But these are not the Spartans of history they are instead, something else. In 300 there is much celebration of Sparta-the Greek city-state known well for its warrior cult, who pose as the heroes of the film. I was more concerned with the changes to the movie-and before that the comic-that had deeper meaning, and give us an interesting mirror into the society we live in. I took it for Hollywood cosmetic to sell tickets-and maybe even reach that coveted gay male audience. So that these Spartans fight bare-chested with CGI enhanced abdomens straight out of Chippendales, instead of in breastplates as would have been common, wasn’t really of consequence to me.

And though the film’s director Zack Snyder makes the grandiose claims that “the events are 90 percent accurate,” I hardly expected it to be factual. I read the comic back in 1998, and found it fascinating-yet discomforting. But my anticipation of 300 was only partly based on my expectations of it as a film.ģ00 is based on the Frank Miller graphic novel of the same name, and is a retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae between Spartan Greeks and the Persian Empire in the 5th Century BC. Noble Greeks fight scary Persians to Alamo type finish. As plots go, it was mediocre- not bad but not exactly filled with complex intrigue. The acting was tolerable-not like Ghostrider where I wanted to gnaw off my left leg rather than sit through the excruciating dialogue. As cinematography it was a visual CGI masterpiece-though one might ask when and where reliance on computer generated imagery enhances or devalues a movie. Driven by action, the movie had enough blood and battle to dazzle the senses and up testosterone levels. In the name of blogger honesty, I haven’t changed anything from the original post–except for a few broken links. I have a feeling the inevitable sequel won’t require me to do that much revision anyway.

Re-posted below, for whoever cares, is a review and critique I wrote on 300 back in 2007. Then I threw up in my mouth a little… because nothing makes me gag like the thought of another bit of Hollywood-formulated Occidental fantasy and Orientalist othering with a large dose of historical revisionism by that icon of multiculturalism and gender representation, Frank Miller. So I’m doing what I normally do when I should be working/writing (trying to read the entire internet) and quite by chance I find out they’re making a sequel to 300.

300 spartans comic book