300 MOVIE

Racism and Sexuality in 300 Movie



Racism and Sexuality in 300 Movie

Introduction

'300' is a Hollywood movie based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller issued in 1998. It revolves around the Battle of Thermopylae between the Spartans and the Persians. The movie is directed by Zack Synder, under the consultancy of Frank Miller himself. The 300 name refers to 300 Spartans, who had to fight under the leadership of Spartan King Leonidas, against one million soldiers of Persian Army under the Persian King Xerxes. Spartans are the people of a Greek village named, Sparta (Rosenberg, 2007, pp. 61-62).

The movie links sexuality and racism to create the atmosphere of sympathy towards the Greek Spartans, and that of agony towards the Persian opponents. This paper would include the analysis on the sexual and race discourses portrayed in the movie 300 Spartans.

Discussion

300 is not a movie about brave rebels fighting against some oppressive regime, to safeguard freedom and democracy. When King Leonidas shouts “For freedom!” he is not talking about truth, justice, and the American way. It is mostly just jargon tossed into the trailers and film for dim, easily manipulated people who get overly excited when they hear propaganda thrown around, you know, the type who are not big on paying attention to context. Telling your soldiers they are fighting to be free men right before they march to their deaths to defend your right to sit on a throne and sleep with a blistering queen is also a great way to energize the troops, even if it does not mean anything (Nagel, 2003, pp. 15-27).

Historically, the Spartans lost to the Persians, but the movie creates an emotive atmosphere by inclining people towards the Spartans, and against the Persian opponents. The movie portrays Spartans' sexuality with heterosexual Western norms, whereas, the opponents are portrayed as grotesque, irrational, and sexually perverted. This has raised the critics against the movie, because the Spartans have been known though out the history as homosexual, whereas, the movie portrays them as devoted heterosexuals. Furthermore, the movie portrays racism by discriminating between whites and blacks (Millender, 1999, pp. 22-24).

Sexuality discourses in 300

Ancient Greeks were known as homosexuals, having male children and boys growing up in the arms of fellow soldiers. Such behaviours in the Ancient culture of Greece were socially enforced; culturally idealized; and was a fundamental part of life. The movie emphasizes the divergent part in order to ensure the fair face of the Greek heroes. In the movie, the Greeks can be seen with developed chests and muscles, setting an image for the ancients. In reality, the Greeks could have loved being naked while fighting. The Greek power was realized by the love and reverence of a Greek individual towards another male, rather than his love to the fellow women. Even the wives on their first night had to cut their long hairs, wear man attire, and just display themselves as a man (Garland, 2009, pp. 5-11).

The movie has an implication of washing out the bad ...