Steven Hunter - 300

300 is a really intense movie. We went to see it as a class and I am extremely glad I went. It was probably one of the best, if not the best warfare movie I have ever seen. In the movie Leonidus, king of the Spartans, brings 300 of his best soldiers to battle against an empire that greatly outnumbered his own. The Spartans were portrayed as soldiers, whose sole purpose was to be great warriors. The boys are taken away at seven years old to train until they are ready for the army. The Spartans differed greatly from the Athenians in that the Athenians were not as militaristic and were more dedicated to philosophy.

The movie demonstrates the classic example of good versus evil. What was great in the film was the imagery and symbolism used to show the two sides. The Persians were the evil empire, thus they were depicted as dark, mutated, and ugly characters. The Spartans, as the good guys, were shown in the completely opposite light. Each Spartan warrior was disciplined, glorified, and was in peak physical condition. Even the ugly Spartan who had been exiled eventually turned out to be a traitor. This showed that since he was ugly, he can’t possibly be a Spartan, he must be evil. The Persian king Xerxes was visualized as almost a god-like creature as he was bigger than everyone else and had supreme control over millions of warriors. The movie had the major theme of glory; glory for the troops that fought for their country and eventually died, but died with honor. I thought the movie was really entertaining and the battle scenes were awesome. I liked how the Spartans could overcome the numbers with their military tactics. I hated watching Leonidus’ wife give herself sexually to Theron, even though she thought it would save her husband. I was glad to see the Queen kill him later in the movie with a knife in his stomach. If I lived back in that time I would definitely want to be a Spartan because it they were such amazing soldiers that demanded respect. The film makes you think, if you had the chance to fight like that for your country and family would you do it? I would, but looking at that many soldiers coming at you would be intimidating. The movie was very entertaining and I will definitely see it again when it comes out on DVD.