North Star Writers Group

I liked that Leonidas sounded a lot like William Wallace. I liked the tight, simple dialogue. I liked the action sequences, especially the fight between Leonidas and the giant. And I found the clash between the seven-year olds at the beginning of the movie extremely compelling in a twisted sort of way.

Initially, it seems surprising that a plot so simple, littered with incessant clichés – “We are Spartans!”, “Never surrender!”, “It is an honor to die by your side,” “It is an honor to have lived by yours” – can be so compelling. But then, the same old themes run through almost every movie, themes such as honor, love, vengeance, freedom and treachery. The success of the movie depends on how effectively these themes are illustrated. The well of human emotion and thought is truly bottomless, and the success of storytelling or moviemaking does not have to depend on new ideas, necessarily, as much as it must depend on portraying the old ones in a new way or with a new story.

“Freedom isn’t free at all. It comes at the highest cost. The cost of blood.” This was the film’s theme, practically straight out of “Braveheart”. (For what it’s worth, a huge volume of visual effects seemed to come straight out of “Gladiator” and “Lord of the Rings”). But it still felt fresh. Perhaps this is because it came at a time when all of us, men and women, needed to be reminded of the ideological roots of masculinity.

As Queen Gorgo stated, “Only Spartan women give birth to real men.” This idea of being a “real man” was crucial to the movie, and it certainly lays down one perspective on the inherent differences between genders. Lest we forget, Queen Gorgo was incredibly wise. She was the heart and head behind Leonidas, so it is not as though women were portrayed as a lesser sex. It was her nod that convinced him to kick the Persian into the pit, igniting the fires of Xerxes’ anger. It was she who reminded him that the decision to go to war was not a question of law, but a question of freedom. And for what it’s worth, she also had one hell of a sword thrust.

It seems that the gap between masculinity and femininity is closing, and some would say this is both natural and long overdue. I tend to disagree, and cling to the idea that “being a man” still means something. Granted, there are many gender stereotypes that probably arose because of nurture more than nature, but I do not think the idea of a man fighting to defend his family and country is one of them. This idea is natural, and is as old as the sun.

Murmurs of homosexuality have surrounded “300” since its release in March of this year, and I can’t help but wonder how much of this is a coping mechanism for those put off by the traditional masculinity this movie seems to espouse. I found nothing of the sort in the movie. It would have been more realistic if the Spartans had some chest hair, but this is probably a corner Frank Miller cut to maintain the cleanliness of the images, which was honored by the makers of “300”.

The Spartans had exaggeratedly chiseled bodies, which lends the movie both to the graphic novel and the romance of Greek legend. What does this have to do with being gay? I don’t get that at all. This is the sort of movie you’d show to a football team the night before a game. It is not exactly the Greek version of “Brokeback Mountain”.

It is always dangerous to apply movie philosophies to specific present day events. I would not go so far as to justify the war in Iraq by comparing it to the Greeks and the Persians. People who use movies such as “Munich”, “300” or any other to explain or justify an opinion about a convoluted subject such as the war in Iraq are not thinking with much vigor.

However, the same idea does not apply to feelings or thoughts about life in general. If a movie leaves you feeling invigorated, upset, confused or simply pensive, then it was a success. I think the main reason an R-rated movie like “300” made over $200 million at the box office (which is very unusual) is because it renewed the idea or feeling of masculinity in all of us. I can only hope that those who felt a morsel of what I’m describing gave this idea some thought before going back to work the next day, readjusting to our increasingly emasculated culture.

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