Zack Snyder has somehow risen though the ranks of Hollywood by merely possessing the skills of a B-movie director. His films which are usually colour-graded to hell, have all the artistic merit of a soft-core porn romp, and mimic the aesthetics of a noughties pop music video. This slow-motion junkie is obsessed with high contrast, grain, noise filters and his visual crap-fests appeal only to the effluence of society.
One of the worst films this hack ever created was 300, a film which masqueraded as an allegory of the small defeating the big. 300 in reality was no David vs. Goliath tale, but a highly prejudicial piece of propaganda which relished the idea of white defeating black. The entire movie was littered with historical inaccuracy and caricatures of ethnic minorities. Through the use of so-called artistic licence, Snyder created a film which heaved with ethnic and religious prejudice and worst of all, racial hatred.
In the opening scene of the film, an “attractive” white teenager fights an “ugly” black, wild, savage wolf. From this point on, the audience is bombarded with imagery which shows the white race as superior. We are told that the white Arcadians are artistic and hardworking by stating their professions (sculptor, blacksmith, and potter). We are shown white Spartans as strong, wise, and mighty. Even the Spartan girls who are chosen as oracles (played by a ginger-haired white woman) are described as “beautiful”. The Persians in contrast are shown as evil mindless slaves.
The Persians in the film are essentially an amalgam of all the races in the world except for white. With their varying shades of brown skin and varying shades of dark dress, covered in random ethnic clothing and kicking up sand; they represent every “enemy” or opposing force the white race has ever encountered throughout history. The film runs through a list of these minorities and makes each of them look inferior to western Caucasians.
The Immortals are depicted as East Asians who wear black to reinforce the idea of evil. There are Middle-Eastern or North-African magicians who ride rhinos. Then there are South Asian warriors who clutch scimitars and ride Elephants. Indeed, the narrator describes the Persian army as coming from the “darkest corners of Xerxes’ Empire” which translates as every country where people of colour exist. Snyder then adds to this mix of propaganda and caricatured villainy; a Baphomet-style goat character and a scarred lesbian harem complete with amputee courtesans packed into a shisha tent. This adds fuel to the idea of the evil and devilish Middle East, who in real-life at the time of the film’s release was at the height of war with a white America. With the racist line “we rescue a world from mysticism and tyranny” being spoken at the end by a white Spartan, this also parallels the so-called “liberating” of the Middle East.
The few times we are shown a white “bad-guy” in the film, we are shown a deformed or distorted character which associates villainy with bad genetics. The white Spartan who sells-out to Xerxes is a disabled man, and even the Greek Ephors are described as inbred and having “souls as black as hell” by the narrator. Any white Greek who is evil therefore, is through the ideas of eugenics and genetic traits, shown in some way to be un-white.
The racial and ethnic miscasting of the Greek and Spartan characters only adds to these ideas of western and white superiority. With a cast of white British actors with British accents playing the Greeks and Spartans, we the audience subliminally equate all historical events as having kinship with the modern-day western Caucasian. Similar to Jesus’ face being white-washed in paintings, we are slowly being sold a fake history. We are being brainwashed into thinking that any crusade against nations and people of colour is somehow just, but the killing of whites is and always will be morally wrong.
Films like 300 perpetuate a false history of white nations having the strongest and wisest citizens and the greatest soldiers. With jibes like “Spartan women give birth to real men” being spoken in an English accent, we can assume the writers mean that “white men are real men”. Zack Snyder co-wrote the screenplay with Kurt Johnstad and Michael Gordon, making all three of these punk motherfuckers as racist and prejudice as the original writer of the graphic novel; Frank Miller. A screenwriter and director with Laconophilic tendencies, inspired by a trashy, prejudiced, and historically-inaccurate graphic novel penned by a xenephobic wannabe artist, does not make for an enjoyable movie.
In real life the “million” strong Persian army was estimated at under 150,000 and the “300” Spartans were helped by Thesbians, Thebans, and other Greek forces which numbered in the several thousand. Because the eventual victors were of the Greek persuasion, the historical re-telling (like every other event in history) has the losers rewritten as savage, evil, and ineffective, whereas the winners are depicted as educated, wise, and somehow righteous.
It cannot be ignored that the most hate-filled people throughout history including Hans F. K. Günther, Alfred Rosenberg, and various other Nazis including Adolf Hitler himself, praised and respected the Spartans. Therefore there must be something inherently racist and pro-Caucasian about the whole legend. With lines like “All men are not created equal, that’s the Spartan code” spoken in the movie, the idea of a white “master” race is to this day embedded in the soul of this tale… and also in this lame film. And like everything lame in Hollywood, a sequel is looming.
Zero Out Of 300.
Categories: Artwork, Film And Movies, Reviews
WHAT WENT WRONG WITH...? 
you told like it is. Great analysis. I remember seeing “300” and thinking this movie seriously glorifies white males. Zack Snyder is a racist.
Yeah, 300 was an obviously racist movie which no mainstream critic ever acknowledged at the time; even though most people saw the prejudice a mile away. Thanks for taking the time to reply BTW.
I appreciate this article, my mother is an Indian with Persian ancestry and whenever I see this film I feel outraged at how the Pesian people are portrayed. it doesn’t matter that it was based on a comic book or ‘not meant to be taken seriously’, it is an load of extremely racist pro-violent hate material. The way that everything violent the Greeks did was glorified whilst everything the Persians did was demonised implies that no matter what you do, if you are a westerner then it is totally fine.
I am shuddering at the thought of the second movie coming out, and seeing how Warner Brothers continues to distort and misinform people about an historical empire.
I agree. By taking source material from a prejudice xenophobe like Frank Miller; 300 was bound to be a hate-filled propaganda piece. 300 Rise Of An Empire looks just as racist and shitty, just with a bigger budget.
Brilliant article !
Although there is so much more to tell about this rotten bunch of fascists-Zionist-racists-Islamophobe-xenophobe, FOX News style propagandists !
Above all it’s motivated by contemporary ideological, political, religious and war issues and efforts by West against Middle-East.
Above all it’s mind-boggling and even hurtful to see how acceptable this is in my own society – I’m appalled and disgust, and I can imagine how Iranian, Arabs, and/or any Muslim feels after they get aware how western people rationalize and then celebrate this garbage. Sad, sad story for all of us …
Congrats to author for the article and blog.
Cheers!
(I also like this scholarly and thorough elaboration on Rascialisous :
http://www.racialicious.com/2009/02/27/frank-millers-300-and-the-persistence-of-accepted-racism/ )
Thanks for the reply. I just read your recommended article on the subject and encourage others to read it. I wrote a piece on Frank Miller a while back, but after reading his quotes from your link (for instance on Muslims & 9/11)…
“These people saw people’s heads off. They enslave women, they genitally mutilate their daughters, they do not behave by any cultural norms that are sensible to us. I’m speaking into a microphone that never could have been a product of their culture, and I’m living in a city where three thousand of my neighbors were killed by thieves of airplanes they never could have built.”
…it just makes me loathe Frank Miller and his Islamophobic spiel even more (if that was at all possible).
Peace.
Thanks friend !
There is a possibility that I posted that same post twice, although I’m not sure – if you find double comment, it was accidental …
Anyway, I liked Milllers’ Ronin very, very much, and that was the main reason which compelled me to learn everything about that guy soon after I saw first couple of tablos for his little propaganda project known as 300…
In any case that bunch (Miller-Snyder & Co) should be unmasked as much as possible, on any given occasion and opportunity. Thats’ quite possible task, and people scholars or not doing it all over the web – you can find some great and nasty works simply destroying both Miller and Snyder – nontheless masses will stay in trans and walking/brain dead mostly, unfortunately.
Keep the good work, your blog is excellent…
Cheers!
Miller gave two interviews for NPR – one on 27 Jan 2007 (I think date is correct) which you found in article whose link I posted, but there is earlier interview on same radio (NPR) on September 2006 I believe (one of these was immediately after Bush’s State of the Union speech )….
my god! i am always close to freaking out when i read stuff like that.
sorry but i have to assume that you are one of the guys that sees racism everywhere!
When i watch 300 i think : This is a good film. A small group of people defending their home against a military superiority.
When you watch 300 u think: This is pure racism. This shall portray superior white people killing black people and it is also portrayes as moralicly right!
I dont even THINK about any race-concerning stuff, would it be black people denfending their home vs white people, it would be the same story to me. How would u see that? is that then racism too?
Special form of modern racism to me is when u see racism everywhere, even when there is none;
a black guy says: i am proud of my race/country/nationality whatever – reaction: That is nice!
a whie guy say: i am proud of my race/country/nationality whatever – reaction: Oh my god racist!
That is of course exaggerated, but i guess it would see you somehow in this section of people.
The film doesnt “brainwash” me as u say in any way (please dont come with subliminal messages now, have u read studies?). The only one brainwashing people are you, in seeing evrything on an attack on your race. Stop thinking in categories
Next time its better to portray the spartans as a perfectly balanced ethnical group, being attacked from persians, also portrayed by a perfectly balanced ethnical group!
or hey lets fight… hm lets say irish people against people from ..hmm ghana
perfectly realistic film then, irish people wont be displayed by white guys with often red hair, na better take again a perfectly balanced group of people, that will make a really realistic film and then u can finally be happy..
ridiculous^^
sorry english is not my native language, but i think its understandable 🙂
I’ll tell you what is ridiculous. The fact that you never consider the race, ethnicity, and Country of the people creating any piece of media or art. That’s a big part on what I base any criticism on.
So, taking your weird example; if someone makes a film about Irish people fighting people from Ghana, since this has never happened in history (as far as I am aware) it would be criticised taking into consideration the following:
What is the motive
What is the message and tone of the finished product
Is it a metaphor for real events
Who is the Artist and where are they from. Also who do they represent
If you apply this and find there is no real cause for prejudice, then the film albeit a weird plot; would be considered “not racist”, especially for instance if the film was written/directed by a person from Ghana or Ireland but showed the other race “winning” or in a positive light. If the genre of the film was a comedy, then it may be even less prejudice (not always true however).
With 300, the film was based on real history, so to caricature these historical events to benefit the Country/race/ethnicity/religion of the creator/s is the highest level of propaganda and prejudice. So 300 being (stylised) non-fiction, you would have to consider the facts:
The USA were in two wars with Muslim countries at the time of production/release
The Film is based on the known Islamophobe Frank Miller’s Graphic Novel
The film is written and directed by Caucasian Americans
Therefore to make a film about white underdogs against a superior (in terms of numbers) brown and black army, that’s obviously propaganda. Don’t be so naive when you consume art, there is always motive.
Someone like you would have watched “A Birth Of A Nation” and said “that’s a great rip-roaring film!”. Then years later, it would be obvious that it was a racist, hateful, pro-KKK film. 300 is exactly the same.
On your second point, brainwashing in reality isn’t the Clockwork Orange style strapped into a chair with your eyes forced open, over-the-top exaggeration. If you are conditioned from birth to watch white-made movies by a white Christian country, usually by middle-aged white male heterosexuals. For you to then see “prejudice-free entertainment”, you my friend have been so successfully brainwashed, that you even feel the need to defend them.
Plus, you’re from Germany right? If a German made a weirdly high-contrast, cartoonish movie about the various attempts at annexation by the Roman Empire. And then they showed Julius Caesar as a weird 15-foot tall evil leader and all the Franks as noble fearless warriors; that would be a prejudicial movie. The fact that both Germans and Romans, and by extension Italians and Europeans are all Caucasian, would be irrelevant. The film would still be perceived as hateful. If at the time of the film’s release there was a war between Germany and Italy, the film would also become propaganda.
For you to read my article and see it as a Pro-Black = Proud & Pro-White = Racist inequality issue, means that not only did you not read the article properly, but that you reduce even an article concerning an anti-Islamic film into an argument about “Black” versus “White”. Ignoring the Religious intolerance or Religious discrimination of the piece and focussing on the general race of the antagonists and the person criticising the film, is actual prejudice. Also, assuming that I’m a minority because I’m siding with the Persian/Muslim side, ironically makes you racist… But I guess I see racism everywhere, right?
I simplified the conflict to black and white to make a point, u can take green and red, christian and muslim, banana and apple it doesnt matter and considering how often u talk about black, white, dark shades, white shades, black armor as something that contributes to the racism and so on, im pretty sure it was an accurate simplification and i will use it again now.
and where did i say your from a minority? maybe that one sentence was misleading, but it was a general statement on seeing everything as attack, i didnt specify your from a minority, and it doesnt matter , u can be white,black, a green goblin from outter space and my opinion wouldnt change.
also i have not the necessary knowledge to answer how i would like to do it in my native language, which would be more accurate and conclusive. this is the internet, so neither of us gonna change his opinion anyway, but i just want to make everyone who agrees without any doubt with original poster and ofc you to think about one thing:
Isnt a huge part of zack synders choices in this film to (1) make the film intresting (2) to realize the graphic novel and (3) to bring his beloved film techniques ?
I didnt say any word so far to the original guy that created the novel, maybe he s racist maybe not i wont argue abou that now, but what bothers me much is what u say about zack synder and how evrything he does in that film is racist.
Should a film be intresting, have tension, show a conflict that is also displayed visually? Yes. Everyone agrees with that i guess. The Basic Conflict is Persians (superior army etc) vs Spartans. So far that is the historic battle. You make a movie about it. Probably u wont make it from the point of view of the persians, as it would be a story about someone with an insane army defeating 300 guys that try to defend their home. Can they win? much tension, so intresting.
Okay so for me it would be more intresting, if the enemy (and that is not racist in any way, the persians were the enemy in that battle) would be displayed in contrast to us, to make the clash even bigger visual-wise. Now why black ? every color has its associations, and one of black may be that is is threatening. Now am i again a racist? Black = Threatening for me because i hate black people or am already brainwashed to dislike them? Or is it because dark color and white color is similar to darkness and light? Day and night? Humans are scared in places where its dark, they cant see, they feel unsafe, that is just some basic evolution, if we would live under the ground and would have vision at night, it wouldnt be like that probably. .. will be intresting if u call me racist for that 😀
That explains why dark amors may be used, now why are the people in dark shades? well the novel displays them so, why should zack snyder now make it totally different? also correct me as i dont know much about the skin color of persian guys, but they are probably a bit darker as guys from ireland, so its just the natural thing to do.
and high contrast is, low saturation is basic zack snyder, snyder is called the painter among the directors (style over substance sometimes even) and its one of his trademarks and if u ask me it just makes the shots look freaking amazing.
Conlusion:
Are Zack Snyders choices in this film totally racist? Or is there the possibility that they are chosen to make an intrestic, thrilling zack synder film out of an already existing graphic novel?
That is the question the brainwashed guy wants to get answered.
You wanted to speak with the original poster, well here I am.
Firstly why get so tetchy when you were jokingly called a racist? Maybe you should read your own hastily formed response before getting so wound up about the retort.
You said:
“…in seeing everything on an attack on your race…”
Therefore the previous response was valid and just.
Also to bring up non-existent colours and creeds into an argument is usually a last ditch attempt at defending a prejudicial point of view. There are no “green goblins” and I’m not “from outter space”. A conflict between “banana” and “apple” would be a matter of taste, but since you feel the need to defend a mediocre movie as if it’s Citizen Kane, proves that you have none.
Secondly, there is no “ifs” or “maybes” when it comes to Frank Miller’s prejudice; he is a confirmed Islamophobe. And using his work as a starting point most definitely contributed to Zack Snyder’s final product. Ignoring this is ignoring a big part of the overall film.
Thirdly, an audience’s response to colour is subjective. In the East, white is associated with death or mourning for instance, in the West it’s used in weddings or by the Ku Klux Klan. Red can be the colour of the Devil or in other parts of the world it’s the colour associated with celebration. Black or darkness is therefore not always threatening, just ask anybody who chooses to work night shifts. But in a film made for and consumed by the West where we are conditioned throughout history to perceive Black as evil and White as Saintly or God-like, using these colours were quite obviously intentional. Don’t forget that Snyder went to an Art & Design College where these conventions are taught. Just because you allegedly “don’t even think about race-concerning stuff”, Snyder, Jonstad, Gordon, Miller, and a large proportion of the audience obviously do.
To take your other comment on board, even if your reply was translated into English, and mine into German; you would still come off as erratic, defensive, and imperious; and I would still sound condescending and arrogant. I doubt your argument would be more “accurate and conclusive” in your native language since your rules of aesthetics and perception of artistic standards are so fixed into your very being, as are mine.
Finally, what do you hope to achieve by defending Snyder’s motivations or artistic integrity; when neither of us can unequivocally say what his true intentions were? I think the film is prejudiced, and you do not. Barking your opinions at me won’t change anything, and since millions of ignorant or complacent fans made it and its sequel popular; why does my article bother you so much?
(Please bear in mind that these questions are rhetorical).
Conclusion: Your time and effort would be better served in creating and or managing a Zack Snyder fan-club. You can keep dragging imaginary conflicts into the argument, but the fact that the Caucasian or Western side in any Hollywood film is always the victor; shows that my attitude to mainstream film is justified. I wish your brainwashed ideas all the very best.
hey just got to say love this site , and really love
“On your second point, brainwashing in reality isn’t the Clockwork Orange style strapped into a chair with your eyes forced open, over-the-top exaggeration. If you are conditioned from birth to watch white-made movies by a white Christian country, usually by middle-aged white male heterosexuals. For you to then see “prejudice-free entertainment”, you my friend have been so successfully brainwashed, that you even feel the need to defend them.”
this is so so true
Cheers mate
Lolololol… An attractive white kid killing an evil black wolf as racial hatred/violence? Hitler admired the legends about Sparta, therefore the folklore itself must be inherently racist? Troll hard, junior.
Hey old man, get your shit straight. A Troll causes disruption by commenting on threads/message boards by straying off the subject. Since this article and message board is mine, it negates me being a “Troll”.
The fact that you keep coming back to this site day in and day out, to comment on various articles you apparently don’t agree with; you’re the troll you idiotic fucking prick.
Since you keep defending racist shit all over this site, it makes you either a white racist Troll, a racist sympathising Troll, or a racist white ignorant dip-shit Trolling cunt. Go choose one.
I’d tell you to fuck off, but you seem to be on this site more often than the “Followers”, so go ahead and read this…
What Went Wrong With… Having An Unorthodox Opinion?
The director Zack Snyder is a pretty overt Islamophobe.
There is the opening montage in Dawn Of The Dead, which begins unusually with a shot of Muslims praying in a mosque, as they bow in unison. It’s notable because there is no other religious iconography in the rest of the sequence [which has Johnny Cash’s The Man Comes Around playing in the background]. Immediately after this shot is a sequence of pure violence and chaos, as the zombies take over the world and cause mayhem and destruction. The natural conclusion being, these zombies [Muslims], mindless and submissive, a collective force, a chaotic diseased rabble, are set to cause destruction across the earth in general and America [the heart of the “free world”] in particular.
I really cannot believe how obvious it was at the time [war on terror propaganda], but what was hilarious was people trying to downplay it as though it meant nothing. Or that it was to show that people across the world were praying for salvation. As if anybody would reach that rather cryptic conclusion from such a sequence. And why only include Islam?
Ludicrous. I knew this guy would go on to make other movies with these types of general themes [“superior” Western society against the rest of the “uncivilized monkeys”]. Even Man of Steel had these themes inserted in the typical ham-handed way.
I completely agree. Thanks for the reply.
Man, I agree mostly. I do not think the Spartans were intentionally bad. Back then most people were racists. Persians were also racist too. Today in Iran, there is still misogyny and anti- semitism there. Racism affected almost everyone back then. However, I am upset that the Persians weren’t represented correctly. 300 had the Persians has black and hispanic. Few blacks and hispanics are anti- western. In reality, they would not have looked like blacks and hispanics. Keep up some of your articles, though. Some of your articles like the N Minaj one are cool.
300 sucks. It is a shit film with bad action sequences, too much slo-mo, and Gerald butler screaming “This is Sparta” throughout the whole movie. It is also racist due to its portrayal of Persians as violent, irrational, stupid savages. The film also had blacks and Asians. In reality, when did you ever see a black Persian? The timing of the release proves this movie was made to regain support for The War on Terror. Zack Snyder is a fucking brown noser and Frank Miller is a racist cunt. After the Paris attacks, I would not be surprised if there is a pro-France, pro-West movie coming to cinemas soon.
Apparently two films were being made/have been made about terrorism in Paris…
Made In France (a thriller about a terrorist cell in Paris)
Bastille Day (an action thriller starring Idris Elba as an ex-soldier who fought in Syria and Iraq, now a CIA agent hunting terrorists in Paris)
Just like 9/11 and 7/7 films were being made that foreshadowed the events yet to happen. But just like V For Vendetta, they’ll probably be hushed or delayed now that these attacks have happened (or re-shot like Spider Man with added propaganda).
300 had nothing to say – and said It too loudly .
A stupid and derivative piece of disposable trash that had me thinking : Why am I watching this shite instead of vastly superior movies like Braveheart Spartacus or Gladiator ?
Gerard Butler really REALLY sucks !
His movies are unbelievably stupid and mind bendingly dull.