don't look to Hollywood for history lessons
I'm sure "300" is visually amazing and I am looking forward to seeing it. I love war movies. There are however concerns about its historical accuracy...
Here's a link to an interesting article about these historical inaccuracies and oversights ...
Sparta, Spandex and Disturbing Distortions of '300' by Ephraim Lytle
Here's an excerpt I thought was interesting...
"300's Persians are ahistorical monsters and freaks. Xerxes is eight feet tall, clad chiefly in body piercings and garishly made up, but not disfigured. No need – it is strongly implied Xerxes is homosexual which, in the moral universe of 300, qualifies him for special freakhood. This is ironic given that pederasty was an obligatory part of a Spartan's education. This was a frequent target of Athenian comedy, wherein the verb "to Spartanize" meant "to bugger." In 300, Greek pederasty is, naturally, Athenian."
The Iranians are especially upset about it. BBC story here.
9 comments:
It is a movie based on a graphic novel (i.e. comic book) so its not supposed to be so historically accurate - in which case I hope having people be 8 ft. tall will clue people in to that fact.
I'm behind the Chinese firewall so I can't hit the BBC link. :(
The article was useful in explaining the actual historical record, but:
"No mention is made in 300 of the fact that at the same time a vastly outnumbered fleet led by Athenians was holding off the Persians in the straits adjacent to Thermopylae, or that Athenians would soon save all of Greece by destroying the Persian fleet at Salamis. This would wreck 300's vision, in which Greek ideals are selectively embodied in their only worthy champions, the Spartans."
And yet when I watched a movie about snipers in Stalingrad, there was no mention of D-Day or the Archangel convoys either. Gee wilikers!
Now, if I get to see a Salamis movie to balance 300, I'd be happy with that as well.
Rye, if you are impugning the great James Brolin and his work in the whistle-blowing masterpiece, Capricorn One, then you and I, Sir, will have words.
Don't look to Hollywood for history lessons ... or science lessons.
John, I haven't seen Capricorn One... which lessons does it hold?
re 300, All I meant was that for millions of people this flick will be their sole window into the lives of the ancient Spartans, their contemporaries and the Battle of Thermopylae... if one's read the history, great! enjoy the movie... if one hasn't then be aware... that's all.
Now you are insulting Sir Brolin by saying that you haven't even seen Capricorn One. Words will be forthcoming.
Has James Brolin been knighted? His IMDB profile says he's from LA. And he supported John Kerry in the '04 election! How can you abide that J?
That aside, CO sounds like a cool movie, though hardly historical in nature...kind of Wag the Dog-ish... gotta love Elliot Gould, he's so hunky!
And yet when I watched a movie about snipers in Stalingrad, there was no mention of D-Day or the Archangel convoys either. Gee wilikers!
D-Day was two years in the future, the Archangel convoys were suspended during the period of fighting in Stalingrad covered in the movie (which appears to be early fall of '42, and there were no convoys arriving until October). And of course, Lend Lease was not mentioned by the soviets during the war. BTW, Enemy at the Gates is a great book, but it is absolutely nothing like the movie.
I take your main point, but I think the historian is right. The men at Thermopylae knew of the great sea fight that was happening concurrently with their land battle (go here.) It would have been natural to at least point to the movements of the fleet and how they were coordinated with the movements of the army.
Besides, don't you think the movie would have been great if the Spartans had been show as the pederasts and slaveholders they actually were? What's wrong with a little accuracy and moral complexity? I always think it is a terrible waste when people refuse to teach when they have the chance to.
Michael
I'm wrong.
The Foreigner's review gives a really satisfying account of why the movie is the way it is.
Michael
Post a Comment