“300” a Racist, and Revisionist Movie

 

OK! So let’s say a handful of people visit my blog. Still, if I can present something here that sets even a single person straight about an item of importance, I am well justified for indulging in posting my personal views on any specific subject. It is my blog afterall…:-). THAT is the only smile you will get out of me for the rest of this post, because this is a serious subject. When the movie “300” reared its ugly head I felt insulted in ways the likes of which I had not experienced–ever. Hollywood is now doing to Iranians–Persians–what they did for decades to Native Americans, and Zack Snyder manages to use the familiar “Black & White–African & Not” cliche’ to deliver a multiple whammy that insults about everyone except white six-pack endowed Spartan beefcakes!

Usually, I post a photo somehow related to the subject I post about. This time I could not find a single one that did not invade all of my better senses. This time words have to suffice. Below is a copy of a letter I wrote someone who was about to go and see the movie “300”–and likely did anyway; by the classic justification that this thing is an “Art Piece” (hmm..maybe it was simply the abundant beefcake) and maybe how dare I take it “so seriously”. Well…I know of nothing more serious in life than Art, Love and Politics.

Since my un-named friend was probably busy shopping for shoes , I decided to post the pertienent portions of my own words here for the millions who read my blog…;-) [A wink does not a smile make!]:

“…This time I specifically want to tell you what I think about the abomination of an ani-movie titled “300”. Honestly, there are rumors going around that the release of this thing is timed well enough to paint a pretty picture of any upcoming invasion of Iran–the direct people of which are still greatly considered Persians. I can only hope I can laugh at such speculation, but I must say after learning what this movie is about I am not so sure these speculations are so far off the mark!!!

The best I can offer in tolerance of this pile of dog doo is that if you must see it, consider it 99% fiction and historically worthless.

It used to be that as an Iranian-American one had to suffer the foolish ignorance of occasional TV educated FOX News watching morons who have the attention span of a fruitfly and whose view of history is what they recall was had for breakfast that day. So, if I had to be cornered in a darkened alley, I would have to reply “I am Persian” when asked where the heck I was from–originally. No more! Being “Persian” is evidently just as bad for my health, if you define who I am by the demeanor of my fellow Persians as depicted in “300”.

It is easy to take pride in a civilization that has been around before Babylonians had invented any letters to even write down the word Babylon. But, it takes a simple, easy to swallow lie, to reduce the competing interests of the Greek and Persian rivalry in that ancient time to a battle between “Democracy” and “Demonic Tyranny”–and not just simple tyranny I mind you; “300”‘s Persians are demons, miscreants, and non-humans. Even their animals–supposedly elephants and rhinos–look like creatures from hell and Saron’s monsters from the Lord of the Ring!

Not that any “king” was ever but a tyrant and a despot in the end. But, all wars in human history were–and are–fought by men; and sometimes women–who but for subtleties of skin tone, height, choice of weapon, fashion, and language, spill each other’s very red blood of the same crimson shade. “300” is right down racist! The Persian messenger sent to ask for the Sparta’s submission–as was customary before wasting soldiers and resources–is black; as dark as any African can be. By making him Persian, but looking African Black, and then kicking his apparently worthless presence in a really large open well–I am sure–designed specifically for such lovely ethnic cleansing occasion–Zack Snyder manages to hate Africans and Persians in a single swift karate kick delivered by no less than the king Leonidas himself! The rest of Persians look pretty dark looking as well!!

Amazingly, scientists categorize Persians racially as white and Aryan, which as a fact, in and of itself, to me shows the aburdity of how fervently some white supremacists hate Iranians and the like origins so passionately!!–Still “300” chooses to paint all Persians dark, because it is easy, racist, stereotypical to love hating the black, brown and all the dark skin tones in between–while–surprise!!–all the Spartan beef cakes are white as snow, and buff like Superman. Thus Snyder and Miller insult Africans and Persians both while intentionally ignoring simple scientific facts! This sort of selective, but purposeful fabrication enters into other creative aspects of “300”. The real Spartans who were known to wear real heavy armor–are clad in Chippendale dancing shorts to better show off those six packs and pectorals! Further, while even Herodotus reports number of Persians not to have been more than 50,000 to 200,000–which is still a huge mismatch with a mere 300–Zack Snyder advertises the movie version as 1 Million–that is 1,000,000 to 300…:-)…O.K…now Zack is making real history!!! (The 700 additional Thespians would mess up the simple title. So would other accounts of the force having been over 4000 soldiers. I mean “300 + 700” would not be as quite a sexy of a title for a comic book, or a movie!!)

Here is a genealogy of this movie: Herodotus, a Greek historian, wrote the original account of the battle of Thermopylae (The Hot Gates) according to what he himself had heard. [For a more accurate view of that history see Xenophon and his Cryopaedia ] But, at least Herodotus–being Greek–was a soldier in the Greek navy also at the time in the mid 200s BCE. Then comes Frank Miller and his bastardized version–with Xerxes having a bald head, mannerisms of a woman, and more piercings on his body that a flock of chickens skewered on a rotisserie. Likings of the real Xerxes exist prominently. Why else would Miller not use these, but for demonizing the “other”? Miller’s Xerxes is also a self-claimed “God”–which is totally false. The Greeks had a habit of considering their own rulers at times divine. But Persians had kings–flesh and blood and nothing more than “King of Kings” was required for these men to demand the respect they needed to command their empire. (Stretching from India to include Egypt, all of today’s Middle-East [] and Anatolia in Europe, and as far north as toady’s Russia)

I will stop here. I will spare you and myself from going further. I think my words here paint an adequate picture. Again, please enjoy the movie–if this blood fest can be enjoyed somehow–but know and enjoy it for the fantasy that it is.”