Come and Get Them

I finally took the advice of, well, everyone I know, and went and saw 300. At first I was reluctant to financially support something that the National Review called "Real All-American stuff," but I relented once I heard that there were at least three slow-mo decapitations. I talked to my mother about it before I went, and was mildly irritated by her insistence on calling it "the 300," though I could not explain why. I can certainly see why people insist on seeing political overtones in a movie where an overmatched Western general tells the religious Middle Eastern zealot despot that he is fighting for freedom and dies a glorious death on the battlefield. However, I have a hard time believing that there is anything that highbrow in a movie in which one of the aforementioned slow-mo decapititations comes at the hands of an eight foot tall monster that has had its forearms replaced with massive swords. No, the message of the movie is not political, it is ideological, and much simpler. It is just the idea that you can stand up against much greater forces, and triumph if you stick to your guns. Or swords, if you like. Or pens. The real reason that I was irritated by my mother calling it "the 300" is that that title implies that the film is about 300 specific men. It isn't. It is about any man or woman who refuses to abandon their principles in the face of defeat, which is exactly what Barack Obama is doing. More money has already been raised in this election cycle than any before, but Obama is sticking to his principles, and not giving in and accepting lobbyists' donations. Now that is real All-American stuff.