{"id":23912,"date":"2007-03-21T17:41:00","date_gmt":"2007-03-21T17:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lookingcloser.wordpress.com\/2007\/03\/21\/opus-on-300-and-more-on-why-im-not-getting-in-line\/"},"modified":"2013-02-09T21:12:53","modified_gmt":"2013-02-10T04:12:53","slug":"opus-on-300-and-more-on-why-im-not-getting-in-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2007\/03\/opus-on-300-and-more-on-why-im-not-getting-in-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Opus on “300”, and More on Why I’m Not Getting in Line"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

I\u2019m responding yet again about the movie 300 <\/strong><\/em>for this simple reason:<\/p>\n

I have been baited, again and again, into extremely violent or explicit films that proved to be empty\u2026 and worse, even abusive to audiences.<\/p>\n

I have been told, \u201cYou have got<\/em> to see it!\u201d, and I\u2019ve been promised that all of the graphic material was justified because of what it meant<\/strong><\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s about fighting for freedom! It\u2019s about fighting for a higher cause!\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the time, I\u2019ve regretted it. While a character or two might say a few words about honor and courage in the film, they\u2019re really just saying <\/em><\/strong>them. Time and time again, I\u2019ve staggered out of the theater, weary, dispirited, beaten down by all of the graphic bloodshed on the screen, with precious little to think about or discuss. And I haven\u2019t learned the slightest thing about freedom, truth, love, or what\u2019s worth fighting for.<\/p>\n

Dick Staub<\/strong> blogged yesterday<\/a> that I\u2019m just dismissing 300<\/em> as blood, guts and sex. If I understand him correctly, he\u2019s saying that I missed the point as to why it\u2019s popular:<\/p>\n

It would be easy to dismiss 300<\/em> and to explain it\u2019s popularity among young men by pointing out its gratuitous nudity and mind-numbing, over the top violence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Reviewers I respect have taken this position\u2013Jeffrey Overstreet decided not to see the movie commenting, \u201c300 is rated R because it is an elaborate display of graphic bloodshed and sex\u2026 the film exists primarily to show off dazzling digital effects and to thrill audiences with a spectacle of gratuitous violence.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think there may be other explanations for the popularity of 300<\/em>.<\/p>\n

First of all, Staub\u2019s excerpt of my post is misleading.<\/p>\n

I did not say \u201cthe film exists primarily to show off dazzling digital effects and thrill audiences with a spectacle of gratuitous violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

I said this: \u201cWhile reviewers are divided over whether the film is worth seeing, they almost unanimously agree that the storytelling is shallow and insignificant, and that the film exists primarily to show off dazzling digital effects and thrill audiences with a spectacle of gratuitous violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

See the difference? I was telling you what *other people* claim, not what I claim.<\/p>\n

Okay. Now onto his point that there \u201cmay be other explanations for the popularity of 300<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I agree. I\u2019m sure there are plenty of explanations for why people would watch 300<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There are also plenty of explanations for why people watch the World Wrestling Federation. You can easily excuse all of the WWF\u2019s excess, brutality, and sexploitation by saying, \u201cWell, people are easily drawn into cheering for a symbolic battle of good versus evil.\u201d But if we stop our analysis there, well, we\u2019ve just thrown the door open wide for all kinds of exploitation.<\/p>\n

Again, I haven\u2019t seen 300<\/em>\u2026 and I\u2019m holding back based on the responses of some thoughtful moviegoing friends. So, to \u201cflesh out\u201d some of the reasons why I\u2019m not convinced I need to see the film, I\u2019ve obtained permission from Jason Morehead<\/strong>to\u00a0re-print his full review of 300<\/em><\/strong> at Looking Closer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can read it there now, and maybe you\u2019ll see why I\u2019m not too keen on seeing Zack Snyder\u2019s film \u201cabout freedom\u201d at this point.<\/p>\n

In fact, I would be very pleased <\/em>if the film represented all of the things Staub suggests it does.<\/p>\n

But I have yet to read a persuasive review that tells me just how the film accomplishes<\/em> all of that noble stuff about freedom and virtue and fighting for something meaningful.<\/p>\n

Friends who have attended the film have testified that the young men who are making the film a box office success are not walking out of the cinema talking about freedom and virtue\u2026 but about just how many cool ways that human beings were butchered in the film.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not encouraging.<\/p>\n

Hey, I speak as a big fan of Fight Club<\/strong><\/em> and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King<\/strong><\/em> and Branagh\u2019s Henry V<\/em>.<\/strong> I think Full Metal Jacket <\/strong><\/em>and The Thin Red Line <\/strong><\/em>are great films. I don\u2019t mind battle scenes, so long as they are essential to a meaningful work of art. They have their place in a story where a great deal is at stake \u2026 for characters that have been powerfully developed.<\/p>\n

But I didn\u2019t care for Braveheart<\/strong><\/em>, or Gladiator<\/strong>,<\/em> or Troy<\/strong><\/em>, because the plots felt like excuses to unleash big screen mayhem. They were simplistic frameworks on which to hang far more violence than we needed<\/em> to see. The violence was portrayed with so much energy and so much screen time that the rest of the story was given short shrift. I wasn\u2019t drawn into complex and interesting characters. Sure, there were moments in which these things began to emerge (I\u2019m intrigued by how Gladiator <\/em>scratches the surface of an interesting story about father\/son relationships), but then the film\u2019s urgency to get to the next big spectacle of bloodshed left me reeling, wanting so much more storytelling<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Those films exhausted me. And they undercut their own messages so severely that most of the guys I know left the theaters raving about moments of exhilarating death blows rather than how the story might change their lives. Just watching people shred each other while shouting \u201cfreedom!\u201d doesn\u2019t do anything for me. I\u2019d rather watch football.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all as disingenuous as a movie about a husband avenging the death of the wife he loved above all else in the world\u2026 a husband who stops along the way to \u201cseize the day\u201d and make love with a sexy princess who has a crush on him. Ahhh\u2026 the power of love. (Ahem, Braveheart<\/em>, ahem.)<\/span><\/p>\n

And what about 300<\/em>\u2018s sex scenes? Perhaps they are depicted responsibly. Perhaps they are meaningful, appropriate, and contribute significantly to the story. I don\u2019t know. But based on what I\u2019m reading in the reviews, I have a hunch\u2026.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m going to see 300<\/em>, that will happen because someone convinced me that it\u2019s a meaningful, worthwhile work.<\/p>\n

As it is, I\u2019m missing too many great films right now. (There are some masterpieces being revived on the big screen in Seattle right now, and I\u2019m missing them all due to deadlines. I haven\u2019t seen any<\/em> of the local Christian film reviewers or cultural commentators blogging about the historic significance and meaning in films like Renoir\u2019s The Rules of the Game<\/em> or the revival of Jacques Rivette\u2019s films\u2026. and these are films that remain important for decades, regardless of the latest innovations in animation.)<\/p>\n

I understand that Staub is trying to address why<\/strong> 300<\/em> is popular<\/em>\u2026 and as far as that goes, I respect his insight and even agree with him<\/strong>. Staub has a lot of wisdom when it comes to cultural trends and why they happen.<\/p>\n

But here, Staub is talking about the audience<\/em>, why they are buying tickets, and what the seekers are looking for. I, on the other hand, am talking about the film itself<\/em>, what it delivers<\/em>, and how it won\u2019t give those seekers
\nwhat they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n

Sure\u2026 people (mostly men) are flocking to 300<\/em>, and they may find some glimmers of meaning to help them make sense of the madness in the world around them. But the question remains\u2026 is the work actually honorable and meaningful? Should we embrace it and encourage more films like it? Or are we kidding ourselves, and coming up with a convenient excuse for our enjoyment of sex and violence?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m just asking.<\/p>\n

If we really want to stimulate cultural discussion about important themes, I suggest we focus our attention on films that explore those themes in responsible, rewarding, exemplary ways. If your high school boys are really so interested in history, I suspect that I can find a few that will teach them a heckuvalot more than 300<\/em> does. Again, I may be wrong. But it\u2019s just a hunch\u2026<\/p>\n

As always, I reserve the right to be wrong.<\/p>\n

*(For the record, I thought Ridley Scott\u2019s Kingdom of Heaven<\/em> struck a better balance than most \u2026 especially Scott\u2019s director\u2019s cut. That movie actually tried hard to be about <\/em>something, even if I still don\u2019t like the conclusions it reached.) <\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m responding yet again about the movie 300 for this simple reason: I have been baited, again and again, into extremely violent or explicit films that proved to be empty\u2026 and worse, even abusive to audiences. 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