300.... and more

So, yes, I watched 300.

When I finished reading the comic, a few years back, I remember actually wiping tears from my eyes. When I finished watching this film (I’m toying with the idea of using the term ‘really long video-clip'), I was similarly touched, especially during the last 5 minutes, but my eyes were far from moist.

The only beef I had with the film adaptation was Gorgo’s part in the development of the story. The added scenes (that is, the scenes that were not in the graphic novel), took the story a few paces off its target, inputting factors and side-stories (and characters) that felt obsolete, like they were just thrown in to (hastily) commercially complete the product. In other words, for me, the character of Gorgo was included just to get more ladies in the cinema (as if Gerard Butler was not enough). Furthermore, I feel that the existence of a second traitor in one film was too much, all the while diminishing the tragic role of Ephialtis who is the traitor in this story. In all, I feel like the director took a few unnecessary liberties with the script- but that is not to say that he does not deserve compliments for an excellent long video-clip, with stunning effects and cinematography. As an adaptation from a graphic novel i would say that 300 is almost a masterpiece.

As for the fantasy elements, the grotesque monster-like slaves, the… persogres, the rhinos/elephants, the ninja-immortals, all that… it’s just extreme images meant to capture the imagination. In addition, it helped me form the image of a vast, vast empire of thousands of nations… a huge army that moved and absorbed miraculous warriors and unique creatures as it swallowed nations whole. So, yes, on the way, ninjas joined its ranks, as well as savages, shamans, nomads and African tribes- sure, why not? It should also be noted that the medium of graphic novels was always based on exaggerations and hyperboles, on surreal and extreme approaches (although the last two decades have witnessed a complete 180 degree turn in this notion, with works like Alan Moore’s The Watchmen beating down on the stereotypical superhero model). In other words: this was based on a graphic novel. This has been written/said many times, but it’s really what it’s all about. Don’t ever, ever expect to take accurate history lessons from a major blockbuster (even less when it’s based on a graphic novel). It’s basically mythology mixed with some selected pieces of History- one can easily argue that Spartans were not that high in the morality section: how humane is it to kill the cripple newborn, to live for death? Were they ‘noble warriors of the light that defended the weak and protected justice” or just merciless, killing machines of no culture? What do I think? Like I wrote before- I just see both sides of the same coin. Truth be told, when I visited the tomb of Thermopylae, I felt like approaching a holy site- I almost instinctively crossed myself before realizing that this has nothing to do with Christianity (duh). But it’s so awe-inspiring that I caught myself using this ultimate expression of respect.



Some Greeks here feel insulted. It’s not that the film does not portray the courageous efforts of their ancestors (every nation has the right to feel proud when its History inspires the world); they feel that this almost holy affair has been used as a propaganda vessel, as a parallel between the strong, courageous West fighting the evil East, ignoring the laws. This here is a very delicate issue; generally I tend to see both sides of the coin though. While this hypothesis reeks of paranoia and near-sightedness, I read somewhere that the film was sponsored by the US government. What was that? Did Jack Snyder deliberately film this specific adaptation to instill feelings of militarism to the masses (especially when its target audience was, let’s face it, males 18 to 28?). Or is it possible that, if you are paranoid enough, you can see propaganda everywhere? In some kind of distorted prism, can’t any single story be used as a propaganda tool?

One thing is sure- the other offended party, Iran, should not feel offended. No one could ever possibly dare of offending their cultural and their ancestors, as it was truly a magnificent culture that affected in a positive way the shaping of this earth’s culture. This is a war that took place 2.500 years ago, and although there was an attacker and a defender, no one can put labels on who the ‘bad guys’ and ‘good guys’ were. Really, Tehran should not be offended. It’s like NASA feeling offended at Star Wars .

What pains me the most is that the one who is furthest from that model, is the modern greek. His only concern is how to make his car go faster, how many coffees he can drink basking in the sun, if his favorite soccer team wins and how much work he can skip without getting caught. The main daily target, at any given time, is to make it through the next greek holiday, which is always tied with large quantities of food and drink. Our accomplishments are so trivial that we have to look back three thousand years ago for inspiring deeds to marvel.