Go Tell The Spartans

Political Mavens ^ | 24 March 2007 | Andrew Klavan

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

By now, dozens of critics have weighed in on the massive box office success of 300, but not one I’ve read has figured out the reason for it. I have: it’s a terrific picture, one of the best in years. When I compare it to the movies that were nominated for Best Picture Oscars last year, it makes them seem to be exactly what they were: watered-down warm milk for liberal baby boomers who want to close the curtains on World War III, and snuggle down under their tie-dyed covers for a long winter’s nap full of tangerine dreams.

They are a weary failure of a generation. Like the British Edwardians before them, they could not live up to the achievements of their elders. So they invented a new set of rules, rules that sounded daring and dangerous and radical, but are in fact puerile, safe and anesthetic. Does western civilization require defense and sacrifice? Well, then ho, ho, ho, western civ has got to go. Does political freedom require responsibility and self-discipline? Well, then we’ll redefine freedom as individual licentiousness. Do other, lesser cultures want to destroy us? Well, then, we’ll join them in blaming America and avoid any unpleasantness. In short, the baby boomers’ leftist philosophy amounts to nothing more than an elaborate rationalization of their own cowardice and a way to dull the pain of the resultant self-disgust.....

[Zeroisanumber]

I have: it’s a terrific picture, one of the best in years.

Meh. I thought it was OK, but not as good as some other epic movies I've seen. All things given, I'd rather spend an evening watching Gladiator than 300.

When I compare it to the movies that were nominated for Best Picture Oscars last year, it makes them seem to be exactly what they were: watered-down warm milk for liberal baby boomers who want to close the curtains on World War III, and snuggle down under their tie-dyed covers for a long winter’s nap full of tangerine dreams.

Oh yeah, The Departed was a "watered-down warm milk" kind of movie. Whatever.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

The film understands that we celebrate heroes because we dine on the fruits of their sacrifice. The greatest of these fruits is liberty, more precious than life itself.

And when we glorify the heroes who defend our liberty with their lives, it reminds us too that we must live in responsibility to them, not only in our actions but in our philosophies as well.

Every day that we preserve and cherish our freedom is a monument to them, a sign that they are not forgotten. They are never forgotten.

[Rummyfan]

Like the British Edwardians before them, they could not live up to the achievements of their elders. So they invented a new set of rules, rules that sounded daring and dangerous and radical, but are in fact puerile, safe and anesthetic. Does western civilization require defense and sacrifice? Well, then ho, ho, ho, western civ has got to go. Does political freedom require responsibility and self-discipline? Well, then we’ll redefine freedom as individual licentiousness. Do other, lesser cultures want to destroy us? Well, then, we’ll join them in blaming America and avoid any unpleasantness.

I'm not familiar with this author, but this is a rather good and terse summation of the culture.

[Zeroisanumber]

The Departed was a good 3/4 of a movie, but I thought the ending was too contrived - it seemed mostly a vehicle to blow a bunch of people away on-screen and was a complete deviation from what was a pretty good plot up to then.

The only thing that I thought was contrived was the second dirty cop, that seemed like something he tacked on to help propel the ending along. Besides that, it was Scorsese's best film since Goodfellas.

[Joe 6-pack]

"It is a comic book writ large."

While I've seen that, and many similar words written to disparage the movie, I think it's worth noting that widespread literacy in western civilization is a relatively recent development, and until post-Gutenberg era, our culture's mythology, legends and ideals were communicated through didactic imagery in icons, stained glass, statuary, painting and manuscripts illustrated not only to augment the written word but to instruct those incapable of reading them. Comic books (or 'graphic novels' if you prefer) are heirs to this tradition, and in many ways, I think 300 brings the transmission of our cultural legends around full circle...a real event mythologized, and communicated through the latest incarnation of the original means of transmitting such.

[RonF]

That second dirty cop, and the changes that his presence brought on, are exactly what I was thinking of.

[ScareyFast63]

Quite correct!!!!!!!!I was dismayed as the Demoslime pulled the money plug on Vietnam and now I am physically sickened at the blatant, filthy, whining, hatred of George Bush driven, whimp,nutless Damnocrats ploy of telegraphing the U.S. military plans to the enemy by tying a with-drawl date to the funding which is vital to our brave troops very existence. By God, damn their souls because the task of righting their mistake may be extremely difficult by the time we are hit by one of Iran's nuke armed missiles. Hell, the U.S. will have to pull the EU's bacon out the fire again to the tune of many more fine young soldier's lives and so much more of our treasure. If the Liberals are so blind to the consequences of their actions I say, IT IS TIME TO GIVE THEM SOME OCULAR ADJUSTMENTS!!!!!

[Joe 6-pack]

"I could go on..."

I also thought there was an interesting portrayal of sexuality in the movie...The scene between Leonidas and Queen Gorgo was portrayed in a soft, sensuous way that lionized the wholesome love between committed spouses.

The seduction of Ephialtes at Xerxes' encampment was all about sex and lust being used to lure and entrap one into the ways of evil.

[Old Sarge]

"Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
that here, obedient to their laws, we lie!"

[freedom44]

The movie is based off a comic book writer and the film is fiction not based on reality. Reality is the Persians crushed the Spartans and went on to burn Athens.

The Spartans were mostly homosexuals
They were authoritarian that is why they fought with and did not respect the Athenians
They did not believe in democracy or the Western way of life as claimed
They are not exactly the models of modern society or the advents of modern democracy

[Oberon]

Libertarians are not licentious because they believe in freedom. We just believe is staying out of other people's business. More importantly, we believe in keeping government out of people's pockets and bedrooms.

Hey, I'm with you. I'm not a party member, but I tend to vote for the Libertarian candidate because it's the closest thing I can find to someone who will actually pursue the Republican Party platform.

[Excellence]

Not to mention epic Greek plays.

[tom paine 2]

It is a real shame that we have used the political freedoms, fought for by past generations, to make bad choices

[The Pack Knight]

Many, if not most, of the philosophical libertarians I've known were not real big on consistent self-control. Maybe my personal experiences with them have coloured my overall perception of the philosophy, however.

I would say that the difference between a libertarian and a liberal is that while both believe one should be at liberty to do what one pleases as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of another, a liberal also believes one should be insulated by the state from the consequences of irresponsible behavior, while a libertarian believes that the individual is responsible for the consequences of his own actions.

I myself have known self-described "libertarians" whose devotion to freedom stops short of freedom from the "social safety net". These are actually liberals, not libertarians. It should go without saying that liberty requires responsibility, because true liberty includes the freedom to fail as well as the freedom to succeed. Those with poor self-control who make poor decisions will be punished by those decisions, and need not be punished by the state.

For the record, I no longer describe myself as a libertarian, not only because the philosophy has been hijacked by some of the very people you describe, but also because it is an unnecessary neologism for the very principles our republic was founded upon.

[The Pack Knight]

The movie is based off a comic book writer and the film is fiction not based on reality. Reality is the Persians crushed the Spartans and went on to burn Athens.

The Persians then went on to be defeated by the Spartans and their allies, under the command of Leonidas' nephew Pausanias, at Plataea. This was the battle depicted at the end of the movie. None of this is inconsistent with what happened in the movie.

The Spartans were mostly homosexuals

The Spartans practiced institutionalized homoeroticism, specifically pederasty, as did virtually all Greeks and many other Mediterranean cultures of the period. Homosexuality is a preference for same-sex intercourse to the exclusion of heterosexual intercourse. If they were mostly homosexuals, there wouldn't have been too many of them around by the 5th century BC, as few if any would have been breeding.

They were authoritarian that is why they fought with and did not respect the Athenians

The Athenians were authoritarian as well to their "allies" in the Delian League, and also kept slaves.

They did not believe in democracy or the Western way of life as claimed

Our Founding Fathers didn't believe in democracy, either. This is why we have a constitutional republic. The Spartans also had a constitutional government. Sparta's kings were subject to the laws of Lycurgus just as the other Spartans were. Sparta's kings did not hold absolute power, either.

They are not exactly the models of modern society or the advents of modern democracy

Neither were the Athenians or the Romans, or anyone else from that time. Strictly speaking, neither were many of our own Founding Fathers. That doesn't mean we don't respect what the Founding Fathers, the Romans, the Athenians, or even the Spartans did accomplish.

[Junior]

The Spartans were mostly homosexuals
They were authoritarian that is why they fought with and did not respect the Athenians
They did not believe in democracy or the Western way of life as claimed
They are not exactly the models of modern society or the advents of modern democracy

They also practiced eugenics in an effort to breed a race of super warriors. In short, they were proto-Nazis.

Still, there is something about a last stand against overwhelming odds that still fires the imagination.

[livius]

The point of the movie was not that we should emulate Spartan society or politics. There were many unattractive things about them.

However, the Spartans did have the courage to stand up against overwhelming odds to protect their society from an aggressive ME society that wished to enslave them. They lost that battle, but subsequent battles were won and the Spartan/Greek world was saved. That was the message, and I think that's what most people got from it.

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

"Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie!"

"Free though they are, they are not entirely free - for law is their master, whom they fear far more than your men fear you. Whatever their law commands, that they do; and it commands them always the same: they are not allowed to flee in battle from any foe, however great the numbers, but rather they are to stay in their ranks and there conquer or perish." - Herodotus

[bagadonutz]

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

For the record, I no longer describe myself as a libertarian, not only because the philosophy has been hijacked by some of the very people you describe, but also because it is an unnecessary neologism for the very principles our republic was founded upon.

I tend to come down very hard on libertarians, but this is probably a case of rivalry between cousins, for I used to be a libertarian, but have since abandoned the position philosophically. I describe myself as "Neo-Ciceronian", and land somewhere at the crossroads between classical republicanism and classical liberalism. I left libertarianism because I felt that libertarians themselves often did not think through the logical consequences of many positions that they espouse, and in the name of "liberty", would actually create an environment where the individual could be just as tyrannous to other individuals as the government is. The whole "private roads" position was what formally did it for me.

I'm big on Lockean-style commonwealth ideology. Government is needed, but it is government which acts as a result of being instituted by a body of individuals, the commonwealth, for the purpose of providing mutual protection, from each other as much as from outside agents. The purpose of government is to provide a stable and peaceful mode of existence (i.e. eliminate the "state of nature") which will allow each individual to then pursue their natural liberties to life and property, without the assault on their liberties that other individuals in a "fre-for-all" natural state would present.

Hence, the role of government should be arbitrative, not regulatory.