Last night I finally watched the movie 300, which is based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I lump graphic novels with comics. I can't say I hate these things, because I've never actually sat down and tried to read a comic book, or a graphic novel back to back, but suffice it to say that I generally like to read things in paragraphs rather than in dialogue bubbles.
I'd been wanting to see 300 for quite some time. Then a controversy or two sparked, and my interest increased. Iran actually banned it for its less than attractive portrayal of the Persian empire, and Iranians wrote up storms about how the movie was an attack on Iran and its history. 300 also sparked a controversy for its indirect commentary on the Iraq war, by portraying the Spartans in a way making their situation similar to that of the Iraqis who fought against the much bigger and powerful Americans.
I originally wanted to see it for the whole Spartan, Greek and Persian deal. I loved studying about these guys, and I love to see portrayals of them, however inaccurate they are so I can feel the umph visually, rather than just by reading about it. And I got plenty of umph with this flick.
Also, I've been seeing bumper stickers and t-shirts and other things that were cryptic to me before seeing the movie.
I finally know what this drawing is referring to:
All in all, I liked 300. Pieces of actual history were cut up and rearranged to make quite a tour de force of historically recorded (but reworked in setting) one-liners, and an interesting vision of what an ancient world filled with struggle and war might have been like. The 300+ incredibly chiseled, half-naked men also sweetened the pot for me, and that was a definite bonus. It made me actually want it to be Sparta around here.
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