300

I liked the film 300 directed by Zack Snyder based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller however after reading many reviews about the film I must admit that the film is heavily flawed in many ways. To start off with unlike Alexander which is also based on true events this movie is no where near accurate. This probably wouldn't surprise you (and it shouldn't) due to the style and elements of the film. However the film also has a racist tone to it, although I honestly believe it was done not beig the goal of the director. The film demonize the Persians, calling them barbarians, showing them in darkness, showing them defromed, showing some being enslaved and monsterous especially during the battle of the Spartans and the Immortals. In the beginning when Leonidas was taking his part in the agony, the Persians are compared to a vicious wolf thta comes off as more of a beast. In one of the scenes when Ephialtes came to speak to Xerxes, the Persians was seen as highly sexual, denying them any view of being pure, the depiction of the Persians are mainly dominated by orientalism, which view them as those that lack high moral codes and enjoy their riches and previleges to the point it is an excess and immoral. Thsn these Persians are compared to the Spartans who are depicted as perfect, perfectly in fit, the ultimate warriors, hetrosexual (which is a lie), part of an elite group with high moral principles in a free nation. The whole process of the agony is left out and the parts included are glorified although in reality it was brutal and cruel. The spartans claim to have high moral codes yet like the Persians they too had slaves, as a matter of fact some who were part of the 300 sparatans who was lead by Leonidas to battle Xerxes (which is also a lie since there was more like 3000 spartans) were also slaves. However this fact is left out to glorify the spartans even a comparison of the two Kings can show the difference between the two. With Xerxes being inhumanly tall, very feminie, arrogant, with no regard of his men as oppose to King Leonidas whom is seen as the underdog who is in perfect physical fittness, masculine, a warrior of freedom, a ideal leader with only the best in mind for those who follow him making him selfishless. These is only but a few racist aspect of the film (the film is filled with them) however the film is very entertaining, as most of the review say it really is "visually stunning". the action scenes entertaining and somewhat accurate in terms of how the Sparttans fight (which quickly becomes fiction as the Sparatans start to break off from their positions and fight their enemies one on one). The film was made at a time when George Bush was president which is probably why the film performed so well, since people identified with the Spartans as being Americans and the Persians being our enemy (whose history is surprising closely part of the 'enemy' at the time). Whatever you think of the film it is entertaining, however even the most navie person must admit its' racist tones.