“Others”
The film 300 had a main focus of the Spartans and their elite soldiers. Anyone that was not a member of this elite society was depicted as “others.” “The Greeks created a new set of ideas about what it was to be a member of a human community” (Herodotus, Histories). The film came out at a sensitive time for today’s Persians and was received in a very negative way by them. It was in a time of war and many saw it as an attack and a ploy to unite Americans against the Persians. There were many inaccuracies in the film that led to this opinion. 300 can be compared to our modern war situations, with the Persians as the fighters of the Middle East and the Americans as the Spartans with the 300 bodyguards as our Navy Seals or Marines.
The …show more content…
In ancient times the Spartans had more slaves than the Persians. They needed slaves to do all of the work they were not doing as professional soldiers. However, it is important to remember despite the modern connections in the film there was no intent to bash anyone’s culture, it is merely to highlight the story of the Spartan society. Murray wrote that director Zach Snyder said “It’s a graphic novel film about a bunch of guys that are stomping the snot out of each other. As soon as you start to frame it like that, it becomes clear that you’ve missed the point entirely” (Murray 2007, 12). Ephialtes is not a functional member of the Spartan society, he should have been thrown out at birth due to his imperfect body. Therefore, he is an “other” and is not allowed to fight with the Spartans because he would be the weak link in the phalanx. He, just like the Persians, is depicted like a monster and has a hunchback. If one could not afford the armor you were of lower class, could not vote in the assembly and therefore, technically, you were not part of the city-state nor were you a citizen since you could not help protect it (Murray 2007,
The film 300 had a main focus of the Spartans and their elite soldiers. Anyone that was not a member of this elite society was depicted as “others.” “The Greeks created a new set of ideas about what it was to be a member of a human community” (Herodotus, Histories). The film came out at a sensitive time for today’s Persians and was received in a very negative way by them. It was in a time of war and many saw it as an attack and a ploy to unite Americans against the Persians. There were many inaccuracies in the film that led to this opinion. 300 can be compared to our modern war situations, with the Persians as the fighters of the Middle East and the Americans as the Spartans with the 300 bodyguards as our Navy Seals or Marines.
The …show more content…
In ancient times the Spartans had more slaves than the Persians. They needed slaves to do all of the work they were not doing as professional soldiers. However, it is important to remember despite the modern connections in the film there was no intent to bash anyone’s culture, it is merely to highlight the story of the Spartan society. Murray wrote that director Zach Snyder said “It’s a graphic novel film about a bunch of guys that are stomping the snot out of each other. As soon as you start to frame it like that, it becomes clear that you’ve missed the point entirely” (Murray 2007, 12). Ephialtes is not a functional member of the Spartan society, he should have been thrown out at birth due to his imperfect body. Therefore, he is an “other” and is not allowed to fight with the Spartans because he would be the weak link in the phalanx. He, just like the Persians, is depicted like a monster and has a hunchback. If one could not afford the armor you were of lower class, could not vote in the assembly and therefore, technically, you were not part of the city-state nor were you a citizen since you could not help protect it (Murray 2007,