Thread: 300

WOW! Already 70 M$ in its first weekend.

"The third-highest grossing start for an R-rated movie, behind The Matrix Reloaded and The Passion of the Christ" - BoxOfficeMojo

I am going to see this in imax with my friend!

Saw the movie last night with my friends. Man it was kickass. One of the best movies I have seen in a long while. I would recommend this movie to anyone who loves action.

Epic.


I think the numbers 300 should now be a god number.

I saw it on Saturday night, I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I came out very impressed. That Persian king guy was one creepy mofo though. Anyone else see the new Spiderman 3 trailer with venom, or the Grindhouse one? They both looked cool.

Finally saw it yesterday.

Ok i understand this is an action-packed pop-corn blockbuster, and it totally delivers in that area. But i found the movie to be ideologically disturbing. Its depiction of races is totally biased. Again, White is good and Black/brown is evil. And in times like these (Persia=Iran), there's undoubtly an underlying political message.

Oh, and what about that cheesy queen dialogue, talk about freedom? Sparta was a bloody dictatorship, give me a break!

Fuck this shit. Sorry i couldn't leave my brain outside before watching it.

Originally Posted by Unicorn

Ok i understand this is an action-packed pop-corn blockbuster, and it totally delivers in that area. But i found the movie to be ideologically disturbing. Its depiction of races is totally biased. Again, White is good and Black/brown is evil. And in times like these (Persia=Iran), there's undoubtly an underlying political message.
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It was based on a comic so I doubt it had all the messages in it. Maybe your just over thinking it?

And wasn't it based on Spartans who were Grecian (white-ish) vs. the Persians (brown-ish?) How else were the races supposed to be portrayed?

I didn't find any sort of racial message in it.

Of course, the racial/civilizational message isn't shoved in our faces, it's very subtle and sometimes plays on the unconscious level. Do you really think it's a pure coincidence that Persians have black horses? A very trivial detail, but far from innocent. Look closely the next time.

I dunno, man. I think you're reading too far into it.

I mean, think about comics. Think about art, in general.

How often does black/night/darkness portray the villain? I noticed all that black (the Immortals' black attire, for example) but saw it as nothing more than the archetypal use of coloring to portray the villains. Maybe that characterization, initially, has a racial origin? I don't know.

In Lord of the Rings, the Nazgul(sp) rode nightblack horses. How many of the good guys (Gandalf, Arowin(sp)) rode white horses?

I see symbolism, sure, but not necessarily the kind you're seeing.

Lol unicorn. No there are not hidden messages in the movie that are out to pollute our minds.

I can't see how you can say there are hidden messages in this movie. Its based ona real event. These two sides did clash in a way similar. Black horses, yes it could mean that the riders are bad but not bad because they're persians. Bad because they're the invading army! Geez.

Oh, and ancient greece wasn't actually really a dictotorship. Note the council etc.? It was actually based on a democratic system.

Havnt seen this movie yet, but it looks amazing!
I loved the original movie

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

How often does black/night/darkness portray the villain? I noticed all that black (the Immortals' black attire, for example) but saw it as nothing more than the archetypal use of coloring to portray the villains.[/b]

Do you think the use of Black as evil would have been the same with black filmmakers/graphic novelists?

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Maybe that characterization, initially, has a racial origin? I don't know.[/b]

[To arby] If you want to see this movie as only a brainless action movie, good for you, because that's exactly what it is. I'm just trying to discuss the depiction of good/evil in races nowadays. And to me, the excessive representation of dark-skinned people as evil is just plain unacceptable, by today's standards.

Originally Posted by Unicorn

Do you think the use of Black as evil would have been the same with black filmmakers/graphic novelists?
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Well, being a black artist/RPer/Short-Story writer, I've often used black in that same way. I don't put any ties to black/white symbolism and race in my fiction. I have both black and white (skinned) good guys and black/white villans. Many of my characters are modelled around the times and areas they live in - in which, if I'd written "300," my good guys would have been closer to caucasion, and the villans would have had darker skin.
When trying to go for the traditional evil/black style, to show symbolism, though, I have no problem with dressing my villans in all black and my good guys in anything but. I have a hard time seeing that that standard is something that was set in reference to race. (Like I said, maybe it was? I don't know. I doubt it, though.) I think it refers more to the contrast of night and day, light and darkness, etc.

So, to answer your question: I don't know. I think it depends on the novelist, not necessarily the race of the novelist.

Bad guys always have black horses. Let's stop being racist against black horses.

Ok, Oneironaut, fair enough.

Originally Posted by Unicorn

Finally saw it yesterday.

Ok i understand this is an action-packed pop-corn blockbuster, and it totally delivers in that area. But i found the movie to be ideologically disturbing. Its depiction of races is totally biased. Again, White is good and Black/brown is evil. And in times like these (Persia=Iran), there's undoubtly an underlying political message.

Oh, and what about that cheesy queen dialogue, talk about freedom? Sparta was a bloody dictatorship, give me a break!

Fuck this shit. Sorry i couldn't leave my brain outside before watching it.
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Hey, of course all of the eastern people are evil! The movie was written from the Greeks' perspective, so of course the Persians are seen as the bad guys, just as the Germans are seen as the bad guys in most of the WW2 movies.

And Sparta was not an dictatorship; it was an oligarchy.

Originally Posted by Unicorn

Oh, and ancient greece wasn't actually really a dictotorship. Note the council etc.? It was actually based on a democratic system.
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Ancient Greece was by no means unified; it had lots of city-states with different political systems. Athens and her allies had democracy, Sparta and her allies had oligarchy, and Macedonia to the north was a kingdom. I can't remember what Thebes was, but if I remember correctly, they were an oligarchy at first and turned into a democracy.

Originally Posted by King

And Sparta was not an dictatorship; it was an oligarchy.
Ancient Greece was by no means unified; it had lots of city-states with different political systems. Athens and her allies had democracy, Sparta and her allies had oligarchy, and Macedonia to the north was a kingdom. I can't remember what Thebes was, but if I remember correctly, they were an oligarchy at first and turned into a democracy.
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Yeah, Oligarchy is pretty close to democracy. Power split between many. My point being that it wasn't a dictatorship. =P

I really wonder how many people look at the movie and think "Oh, they wern't fighting for freedom in the actual battle (to the extent that each would willingly lay down his life for nothing but). That part was just made up and is 100% romanticized." I really detest people who look down their noses at the ancient cultures =/. Although they probably wern't yelling "THIS.. IS.. SPARTA!!!!" they were in ancient grece fighting for their freedom and the freedom of their country. If you had a scenario where 300 allied troops held back a million axis troops in world war 2 then you'd be using the same concepts as this movie.

Just because the nazis would be portrayed as evil it doesn't in any way mean that modern day germans want to come into your house and murder your children either. I see this sort of connection as kinda silly =/.

In fact, there is one scenario that you can directly relate this to. The Alamo. Its the same situation (exept the people in the Alamo got totally owned XD). Yet, people respect the men who gave up their live in the Alamo but think the 300 Spartans were idiots. I don't understand them. (oh, and i'm not really talking about you guys anymore. this is other people =/)

Originally Posted by arby

Just because the nazis would be portrayed as evil it doesn't in any way mean that modern day germans want to come into your house and murder your children either. I see this sort of connection as kinda silly =/.[/b]

They don't? Shit, I missed out on stuff then - Every time someone of German descent even passed by my place I hid and hung up a sign "Abandoned".

On a more serious note, I'm going to see 300 soon. I hear it's very mucho goodo.

dudes, look at what i found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGRYxWA8Xk8



(i don't know what you think, but at least I found it funny... but whatever...)

There's a documentary("Last Stand of the 300") on the History channel right now(8pm est) id anyone is interested.

300 was one of the BEST, if not the best movie I have ever seen.
The formations, battles, and graphics were nearly flawless!
Frank Miller did an EXCELLENT job with this one. Much better than Sin City!

Allright - haven't seen it yet (hard to believe considering how hooked I am on the trailer alone&#33 but I am likely going this weekend at some point.

However, while the short, carefully chosen glimpses of the preview has me quite enthusiastic about it, some of the things I've heard so far are sort of making me think that I might be led into some mild dissapointment.

I love movies with special FX, and whose cinematography is shot with an artistic eye. This flick looks to be packed with both. But I keep hearing "graphic violence" and "decapitation" over and over from people who have seen this - and to be honest, to me that shit is just old. Gross movies just don't do it for me and haven't for a while. The choreography of battlescenes and syncronized explosions is one thing, but the use of graphic detail in violence sometimes comes accross as... well, gimmicky. This movie was advertised as being "ground breaking" and set to "change the future of filmaking" -- I hope that's not all based on the "shock value" of the violence.

I dunno, hopefully it won't be THAT bad. Still, if it is, I can be quite forgiving of that should this compare to, let's say - a Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or other grand epic title. The fact that it is based on a historic event makes it even more intriguing. I wonder, should check the library for movies on the subject BEFORE seeing the movie?

Originally Posted by Tornado

I wonder, should check the library for movies on the subject BEFORE seeing the movie?
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Get Frank Miller's graphic novel 300. That's what the movies is based on as well as the history.