The Popular Arts Post: Film, Poetry, Roleplaying, Music and Literature

[tcpip]

Went to IMAX for the first time last week to see "300". As the thread on RPG.net suggestsit really isn't good at all (my summary is probably on the last page). Also recently saw The Notorious Bettie Page. Visually cute, it included some excellent thematic considerations and then utterly failed to elaborate on them.

Unitarian service last Sunday was poetry, readings and folk music. As is my norm, I selected Unitarian poets and authors, specifically, Horatio Alger, Ambrose Bierce, ee cummings, and Kurt Vonnegut Jnr.

Easter Sunday was spent, as per last year, playing GURPS Bunnies & Burrows. The Fellowship of Talor journeys in the eleventh scene for HeroQuest. Have managed to convince imajica_lj to run Call of Cthulhu in the near future.

Went a bit nuts on the weekend buying music: Johnny Cash, Velvet Underground, Hawkwind, Gang of Four, Devo, China Crisis, Eels, Elysium. No one can claim I don't have a variety of tastes. Have made a start on the small moutain of books sent to me by Ticonderoga; a seven-part space opera by Kevin J. Anderson. Also should mention that my review of Blackbeard: The real pirate of the Caribbean is available in the latest issue.

Cocktail party for Friday night is shaping up very nicely indeed.

Comments

[rodshark.livejournal.com]

Well, considering that 300 was based off a comic book, which was loosely based off of the real battle, I went in knowing it was going to be the "Sin City" version of the historical event.

I would have liked to have seen a little more historical accuracy and a little less Spartan torso, the real warriors wore bronze armor over their torso and their shields were individually decorated. And I did take issue with the whole "fighting for freedom" kinda thing and the whole Western idiology/Christian aspect they tacted on to it ("tonight we dine in Hell"? Um I am pretty sure that the ancient Spartans didn't believe in Hell, I think "Hades" is the word you were looking for *lol*)and Sparta at least wasn't a bastion of Democracy but a brutal totalitarian regime. But in this day and age it didn't surprise me a bit that they twisted it a little. Of course I have heard historians talk that the battle of Thermopyale was a turning point in Greek culture where it became "Greece" instead of individual city/states.

I totally agree, they really made Xerxes way too over the top, but I suppose they felt the need to have a "HUGE" imposing villian.

The action, Special effects, and acting were highly stylized and over the top, but being based off of a comic book they were intended to be.

I took it for what it was, a stylized action movie based off of a comic book that is loosely based upon a real battle in history. It wasn't the best movie I had ever seen by any means of the imagination, but I didn't think it was that bad either.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I really liked Sin City which I guess in part why I was quite displeased with 300; It certainly had its moments; but they were pretty few and far between.

Not sure on the shield thing; the design is, apparently, what the Spartans used during the Peloponnesian wars. Another aspect which was certainly overlooked in the film and, in my opinion, is quite important, is the fact that several hundred Thespians fought alongside the Spartans, as did almost a thousand Spartan slaves and the Spartans held a large number of Thebans hostage!

One of the things I really don't understand about contemporary recreations of historical events is that there's no need to contradict important historical; all that ends up happening is the history buffs get annoyed. Elaborate by all means; include minatours and dragons if it suits the setting - that adds to the story.

Especially in an event like the Battle of Thermopylae which, in reality, was damn interesting.

[rodshark.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I mentioned the Thespians in my review of it as well. From the sources I saw (a couple History chennel programs and a couple of history books- which is where I also saw that it was customary to decorate their shield)it was around 1000 to 1500 Thespians that fought alongside them. The slaves and hostages probably died in the first day as fodder or were just used to "clean up" after the skirmishes. Of course they do mention the Thespians kinda when they said "a handful of Greeks stayed behind" but yeah, they left a lot of the "good stuff" out and replaced it with giants, werewolves, and war rhinos *lol*

But I agree for the most part. More accuracy and less "comic bookness" would have been nice. I also hated the fact that they didn't even mention the pitched naval battle that was taking place at the same time when a greatly outnumbered Greek general managed to hold back the Persian Armada and keep them from landing troops behind (I also enjoyed all the "politics" that the general performed in lying to get the citizens to approve spending money to increase the navy.

But like I said, being based off of a comic book, I didn't expect it to be a history channel recreation of the event.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Ummm.. if you mean the Battle of Artemisium, the Greeks were thoroughly defeated there. Of course a month later, at Salamis the Greeks really went to town....

being based off of a comic book

Y'know, maybe I should read the comic book at some stage - I mean it could be that it's just that the comic book is wildly inaccurate and Synder simply replicated the errors: GIGO.

[rodshark.livejournal.com]

Yes thats the battle I was referring to, and though they did lose eventually, they did hold off the Persian fleet for a couple of days and inflicted heavy losses on the fleet before being forced to retreat after the pass was taken.

I need to read the comic book as well, but from what I have read, the director followed the comic book almost exactly, so I think thatit is a case of the comic book being innacurate thereby making the movie inaccurate.

It would be really great to see someone give this battle the treatment it deserves and make it more historically accurate, oh well probably never happen.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

so I think thatit is a case of the comic book being innacurate thereby making the movie inaccurate.

Ahhh, that would explain a lot.

It would be really great to see someone give this battle the treatment it deserves and make it more historically accurate, oh well probably never happen.

There are several factors acting against this - not the least being that there is no easily identifiable good guys versus bad guys.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen it myself, but I am amused by the reports that it portrays the Spartans as Staunchly Heterosexual in comparison to... well, anybody, really.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, the foundation of the "buddy" system in the military..

[anivair.livejournal.com]

The goal of the story wasn't accuracy. The goat headed man should have tipped you off. It was an epic tale told in the mythological style. I loved that about it. It was unapologetically wrong, but so gloriously excited about it's wrongness that all you could do was appreciate the revelry.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I don't mind "enhanced reality" in historical fantasy; in fact I thoroughly approve of it when it is contextually appropriate because, as you say, that adds to the mythology.

The Ancient Hellenes believed in winged horses; so if a film about the Ancient Hellenes has one, that's fine. If one appears in a film about the indigenous Australian dreamtime I'll be screaming "anachronism".

Thus the goat-headed man was just fine. I have no problems with that whatsoever.