MILNET
Opinion
The 300: History That the Iranians
Can't Handle
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Normally, we ignore flaps over movies...after all, they are just that,
movies. Hollywood either at its best or worst. However, when
Hollywood finds itself in the middle of an international political flap
that is not the usual furor over religion, then we at MILNET get
interested.
Case in point, the comic book inspired film, The 300. Derived
from Frank Miller's most excellent comic book, it tells a rather
pointed and historically corrrect story about the Spartan
300's stand against hordes of Persians -- a stand that could have been
the undoing of the Golden Days of Greece but for the King of Sparta and
his loyal retainers.
In the movie, a politician of the time says to King Leonidas, "The law
says you cannot take an Army to meet the Persians."
Leonidas
replies, "I leave the Spartan Army here to guard Sparta. These
are but my personal bodyguard, these 300. I thought I would go
for a stroll and I, of course, will take my retainers."
"Where will you go?" asks the politician, slow on the draw.
"Why I think North" (where the Persians are landing). "Want to
try to stop me" and Leonidas gestures to his VERY BUFF crew of
300.
"I see there is nothing I can do," replies the Politician
"No", says the King, and in few words and a force of 300, he has put
the Politician in his place.
Of course, I am paraphrasing the movie, but this is pretty close to the
exchange.
It's a great moment in the movie and it shows a character we all like
to admire, a man of action not putting up with the B.S put forth by
petty and
false politicians. And later we find out, of course, that the
politician in question is literally being paid in the coin of Xerses,
the supposed God of the Persians.
Fiction? Sort of . The comic book is based upon history
lessons laid down long before there was a Democratic party or Socialist
Left Wing nutcases in Europe who are intent to rewrite history to meet
their own fantasies -- their propaganda to convince us that their
version of warped history is accurate. Like their bad science or
in the case of Arab dissimulation,
they want us to believe that Xerses was a humanitarian and only out to
unite the world and for the good of that world in his quest to conquer
it. Not just a portion, but ALL
of it the world that existed at the time.
Of course, we don't have actual
dialog written down anywhere to work from -- well at least not in the
movie's kind of detail. And Greek story telling tends to be like
the Jewish Bible and the Muslim Quran -- more like parables than a
screenplay. The Persians? That's modern day Iran,
America. They are truly
incessed.
MILNET's comment on the "insult" delivered to the Iranians? "Get
a grip, it's the truth, and you are no better today, so quit whining!"
Trying today to
rewrite
history to make Xerses look like some heroic
figure in Persian history, is like saying Hitler was a good thing for
Germany. Or Kenghis Khan demonstrated some sort of civilized
behavior in relation to any of his opponents.
"The 300" tells history as written in many texts revered or established
as valid historical texts long before the left or the Arab World began
rewriting history to meet their propaganda needs. You know the
drivial. Columbus was a Rapist or the founders of our country
were not Christians, that kind of thingl.
Yes"300" it is a
bloody movie along the lines of what you might expect from Rodriquez or
Terrantino, sure. But you know, there is something heroric in 300
Spartans facing tens of thousands of the Persian hordes and the carnage
pays homage to their courage.
Let's
see Nancy Pelosi or Chirac in France demonstrate that kind of courage
and attention to duty. Let's see ANY leader in the modern world
who had both the gallant followers and who stands for justice, morality
and courage as Leonidas of the Spartans. Xerses was wrong (in the
movie anyway) when he said
Leonidas and his few men would never appear in history. To the
contrary, they are well remembered...Thank YOU! Frank Miller
(the original comic book writer who brought us this wonderful and
historically accurate story) for showing us a REAL super-hero out of
our past. Superman, Spidey and Batman don't stand up to the likes
of King Leonidas.
And taking this further, the only hero you might imagine the Arabs can
point to in modern history would be Anwar Sadat, but then, the Arabs
killed him for recognizing
Israel's right to exist. And the Palestinians?
Arafat! And that, my friends is perhaps indicative of the Arab
culture entirely. Calling Arafat a hero and a freedom fighter fighting
Israeli repression and occupation ignores the darkest secret of Arab
existence...they hate the Palestinians as a people even more than the
Israelis. Why do you think there is this agnst about keeping them
within the confines of Israel? The Palestinians were rejected by
ALL of Israel's neighbors. The sentiment oft heard in that part
of the world is "No one wants them, let the Jews deal with 'em".
Truly heroic, yes?
Sources:
- U.S.
Action Film Insulting To Iran, A.P., Yahoo News (UK), 03/14/2007
©
Copyright 2007, Michael G. Crawford
