Fist of all, I know 300 was written before Bush became president. It’s the use of the film and the highlighting of specific ideas here and now that makes this film a very intentional work of propaganda. 300 is about as rightwing as it gets so it doesn't come as any kind of shock to see rightwing ideas of the past, being the same notions and ideas we're fighting today.
The film promotes eugenics, the one flawed baby that survived do to the weakness of his patents went on to be the downfall of the whole. As much as he wanted to be worthy, he could not. As Leonidas points out, he would be the weak link that destroys the whole, they fight as a single impenetrable unit. “a single week spot and the phalanx shatters” “Only the hard and strong may call themselves Spartans, only the hard and strong,”
The film reads like a neocon phrasebook.
“never retreat, never surrender.”
“freedom isn‘t free, it comes with the highest costs, the costs of blood”
“For Freedom to the Death”
“Spartans never retreat, Spartans never surrender”
“No retreat, no surrender, THAT, is Spartan law and by Spartan law we will fight and die”
Much of the film plays like a recruitment TV advertisement for the military:
“We march for our lands, for our families”
“for honor, for duty, for glory sake, we march”
Diseased old mystics, remnants of a senseless tradition. Tradition that even Lionidas cannot defy He must respect the law that is this tradition. No Sparta is above the law. But the tradition is corrupt, sold out to Xerxes and the politicians are sold out to the enemy and only loyal to gain played through politics, they do not represent the people and it is in fact the queen who claims to represent the unheard voices of the military families, a false claim made by King George and his neocons supporters… neocons also constantly accuse dems of the same betrayals.
“Then what must a king do when the very laws he is sworn to protect force him to do nothing” “It is not a question of what a Spartan citizen should do… instead ask yourself, what should a FREE man do?” Answer: GO AROUND THE LAW, and that’s what Lionidas does and that’s what Bush has done.
Justification for Bush’s behavior from beginning to end… I’m sure this movie will be good for a 10 point jump in his approval ratings.
The movie is openly anti-gay making several anti-gay statements. Xerxes is depicted as an androgynous figure… which is strange to see anti-gay Spartans since so many historians say Spartan warriors practiced homosexuality and strange marriage practices that reflected homosexual preferences.
The film is racist:
There has been an attempt by the right to associate African people with Persians… I can only fathom the extremist minds that do this are so bigoted that they see the perfect villainization of a character is to make them black. Several if not most Persians in the film appear as black and all appear very dark skinned, while the Spartans are all light skinned. This is not a true reflection of the Persians, the fact is they have closer racial ties to whites than blacks. It could be argued that there would have been some blacks with such an expansive empire the Persians in 300 looked like they marched out of Africa through Egypt.
Persians
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20363431@N00/135305318/“I am Dariush, the great king, the king of kings
The king of many countries and many people
The king of this expansive land,
The son of Wishtaspa of Achaemenid,
Persian, the son of a Persian,
'Aryan', from the Aryan race”
Captain: “I have filled my heart with hate”
Leonidas: “Good”
Good is White, Evil is Black... Xerxes is surrounded by evil imagery, a baphomet like figure plays flute. Xerxes is kind and repeats he is kind and will allow all the pleasures denied by the conservative greek culture and gods. (effort to depict aspects of Xerxes as liberal and liberal as evil)
Again, there is a complete villianization of the people’s representatives who are in league with the enemy and traitors to the homeland, even going as far as raping the queen and using the situation for personal gain. The politicians are complete nimrods incapable of seeing the danger until the enemy is revealed splayed out on the floor of the Council or rather there is no political motive for them until they are forced. The film portrays the politicians as evil as the enemy.
(Neocon style Support the Troops speech and do so with blind faith)The Queen is not at the council to represent the king, she’s there to represent all the people who cannot be heard. One would think the representatives at the council are there for that too. Send the army to defend Liberty, Justice, Law and Order, for reason but most importantly for hope. Hope for the truth and that the actions of the council will reflect their bravery. Basically a support the troops speech, she is there for the 300 families on the front lines fighting that cannot be heard.
We rescue a world from mysticism and tyranny?
