger]

This movie is about the King of Sparta allowing himself to be the sexual plaything of the God King in order to save the world before realizing the King has no intention of playing fair then killing him.

Oh wait, thats the woman's plot.

 

[El Bastardo]

Those are some incredibly well-written and brilliant thoughts, GL1. Definitely.

It's really hard, though, to speculate upon what the writer or director (or both, though Snyder did a really, really nice job at direct transition from graphic novel to screen - so mostly Miller) were putting into the film so far as meaning. The question, then, should be like any thought-provoking movie (which this definitely is, as opposed to, say, an Arnold action flick or a Diesel action flick), or any thought-provoking piece of literary work - what do we, the readers, get out of it? What meaning do we find in the work, rather than what meaning do we suspect the writer had for it.

I mean, that said, martyrdom is what you saw in it. And it's obviously there, of course, but what's the message? The bit about freedom, and the only way to be a free man is to die, could be open for debate... mostly because there's no specificity. By the same relations you were making, Leonidas was defending freedom and living in a self-proclaimed free society, but he was never really free because he was a slave to his duties as a king. In which case, was anyone really free? But that's too much philosophizing. It's easier to say that he did not want himself, or his wife, or his son, or his people, to be slave to any man - in this case Xerxes - and chose to fight - it only became martyrdom when they knew they'd die. That said, Leonidas probably knew they'd die as soon as he chose to go, hence the way the 300 were chosen... and yes, I certainly agree with your statement that Xerxes was a slave to his own grandiose delusions.

Listening to interviews by the people involved - Butler especially, but also Snyder, and Miller - it's really very much about martyrdom. And it's about conviction. Each viewer can decide whether that martyrdom is to be seen in a positive or negative light, but even from the movie's portrayal it's obvious that the Spartans are the "good" guys and the Persian Empire the "bad" guys. The film and graphic novel both, very much, glorify and lionize the Spartans. (This is more toward Hyperion's post, above.) I don't think there's any real message about whether or not violence is the right approach to things, but rather that the Spartans should be commended for fighting against the odds, defending their beliefs, defending freedom, and dying to do such (indeed, even for them finding their glorious deaths that their society urged them to find).

Wow, this got long.

 

[Cmill216]

The film for me was about how far pride and dedication will take a man when the things he loves are threatened by forces that he supposedly cannot overcome.