300
An old story this but…
The BBC have run an article on historical truth within films. Now we know that filmmakers like to play fast and loose with the truth in the name of art, fiction or bums on seats. Its a given. Back Row, Radio Four’s film programme, interviewed Zack Snyder about the issue.
But I actually wonder whether there is something else under this: the historical moment in which the film appears.
Would there have been such a brouhaha over 300 have been so great if tensions weren’t running so high for political reasons? I don’t think so. It would have been commented upon but the story would not be running as far it has done whilst fundamentalist Cold War politics are coming back into fashion. I doubt that it has hurt its takings but will the film always be overshadowed by its timing?
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Bah! The film is an almost word-for-word adaptation of the original graphic novel, which was first published back in 1998 so unless the critics want to ascribe a Middle East political agenda to Frank Miller’s original script, at a time when things were relatively quiet on that front (with Clinton still in the White House) then I reckon they’re on pretty shaky ground there…
Having said that, there is a side-plot in the movie that doesn’t appear in the original - a slimy politico-type sells out to the Persians and helps prevent reinforcements reaching Leonidas in time to save the day, which could feasibly be given a modern spin. But I think that was just added to give Queen Gorgo something else to do.
One thing that has annoyed me though is the number of reviews that have the Spartans ‘defending democracy’ - which just isn’t true. The word isn’t uttered anywhere in the film and in the graphic novel it’s only mentioned a couple of times and is mocked as a trait of the weak and womanly Athenians. Freedom is what the fictional Leonidas fights for - specifically the freedom that involves not being made a slave by the Persian king - alongside Reason and Justice.
But it’s giving things a totally modern (and arguably overly-optimistic) spin to equate any of that with democracy…
Fair enough. It’d be intriguing to revisit this conversation in 5 or 10 years time and see how t shakes out. Perhaps I’ve read too much into the current conversation.
You mention the number of reviews about ‘defending democracy’. Isn’t this what the current grand narrative is saying?