Bullet points:
1. Abby, I woke up with Mary Prankster stuck in my head this morning. I blame you.
2. Have many thoughts about 300. As an action flick, it was outstanding. The action sequences were brutal and engaging and well-shot. The visuals were jaw-dropping. That said? The rest of it fails. I blame this on Frank "Whores Whores Whores!" Miller. You know, the guy who did an extreme close-up on Wonder Woman's ass and brought us Sin City, wherein if you're a woman, you're either a whore or a damsel in distress: take your pick. Homophobic, mysogynist, xenophobic bastard.
The cultural message of 300: If you're not a super-muscly white man, you're evil. Period. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Do you have a birth defect? Evil. Do you have a vagina? Sexually helpless or skankily evil, take your pick. Queen Gorgo was a joke. (Lena Headey, you are so hot, why do you keep choosing crappy roles?) Are you Asian, Middle-Eastern, Black, or otherwise non-white? Evol. Now, I get that this is based on a real battle and all that, so the invaders would have looked different. And as a cinematic and stylistic effect, I have nothing against making the enemy look monstrous. That said? The film went out of its way to show distinct cultural diversity in the enemy that basically said that all of Asia and the Middle East is not only evil, but sexually perverted.
PS-- Street Fighter's Dhalsim + a drag queen = Xerxes, King of Persia. ETA: HOLY SHIT, that was RODRIGO SANTORO. I DON'T BELIEVE IT. I AM ABUSING THE CAPSLOCK OF DISBELIEF.
I think Gerard Butler spat on me a few times. And Leonidas with a Scottish accent? Ha. Ha. Ha. I really expected him to don blue facepaint and scream, "Freeeeeeeeeeedooooooooommmmmmm!"
The narration was cheesy and took me out of the story.
Considering that this was based on an actual event, I can't say "propaganda, omg," but... it did have a certain blind fanaticism that as an American makes me extremely wary. You know, freedom isn't free. But from the outset, the Spartans were cocky bastards that didn't really have my sympathy. No attempt was made to address the situation other than "kill kill kill." And there are ways for men to be men without rushing off todeath glory because your reckless fearless leader said so. Okay, maybe there was the residual smegma of propaganda.
And finally-- LOL at the Spartans cracking anti-homosexual jokes. The SPARTANS. They who rarely copulated with their wives. They of the manly man-loving. HA. HA. Historically-inaccurate-HA.
Which reminds me of a Buffy quote:
4. My zills came in! They are clang-y goodness. Now I can practice and not look like a chimpanzee. Goodness.
Erm, I think that's all I've got right now. I mean-- beads beads beads, 'cause I've got a sort of obsessive personality and a one-track mind at present, but nothing really interesting. I'm kind of boring today.
2. Have many thoughts about 300. As an action flick, it was outstanding. The action sequences were brutal and engaging and well-shot. The visuals were jaw-dropping. That said? The rest of it fails. I blame this on Frank "Whores Whores Whores!" Miller. You know, the guy who did an extreme close-up on Wonder Woman's ass and brought us Sin City, wherein if you're a woman, you're either a whore or a damsel in distress: take your pick. Homophobic, mysogynist, xenophobic bastard.
The cultural message of 300: If you're not a super-muscly white man, you're evil. Period. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Do you have a birth defect? Evil. Do you have a vagina? Sexually helpless or skankily evil, take your pick. Queen Gorgo was a joke. (Lena Headey, you are so hot, why do you keep choosing crappy roles?) Are you Asian, Middle-Eastern, Black, or otherwise non-white? Evol. Now, I get that this is based on a real battle and all that, so the invaders would have looked different. And as a cinematic and stylistic effect, I have nothing against making the enemy look monstrous. That said? The film went out of its way to show distinct cultural diversity in the enemy that basically said that all of Asia and the Middle East is not only evil, but sexually perverted.
PS-- Street Fighter's Dhalsim + a drag queen = Xerxes, King of Persia. ETA: HOLY SHIT, that was RODRIGO SANTORO. I DON'T BELIEVE IT. I AM ABUSING THE CAPSLOCK OF DISBELIEF.
I think Gerard Butler spat on me a few times. And Leonidas with a Scottish accent? Ha. Ha. Ha. I really expected him to don blue facepaint and scream, "Freeeeeeeeeeedooooooooommmmmmm!"
The narration was cheesy and took me out of the story.
Considering that this was based on an actual event, I can't say "propaganda, omg," but... it did have a certain blind fanaticism that as an American makes me extremely wary. You know, freedom isn't free. But from the outset, the Spartans were cocky bastards that didn't really have my sympathy. No attempt was made to address the situation other than "kill kill kill." And there are ways for men to be men without rushing off to
And finally-- LOL at the Spartans cracking anti-homosexual jokes. The SPARTANS. They who rarely copulated with their wives. They of the manly man-loving. HA. HA. Historically-inaccurate-HA.
Which reminds me of a Buffy quote:
Gwendolyn Post: Faith, do you know who the Spartans were?3. Speaking of Buffy, it's the 10th anniversary of the show! I have a whole sappy fandom post about How Buffy Changed My Life OMG, but it'll have to wait a little longer.
Faith: Wild stab-- a bunch of guys from Spart?
4. My zills came in! They are clang-y goodness. Now I can practice and not look like a chimpanzee. Goodness.
Erm, I think that's all I've got right now. I mean-- beads beads beads, 'cause I've got a sort of obsessive personality and a one-track mind at present, but nothing really interesting. I'm kind of boring today.