Movie: 300
Fanonian Perspectives:
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Summary and Relation to Fanonian
Perspectives:
In 479 BC, one year after the famed
Battle of Thermopylae, Dilios, a hoplite in the Spartan Army, begins his story
by depicting the life of Leonidas I from childhood to kingship via Spartan
doctrine. Dilios's story continues and Persian messengers arrive at the gates
of Sparta demanding "earth and water" as a token of submission to
King Xerxes (Attempt at colonialization); the Spartans reply by killing and
kicking the messengers into a well[1]
(2)
the Spartans found their freedom through violence
not allowing the Persians to control and “colonize” them. Also it can be seen as the peasant who refuses to
“sellout” and sticks to his traditions (8).
Leonidas then visits the Ephors,
proposing a strategy to drive back the numerically superior Persians through
the Hot Gates; his plan involves building a wall in order to funnel the
Persians into a narrow pass between the rocks and the sea. The Ephors consult
the Oracle, who decrees that Sparta will not go to war during the Carneia. As
Leonidas angrily departs, a messenger from Xerxes appears, rewarding the Ephors
for their covert support (6) this
instance reflects what Fanon refered to as traitors who get along well with the
colonizer for their own gain.
Although the Ephors have denied him
permission to mobilize Sparta's army, Leonidas gathers three hundred of his
best soldiers in the guise of his personal bodyguard; they are joined along the
way by Arcadians (1), (4) This
instance reflects the Fanonian perspective that the colonized and oppressed
must unite and fight to achieve power. At Thermopylae, they construct
the wall made up of stones and slain Persian scouts as mortar, angering the
Persian Emissary. Stelios, an elite Spartan soldier, orders him to go back to
the Persian lines and warn Xerxes after cutting off his whipping arm. Meanwhile,
Leonidas encounters Ephialtes, a deformed Spartan whose parents fled Sparta to
spare him certain infanticide. Ephialtes asks to redeem his father's name by
joining Leonidas' army, warning him of a secret path the Persians could use to
outflank and surround the Spartans. Though sympathetic, Leonidas rejects him
since his deformity physically prevents him from holding his shield high
enough; potentially compromising the phalanx formation, and Ephialtes is
enraged.
The battle begins soon after the Spartans'
refusal to lay down their weapons. Using the Hot Gates to their advantage, as
well as their superior fighting skills, the Spartans repel wave after wave of
the advancing Persian army. During a lull in the battle, Xerxes personally
approaches Leonidas to persuade him to surrender, offering him wealth and power
in exchange for his allegiance; Leonidas declines and mocks Xerxes (8)
for the inferior quality of his fanatical warriors this
instance directly relates to (8) whereby “clinging to a rigid context” that of
not allowing himself to “sellout” and constantly being “community minded” the
king continues to “generate episodes of warefare”. In response, Xerxes
sends in his elite guard, the Immortals, later that night. Despite some
Spartans being killed, they heroically defeat the Immortals (with slight help
from the Arcadians). On the second day, Xerxes sends in new waves of armies
from Asia and other Persian city-states, including war elephants, to crush the
Spartans once and for all, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Ephialtes defects to
Xerxes to whom he reveals the secret path in exchange for wealth, luxury, and a
uniform this may be seen in Fanonnian perspective
whereby the peasant who migrates into the city and follows the ways of the
colonized is seen as a traitor (6).The Arcadians retreat
upon learning of Ephialtes' betrayal, but the Spartans stay. Leonidas orders an
injured but reluctant Dilios to return to Sparta and tell them of what has
happened, a "tale of victory".
In Sparta, Queen Gorgo tries to
persuade the Spartan Council to send reinforcements to aid the 300. Theron, a
corrupt politician, claims that he "owns" the Council and threatens
the Queen, who reluctantly submits to his sexual demands in return for his
help. When Theron disgraces her in front of the Council, Gorgo kills him out of
rage, revealing within his robe a bag of Xerxes' gold. Marking his betrayal (6),
the Council unanimously agrees to send reinforcements. On the third day, the
Persians, led by Ephialtes, traverse the secret path, encircling the Spartans.
Xerxes' general again demands their surrender. Leonidas seemingly kneels in
submission, allowing Stelios to leap over him and kill the general. A furious
Xerxes orders his troops to attack. Leonidas rises and throws his spear at Xerxes;
barely missing him, the spear cuts across and wounds his face, proving the
God-King's mortality. Leonidas and the remaining Spartans fight to the last man
until they finally succumb to an arrow barrage.
Dilios, now back at Sparta,
concludes his tale before the Council. Inspired by Leonidas' sacrifice, Greece
has mobilized. The Persians now face an army of 30,000 free Greeks led by a
vanguard of 10,000 Spartans. After one final speech commemorating the 300,
Dilios, now head of the Spartan Army, leads them to war, against the Persians
across the fields of Plataea (7) upon
winning the war they would hold true to the expression “the last shall be
first”.
Reference Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_(film)
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