A Sparta Me
"300", a film about the epic battle between the Spartan and Persian armies at Thermopylae, had a huge opening last weekend, but not everyone has been thrilled with its success. Apparently all of Iran is up in arms about the movie, which isn't even being shown there, on the theory that it was partially funded by the US government to foster hatred towards the Iranian people.
I like a government conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but you'd have to be pretty freaking paranoid to think that this movie is trying to push some sort of national agenda. This is pure Hollywood, where people couldn't care less about little details like historical accuracy or political interests. The only real objective behind this movie was to sell an assload of tickets to gore-hungry teenagers by depicting half-naked guys who look nothing like Greeks (with digitally enhanced abs that still don't look half as good as mine) fighting other guys who look nothing like Persians. The producers are probably the kind of guys who would punch their own grandmothers in the face for an extra two points on the gross, but other than that it's probably safe to assume that they don't have very much in common with the Bush administration.
I like a government conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but you'd have to be pretty freaking paranoid to think that this movie is trying to push some sort of national agenda. This is pure Hollywood, where people couldn't care less about little details like historical accuracy or political interests. The only real objective behind this movie was to sell an assload of tickets to gore-hungry teenagers by depicting half-naked guys who look nothing like Greeks (with digitally enhanced abs that still don't look half as good as mine) fighting other guys who look nothing like Persians. The producers are probably the kind of guys who would punch their own grandmothers in the face for an extra two points on the gross, but other than that it's probably safe to assume that they don't have very much in common with the Bush administration.
4 comments:
Sucra Lose.
I saw that movie this weekend...I guess I'm one of those teenagers. It was pretty entertaining...ridiculous most of the time...but still entertaining.
Splenda.
I think it's safe to say that "300" wasn't funded by the U.S. government, but at the same time, from what I've heard it's not a stretch to think of the film as a pro-Bush movie, not to mention somewhat racist: the good heroic white guys defending the west against the evil horde of mega-pierced and uber-violent brown guys despite corrupt government officials back home trying to avoid war and appease the enemy - not to mention the fact that the phrase "freedom isn't free" is used with complete and total (and hilarious) sincerity.
Of course, I'm not sure if Spartan homoeroticism makes an appearance in the film (other than the director's infatuation with oiled muscled men screaming). If it does, I can't imagine General Pace or anyone in the Bush administration condoning it.
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