Post by Arkhon Arkhozh on Aug 15, 2008 23:51:30 GMT -5
I watched parts of 300 at Andy's house and thought the portrayal of the Persian warriors was sort of racist. Similar to how Native American Indians were portrayed in a certain old Popeye cartoon but with the difference being that this portrayal seemed meaner in comparison.
The Immortals wore historically inaccurate gear but that didn't bother me, but what was strange was how they looked when their masks came off. They looked similar to the orcs from Lord of the Rings. The albino one was especially weird and really seemed to be more of a monster than a man. Xerxes himself talked like a goa'uld from Stargate.
Here is another example. Can this really be a normal human man?
www.hotflick.net/flicks/2006_300/Thumb/006300_Leon_Laderach_001.jpg
Now if the people who made the movie wanted to do something different from what the historical sources say then that would be Ok but what they should of done was explain why they look that way. Like maybe show Xerxes make a deal with a jinn because he wanted to invade Greece and so the jinn transformed his soldiers into stronger but monster like warriors. Like in the Wishmaster movie. But they just appear looking the way they do without an explanation.
This is an article that talks about all the issues with 300. A lot of interesting info here.
www.ghandchi.com/iranscope/Anthology/KavehFarrokh/300/index.htm
"The retort to this is that the movie is only faithfully reproducing the characters of a harmless comic book. But is it? How would members of other ethnic communities worldwide feel if their ancestors were being portrayed as monsters, troglodytes, degenerates, and demons? These same producers would probably think twice if they were to portray other nationalities in the manner that they have done with the “Persians”. If my logic (flawed as it may be) is not mistaken, portraying Iranians as monsters, troglodytes, degenerates, and demons is “artistic entertainment”, but other nationalities are exempt from this “art form” as this would be “tasteless and politically incorrect” and would be regarded as a “hate crime”. The targeting of specific ethnic groups with negative attributes in the name of entertainment dollars is dangerously misinformed and irresponsible. As noted earlier in this commentary, viewers and media outlets (especially in the English-speaking world) are already interpreting much of the movie in a “historical” light. The Greco-Persian wars evoke very intense emotions in northwest European culture, in some ways even more so than in modern-day Greece and Italy. The movie 300 has successfully capitalized on those very emotions in the quest for profit. It is at this juncture of the discussion, where we must remind ourselves of one of Zoroaster’s chief teachings: Zoroaster taught that good and evil resides in all members of humanity, regardless of racial origin, ethnic membership or religious affiliation. Each person is given the choice between good and evil – it is up to us to choose between them."
The Immortals wore historically inaccurate gear but that didn't bother me, but what was strange was how they looked when their masks came off. They looked similar to the orcs from Lord of the Rings. The albino one was especially weird and really seemed to be more of a monster than a man. Xerxes himself talked like a goa'uld from Stargate.
Here is another example. Can this really be a normal human man?
www.hotflick.net/flicks/2006_300/Thumb/006300_Leon_Laderach_001.jpg
Now if the people who made the movie wanted to do something different from what the historical sources say then that would be Ok but what they should of done was explain why they look that way. Like maybe show Xerxes make a deal with a jinn because he wanted to invade Greece and so the jinn transformed his soldiers into stronger but monster like warriors. Like in the Wishmaster movie. But they just appear looking the way they do without an explanation.
This is an article that talks about all the issues with 300. A lot of interesting info here.
www.ghandchi.com/iranscope/Anthology/KavehFarrokh/300/index.htm
"The retort to this is that the movie is only faithfully reproducing the characters of a harmless comic book. But is it? How would members of other ethnic communities worldwide feel if their ancestors were being portrayed as monsters, troglodytes, degenerates, and demons? These same producers would probably think twice if they were to portray other nationalities in the manner that they have done with the “Persians”. If my logic (flawed as it may be) is not mistaken, portraying Iranians as monsters, troglodytes, degenerates, and demons is “artistic entertainment”, but other nationalities are exempt from this “art form” as this would be “tasteless and politically incorrect” and would be regarded as a “hate crime”. The targeting of specific ethnic groups with negative attributes in the name of entertainment dollars is dangerously misinformed and irresponsible. As noted earlier in this commentary, viewers and media outlets (especially in the English-speaking world) are already interpreting much of the movie in a “historical” light. The Greco-Persian wars evoke very intense emotions in northwest European culture, in some ways even more so than in modern-day Greece and Italy. The movie 300 has successfully capitalized on those very emotions in the quest for profit. It is at this juncture of the discussion, where we must remind ourselves of one of Zoroaster’s chief teachings: Zoroaster taught that good and evil resides in all members of humanity, regardless of racial origin, ethnic membership or religious affiliation. Each person is given the choice between good and evil – it is up to us to choose between them."
