Folding Ideas - 300

[@hubertmaliszewski9649]

Dan in 2012: The script for this video is way too long. Dan in 2018: Makes a nearly three hour series about the 50 Shades movies.

[@oof-rr5nf]

haha i know right He has come so far ♡

[@thomasblazek4104]

"Weeeeeel, ackchually..." His problem was the density of the text, not the length.

[@Flowtail]

Well he said it would take them a year to write the long script, and that was probably how long it took to make the Shades series

[@dstinnettmusic]

Dan in 2020: makes an hour-long video that goes over multiple day trips to a lake that allows him to disprove flat earth theory and then analyze how that weird subgrouping is being folded into a larger conspiracy movement, and then follows it up with a 30 minite video showing his experiment footage

[@olivert2635]

such amazing videos though

[@g.s.651]

“Yeah. I’d probably stop going to the movies, too.” ... Grateful for the genuine tone of empathy here. As someone firmly stuck in a group that is still stereotyped and badly represented in a lot of media (or ignored outright) I appreciate you trying to put yourself in the shoes of other folks like that.

[@NicincM]

i just realized that the video essay proper begins at 3:00 ... slow golf clap...

[@Ghebatta]

I think my biggest issue with the movie is that it is one of _very, very, few_ depictions of the Achaemenid Empire, the most advanced, powerful, prosperous and effective state entity _that had ever existed_ at this point in history. For a state of an importance that ranks up there with the unified China under the Qin/Han or the Roman Empire, most people know it as an obscure footnote in terms of "the place Alexander invaded". While I don't subscribe to Said's idea of ancient Greek accounts as depicting the Persians in an "Orientalist" manner (reading ancient Greek source material and consideration of various notions makes it clear that their state institutions thought of as something closer to the essence of monarchy, with both its virtues and flaws in the most extreme), it is an incredibly mistreated subject. And that makes 300's indulgences so, _so_ much worse.

[@declaration14]

300 is one of those films that I can't defend on any academic level but I will watch it every time it's on.

[@T33K3SS3LCH3N]

declaration14 I don't think that's difficult at all: the movie has a clear creative vision and achieves it. It's not a very complex or advanced one, but it does its job expertly.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

It is depending how your trying to do it.

[@supaspydamn]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@connorsyrewicz5453]

positive psychology and empirical aesthetics would provide great academic defenses.

[@jeffsmith3550]

As a new fan, it's amazing to come to this video after watching a 2 hour long video on flat earth and another on nft's and the robot is complaining about 12 minutes being too long.

[@neofromthewarnerbrothersic145]

He wasn't complaining about 12 minutes being too long, though... He was saying that they were trying to cram in too many ideas for a 15 minute video. So if anything, he was saying that the video is too short.

[@geoffreysorkin5774]

At the real battle the movie is based on, the 5,000 Delians (that the film derides as "not soldiers") did 99% of the work while the Spartans took all the glory by living the longest because they hid behind the Delian shield wall and Hoplites.

[@silentdrew7636]

That's most of the Spartans history

[@macacofrito]

Forgot to mention the idea that dying is awesome. The illusion or notion that dying for something is more meaningful or noble than dying whatsoever

[@maxsmith296]

I fear that i don't understand your point. Dying for something, IS more important then the dying for for nothing.

[@macacofrito]

According to you :P What is this something? Dying only has meaning to human eyes and mind. Your heart stops beating and the planet moves on. Death simbolizes human concepts like sacrifice and greek mythology/history/culture uses that concept a lot, but try to open your mind to the possibility that "Meaning" is a illusion.

[@SwevenHannibal]

Not dying unnecessarily might be better don't you think. Dying of old age, "for nothing", kicks any so-called good cause's butt

[@welwitschia]

To add to your point, it's important to remember how revered the concept of the 'heroic death' is for fascism. In the words of Umberto Eco writing about _Ur-Fascism_: "In such a perspective everybody is educated to become a hero. In every mythology the hero is an exceptional being, but in Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death. It is not by chance that a motto of the Falangists was Viva la Muerte (in English it should be translated as “Long Live Death!”). In non-fascist societies, the lay public is told that death is unpleasant but must be faced with dignity; believers are told that it is the painful way to reach a supernatural happiness. By contrast, the Ur-Fascist hero craves heroic death, advertised as the best reward for a heroic life. The Ur-Fascist hero is impatient to die. In his impatience, he more frequently sends other people to death."

[@SonofSethoitae]

Spartans actually did believe that, though

[@EZboyrocks]

The villain guy is literally the Orient, in every form and way. Ancient, mysterious, with diminutive, horde-like followers who are threatening to take over and erase white Anglican history. Extravagant, lush, ornamental, this dude is literally a fever dream of Orientalism.

[@rorysparshott4223]

He is. The whole telling is from the perspective of the surviving Spartan.

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

@@Aryan_Psycho88 "Western"

[@copsuicide]

​@@Aryan_Psycho88 you're being purposely ignorant about this and that I guess is what passes for cleverness among inept fascist twats like you

[@JeffMaziarz]

It's years later. I'm watching this again. I would love to see the Zardoz reference. Dan, your stuff is wonderful.

[@ArielVHarloff]

The ending paragraph is such a smart destillation of what sucks about stereotypes and how to make it tangible for the proverbial straight cis white male

[@kingblue2646]

Never cut Zardoz. Sean Connery's red underpants are the cornerstone of modern cinema.

[@CamiloFHSC]

How many russians get to be wholesome, stable people in cinema? They are either the bad guy, or the crazy russian.

[@jaymiddleton1782]

Camilo Fernández watch some Russian movies. Then again if "wholesome and stable" are what you like, maybe film isn't for you.

[@JustWandering]

Anton Yelchin in Star Trek. That’s about it.

[@tarvoc746]

@@JustWandering Also Pavel Chekov in Star Trek.

[@andyhaochizhang]

@jaymiddleton1782 of course Russians get to be all kinds of characters in films made by Russians for other Russians. He's talking about the narrow stereotypes Russians are presented as in mainstream western (or at least English speaking) culture, which both reflect and reinforce biases against Russians in western nations.

[@bethanychatman9531]

​@@jaymiddleton1782 that's a dumbass comment you made.

[@ProfessorH]

If someone told me 300 was a satire i'd probably belive them. Well until i knew it was frank miller. there is an author you wish was writing satire.

[@lissaylissean9940]

In the 2024 KZbin landscape of feature-length film video essays, it's funny watching old videos that hand-wring about being "too long" at 12 minutes lol

[@LP-lj9ig]

300 is exactly what Fight Club made fun of.

[@cyjanek7818]

Fight club is exactly what fight club made fun of and I am not sure if its deliberate

[@suyang4505]

Love getting drunk and binge watch your videos 🐳🐳

[@ZenmaiSuperbus]

I'm doing that right now, brother

[@joewaid]

Why you gotta bring the whales into this?

[@codylakin288]

I love this page. I'm just discovering you, and have to say--thank you so much for being one of the very few pages like this that doesn't dumb things down!

[@rorysparshott4223]

My favourite theme of the film is how the more fantastic elements are explained - it's the stories of the lone survivor, played up for effect. He is an intentionally flawed narrator. We don't see things remotely as they are, but as the survivor (whose name escapes me) tells them to an audience. Even the end scene, with him in front of an endless Greek army is from his perspective.

[@davieb8216]

I know this was was one of his earlier vids but sad he didn't bring this up. Also, his name was Faramir.

[@TypeSaturn]

Damn. This is a good one.

[@zackpumpkinhead8882]

The fact that I not only grokked the long winded excerpt at the beginning, but realized I conceptualized the same idea as a thought experiment independently of this channel, and the fact this is all one run-on sentence, gives me deep satisfaction.

[@robertolie6798]

One of these days you guys(you and Lindsay) should dust off that script about Mikaela from Transformers and talk abt fmnsm and stuff :p

[@rachelb.684]

YES

[@reeddressler9042]

Luckily they did!

[@rachelb.684]

Reed Dressler When?

[@reeddressler9042]

Lindsay Ellis has a series on the transformers movies and one of them is about Mikaela and the camera. It might be her third video on feminism in that series.

[@reeddressler9042]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnzco4iDisqlrLc

[@Aphgaa]

Okay this is awesome. Love the objective look at a crazy movie. I wish you had mentioned the use of the storyteller as the reason behind the fantastical elements to the story, buuut then again you have shown yourself to be far better at media exegesis than me.

[@Magrior]

I think you can probably get a good idea of his opinion on the storyteller as a justification for the way people are depicted in 300 when you look at the "Thermian Argument" minisode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6m5aZp3fNKVqs0 "[We will talk about] the diegetic justification for creepy garbage and how terrible and flawed it is as an argument". Does it make sense in the story? Yes. Does it excuse any of the choices the creators (Zack Snyder) made during the creation of this movie? Is it an actual justification for the objectification of the characters and specifically the way the Persians are depicted? Absolutely No.

[@gateauxq4604]

That first quote pretty much explains thinking about film theory. That was my college career. I pretty much let go of the personal brain objectivity so my head didn't explode. It almost did anyway.

[@McJaews]

He also loves rhyming: "You will find, I am kind"

[@blokey8]

One day we'll get a film adaptation of Gates of Fire, and that will be a much better treatment of Thermopylae

[@Thrna_1]

Sparta's so powerful they stretched their bloody ripped arms 2400 years into the future and propagandized itself to seem the most powerful.

[@ZenmaiSuperbus]

And they did this because ... they were communists! And slave owners at the same time! America is secretly really fascinated with both of these things ...

[@KajiCarson]

I wish this video were an hour long.

[@moredetonation3755]

Xerxes is a Pillar Man CMV

[@elegantcat1496]

Wow. That was frightening for a second.

[@matteofurlotti6211]

watching this after 10 years of MCU takes a whole other meaning XD

[@vvblues]

Being masculine and ripped at all times matters above all else.

[@Newovar]

This man gets it.

[@Bluargh02]

you forgot a important point. who is telling the story. its the one eyed solde who get send back to sparta to tell the story, and he told the story in exactly that way you see the movie. 300 is a visualized fairytale.

[@nelumbonucifera7537]

Does the film give us any reason to question his story? The "real" framing scenes are identical in style to the "fairytale" scenes, suggesting that they are in fact the same reality. If a film presents a narrative without comment or counterpoint, it endorses that narrative.

[@Bluargh02]

Nelumbo Nucifera all we se is naked man. so, who knews.

[@dinahm4123]

Nelumbo Nucifera the film is narrated throughout, and at the very end you realise the whole thing was a story told by the one eyed man, the film is aware of it's own bias

[@DASG999]

I don't think Frank Miller is capable of something with that deph.

[@maxsmith296]

WOW

[@bbrbbr-on2gd]

I like the reading of it being propaganda told from the Spartans perspective. Which actually kinda makes sense. Like people being said to have "magic" and it being gunpowder.

[@claynorth964]

yeah, it is, but to what end? it doesnt critisize the propoganda, or have anything to say about it except, "yes, this is propoganda". there is a reason the US , uses this film to hype up troops (not joking)

[@Lawrence330]

@@claynorth964 You aren't joking, but you might be lying. The US military has a motion picture service that sends movies to deployed units for morale reasons. We got all sorts of movies, not just war movies or action movies. For a unit preparing to head into combat, sitting and watching a 2-hour movie wouldn't generally be considered a good use of time. This movie is popular with men, for many of the reasons mentioned in the video, and most of the movie is men. Naturally, it follows that it would be played to a military audience, or even frequently requested by that audience.

[@Q269]

Your intro discussion is so nice

[@SubstantialSubstance]

This is a great video, Dan, as usual! My favorite part is all the deluded people in the comments completely missing the point of the video, almost as if they didn't understand a word you said or can't think critically of things they like.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

So you apparently are only one who understands him.

[@claynorth964]

@@fightingmedialounge519 no, a lot of people do. unfortunately, a lot of people dont.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

@@claynorth964 yeah, my comment was meant to be facetious.

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

I couldn't watch the movie intil I accepted that this is just simple spartan propaganda told by the one guy who was able to survive

[@claynorth964]

i dont know how that makes it better. the film itself is indulging and agreeing with the guys retelling of the battle. its not like the film is critisizing the soldier doing this, or making some point about propoganda.

[@Ignensis]

Yes to all of this, but imagine Snyder did it on purpose.

[@hkay93]

I can't begin to tell you how many people thought this film was historically accurate. As someone who studied Ancient History, all I do is facepalm and let them have it.

[@grahamrich9956]

Harvey K I have heard some historians of the period describe it as “the most historically accurate movie” not for the battle tactics or whatever but for the tone and themes and even the telegraphing of who the bad guys would all fit seamlessly into Ancient Greek culture and historiography.

[@just1desi]

I love guest puppet!! 👏🏽👏🏽👌🏽

[@98JSB]

Joke's on you! I'm sitting on a pillow!

[@davidkelly4937]

I just have to look it again and again and again

[@glamazon6172]

There could be no dialogue in 300 and I would still enjoy watching it.

[@glamazon6172]

Also that one guy's name is McNulty.

[@nickw7722]

Wish you had been able to keep in the Zardoz reference, just watched that film and thought it was very interesting in regards to masculinity. Would have loved to see what you had to say about it.

[@gameworkerty]

I'm here from the future to say that Zach Snyder gets his dream and will direct the Fountainhead.

[@jlaw131985]

Does he?

[@MrWazzup987]

9:00 you missed nationalism

[@audiobrew]

+Folding Ideas - Just stumbled onto your channel and I've been randomly watching videos. Captivating stuff. Where/how were you educated - formal, on-the-job, self-taught? Also, this video mentions "...way back in the first episode." I cannot find this first episode. Can you point me in the right direction?

[@conradsanjose5093]

leonidas, xerxes, immortals, queen and the... oracle. 😉

[@IGameChangerI]

I would loooove to read the script for this. The full script, uncut.

[@leirycpanizales5878]

After all these years, i have not seen this movie. Worst yet i have watched the sequel. Hehe...

[@speccyfunktrum1488]

4:18 Elephants are not monsters. Literally how dare you.

[@Light-Rock97]

Peanuts would like to differ.

[@Arachnes_Corner]

Google "the Punic wars"

[@raywhite7179]

Lalarizu - Your timeline is off. 300 was based off the Battle of Thermopylae (Sparta/Greece v. Persia). The Punic wars took place nearly 200 years after that, was lead by Hannibal (2 and 3, at least), and was between Rome v. Carthage.

[@kyriakospentheides]

He was referring to the fact that elephants were treated as monsters by the Romans, I do not think he was suggesting that Thermopylae was a battle of the Punic wars.

[@raywhite7179]

Kyriakos Pentheides - Yes. I realize that. I was just pointing out that there was a big difference between the two. You obviously know the difference, and I know the difference, but most people don't. After all, elephants have been used as war beasts forever. The Punic Wars didn't start that. That was just a bit of bravado on Hannabal's part.

[@Neophlegm]

Such a good deconstruction! That was interesting, thoughtful, and managed to be meaningful without overt preachiness. Man your critiques are good :)

[@4amlibra]

Am I the only one who’s extremely down to listen to the original script for this video?

[@UmmeHabiba.M]

🤚

[@suyang4505]

Where did Foldy go? 😘 love your work by the way.

[@Juliett-A]

Honestly, these older videos feel too short.

[@warmth9140]

Xerxes in he second layer of humanization.....damn man!

[@Ongarukat]

Flipside: If every film with a male lead made sure that male lead was shirtless for at least half of the movie, I know a lot of straight women and gay men who would be totally OK with that. But yes, it's good that every film is not a 300.

[@janesmith4167]

The_L1985 we care about the story more. 👩 didn't go out in droves to see 50shades cuz Jamie was shirtless, they went to see story. MM was a fun movie, but MM2 was whack. if it doesn't really serve a purpose then neither 👩👨 need to be "naked" on screen. I think lot of those sexy shots are just done for marketing purposes. it looks good on trailers and print Ads. p.s. the "sex scenes in 50shades mostly focused on the 👩, we got to see her fully naked a ton and he had like one gratuitous butt shot. even in a "👩🎬" most of the nudity was 👩.

[@floraposteschild4184]

Not sure what lot of straight women you hang with. If every movie had a shirtless male in it, let alone for at least half the movie, I would jump off the nearest high building, or at least boycott movies -- because I don't like exploitation or brain dead pandering any more than you do. Yes, I like to see appealing men on screen. But I define as appealing everyone from Idris Elba to Brendan Gleeson to Steve Buschemi to Ken Leung to Choi Min-Sik to Philip Seymour Hoffmann. And I find men like Chris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth relatively repulsive. As I did 300, except as a comedy. Not sure what the moral is, except that it is unwise to stereotype.

[@janesmith4167]

Flora Posteschild I always wondered if pandering w unnecessary nudity and sex scenes hurts or help the movie? why did Magic Mike XXl fail, but we are on a 5th transformers movie? maybe it pandering works differently on action movies. 🤔

[@ShoulderMonster]

Cass Edward Thank you, sir. You nailed it on the head!

[@llyrghmnghyll]

The moral of 300 is that The spartans were too stupid to effectively guard a tiny farm path.

[@NelsonStJames]

It's nice to have a film analyst come off the high horse every now and then and simply admit that some movies are fun even though they might be pushing a narrative that the current society is having issues with.

[@claynorth964]

gross

[@bshpev]

I love your videos, you talk about the most interesting shit and make me really think abut some interesting stuff while I get baked out of my skull. Canada booyah! (BC if that matters, I dunno where you're at).

[@bshpev]

I'd like to add that where as you address that Shia's character is a product o context/repetition, you're ignoring that his character role of inaction in the story can also be attributed to the "Everyman-innaction" (not accurate nomenclature) trope that progresses in main-stream fiction. To clarify, the trope I refers to how the "everyman" character becomes inactive and dragged through the plot so that no specific character trait is brought up, because having a specific ability alienates the portion of audience that doesn't have that ability. The character is written as inactive in the plot as possible to avoid alienating any portion of the audience. ala Harry Potter. obviously I'm ignoring the points you make regarding his douchebaggery... but even so it's something worth addressing, right?

[@Tuckerscreator]

+PiecesMissing I would argue that Harry Potter is a more active character that Sam Witwicky, by doing things like starting secret classes against government decrees, searching for Horcruxes, cheating in class, etc.

[@bshpev]

Yea, but Harry is pretty inactive for a lot of the plot, and only wins by having lucked into a prophecy or some other deus-ex-machina. (like that sword in the Chamber of Secrets or Hermione+timeTurner in... the third one?). I don't know my Harry Potter very well. My point is that everyone is Luke Skywalker: Every main character is great because they were born as the specialist of the snowflakes... but don't worry, Snowflake! You don't have to do anything except BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! Luke is great because he was born with the most force. Harry is great because he was cursed when he was born. Shia gets to go to robot heaven because his grandfather had a pair of glasses.

[@bruncla2303]

PiecesMissing HP is active character who survives based on luck. for example he went to chamber of secrets to save ginny even tho nobody would expect 12 year old to do so and nobody would blame harry if he was inactive. Harry is a blank character to help us project ourself on him but he has 2 traits that should inspire us and that is his bravery and his capability of love. those 2 traits are driving him forward and make him inspiring lead character

[@felidaefatalis]

i miss the puppets

[@olivert2635]

u da best dan

[@AlexLecorn]

So what's up with that puppet in the bottom right corner? 2:00 Does it appear in other videos?

[@jamesconnolly984]

This video and channel are fire emoji

[@readwrecks]

My problem with the movie was that on top of the objectification and glorification of everything in it is the amount of time they spend talking about free men fighting for freedom. It was perfect Bush era propaganda. I could just see this movie being played every Friday night on every American military base around the world. I’m sure it’s a staple in high school JROTC programs.

[@wearelegion5533]

Great video

[@vjorp5332]

Slavs are literarly always cromminals in everything XD

[@Jokaanan]

@Max Lejawka great movie reccs dude, but you're responding to someone who, uh, spelled "criminals" as "cromminals"

[@Nick-mp1zh]

Max, I think he was referring to Slavs in the Russian sense, as in the "ghetto poor people" type of thing

[@BrorealeK]

those dang cromminals

[@mr.pavone9719]

Someone PUH-LEEEZE make a gay porn parody of 300. I would so much rather watch that than the actual movie.

[@ProjektBurn]

If every movie was 300, then movies would suck. But since that's not the case, 300 is awesome as a story being told within a story, where one director attempted to tell that story as if we were all around a campfire and these were the images we collectively saw. As that, and the lack of other movies that fulfil this same approach (not saying there aren't any, just that there aren't many), 300 stands out for being exactly what it was meant to be, a fun ride.

[@DozyBinsh]

We have the same PC case! (Or at least, we did in 2015)

[@DozyBinsh]

To clarify, I still have the same case. I just thought the possibility exists that Dan is a case-traitor.

[@ungulatemanalpha]

I always looked at 300 as being so absurdly over-the-top that it had to be propaganda. It's not as clearly satirical as, say, Starship Troopers, but it uses a similar style of gratuitous (and gratifying) violence against an Other in service of a seriously fucked up ideology - and much like Starship Troopers, it's taking the piss out of the source material's ideological stance by pushing it past the point of believability. Honestly, Snyder's biggest flaw as a filmmaker - as unbelievable as this will sound - is that he's TOO SUBTLE. The hyperviolent absurdism of Sucker Punch, Watchmen and 300 is too believable and marketable to be read as parody. It says as much about what we've come to expect from blockbusters as it does about his own work, in my opinion. (This is especially clear with Watchmen, which came out well before the recent glut of comic book movies and basically cut them off at the pass.)

[@ssach7]

300 is based on a comic, not the real battle

[@EvelynDayless]

I think you give Synder WAY too much credit. His movies are much more Transformers and much less Starship troopers.

[@Bluargh02]

actually, if you analyse the movie its a visualisation of the story from the one eyed soldier who got send back to sparta. of course it gets over the top.

[@janesmith4167]

Zack too subtle? 😲 I'm not sure I understand what u mean. U think the violence in his movies were meant to parody Comic book or movie violence? (sorry if it just went over my head) imo I think he's more preoccupied w how the the violence looks.

[@TheGeorgeD13]

I think he doesn't give Snyder enough credit, Munashiimaru.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

If every movie was 300, I think mostly I'd object on the grounds of it being boring. I know I'm supposed to be upset about stereotyping racial groups on a moral level, but as a writer myself, I find that using stereotypes makes for boring writing. It makes characters flat and uninteresting, and it makes them like every other character of that type. It's something boring that you've seen a million times. This is probably why Hollywood likes using stereotypes, because Execubot Alpha is programmed to like things it has seen before.

[@nn6404]

Xerxes' likability is the core problem of the movie. There is nothing to root for with the 300. They are a fascist, sexist, racist, military cult. The persians are cool. They have a better lifestyle, and they at least offer peace to the Greeks who are so insulted that they kick a messenger down a well. They are so obviously the bad guys, that I would say that that is the point of the movie, if it weren't for the fact that Zach Snyder often doest this to his protagonists.

[@peterg1664]

The Persians don’t offer peace to the Spartans? They offer a protection racket, ie “if you submit and pay tribute we won’t hurt you”, that’s enough to get anyone angry. We also see nothing about life in Persia or under the Persians in 300, and although Leonidas is not a likable character, Xerxes is the live action equivalent of Him from the Powerpuff Girls, an effeminate psychopath with no redeeming qualities who is singularly interested in his own hedonic goals.

[@claynorth964]

@@peterg1664 as opposed to the Spartans who also had a slave class and throws its babies off cliffs if it has any issues it doesnt like? the spartans dont have a leg to stand on with there judgment of the Persians.

[@famuel2604]

What proportion of this channel is dedicated to Zac Snyder

[@cristiangarcia1260]

When I saw this movie the first time I thought it awesome but wander if NSA was involved in the production

[@ShiningCatProductions]

its based on a comic written by Frank Miller, who kind of sort of totally hates everyone from the middle east.

[@andresreydecastro]

Shining Cat kind of sort of? Yeah... kudos for giving him the benefit of the doubt. Meanwhile, I will just sit here waiting for Snyder to make the movie adaptation of Holy Terror.

[@MrArtoxs]

violence is awesome

[@gailcbull]

I think of 300 as a dude flick (the male version of chick flick). How many women do you know who love this film? I can't think of one. That's because it's a male power fantasy film. The men go out and kick each other's asses; the women stay home and worry; and when the men come home (or just before they leave for battle) the women jump their bones. End of story.

[@oof-rr5nf]

*dick flick I have always found the term "chick flick" quite condescending. So let's return the favour.

[@claynorth964]

if thats your fantasy, to kill, be homophobic and xenophobic, maybe you need to question yourself. which is the whole point of this video.

[@H.Hurricane]

11:15 decided not to put the overly stereotyped groups in his final edit

[@ooccttoo]

Maybe he felt like that would be too preachy, plus it's not really relevant to mention specifics since we all get what he's talking about.

[@H.Hurricane]

You're completely correct. I just thought it funny that the more and more I watch these videos, the more I find things like this.

[@francoisrd]

5:44 Wrong. I'm not sitting in a chair. I'm standing

[@cryo311]

funny thing about zack snyder is that he also directed man of steel, where the main villain is a military dictator hellbent on wiping out planet earth to rebuild krypton. i find it insane how zack can direct both a very pro-fascist movie, 300, and a very anti-fascist movie, man of steel. either this is character development or zack snyder is a comic nerd who has no eye for subtext edit: turns out he didn't write man of steel, he only directed it. although, he did both write and direct 300

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

He has no eye for subtext. I don't know if he would agree that he made a pro fascist movie

[@wswordsmen]

I am really late to this party, but I think it should be noted that other than not being inhuman (they were human) the immortals really were most of those characteristics. They get their name from it. The Immortals are called Immortals because they all look the same, so when you kill one another takes its place making them functionally immortal.

[@sifatshams1113]

Did you really put that shitty Adam Sandler movie Reign Over Me in the same category as Lost In Translation and Donnie Darko???

[@ReinBelmont]

9:52 "that's fine by me, 'cause I can't read"

[@tigerboy1966]

So how do you know how my brain works? Serious question.

[@andysee6996]

You missed one important detail. 300 is framed as a story that a Spartan soldier is telling before the Greeks counterattack and the more fantastical elements of the movie may be that soldier embellishing the story to play up the Spartans heroism.

[@TheFiresloth]

This kind of reasonning has to go with the context of the film. Does the film has any subtlety before that ? Does the dialogue or plot show any subversion ? Does Snyder looks like a guy who plays with tropes ? Have Miller shown anything that would make you think he doesn't believe in what is presented ? Is there any change in the cinematography at the end ? Nope. It's just an excuse us relatively savvy viewers bring to justify liking a very dumb movie using narration.

[@claynorth964]

but we the audience are supposed to indulge in the soldiers retelling. its not like the film is being critical of him or his version of events; its reveling in them.

[@justinparker7077]

#releasethehauntercut

[@slipperynickels]

cuz the zardoz reference? ridiculous.

[@marionsousagraca2031]

What is the first episode?

[@TheProphet3113]

Spartans were not straight, sexual relationships between trainees and masters was standard. Mostly to enforce command structures, but still.

[@chrisball3778]

Leonidas literally dismisses the Athenians as 'philosophers and boy-lovers' in the film, which is just completely ridiculous when you consider the horrible reality of Spartan training, as you describe. The film is definitely homophobic. There's also a bizarre moment when Leonidas says 'there are no slaves in Sparta!' which is even further off the mark, seeing as Sparta was the most dependant on slavery of all the Greek city states, and the fact they had an entire subject nation of helots was pretty much the only reason that Spartans could dedicate their entire lives to military training. Snyder justifies all the really gross historical inaccuracies by framing the narrative as being the legendary version of history, as told by the Spartans themselves. That's never sat well with me. Firstly because that doesn't explain why the Spartans would be so ridiculously ignorant of their own culture. Secondly, because we don't know most of what we know about the Battle of Thermopylae because of hoary old legends passed down by Spartan warriors- we know about it mainly because of Herodotus, who was extremely open-minded about other cultures, travelled around to interview eyewitnesses to the events he wrote about, and generally went out of his way to try to provide the most balanced account of events that he could. He even explicitly says that the Spartans fought so much better than the Persians because a) they were much more organised and disciplined and b) because, unlike the Persians, their infantry were heavily armoured. So what does the film do? It shows the Spartans running around wildly all over the place, virtually naked. Even as military propaganda, it fails, as it manages to portray the Spartans doing almost exactly the opposite of what made them such feared and effective warriors. I really don't expect films to be that historically accurate, but together with the xenophobia and all the other grim stuff, the sheer stupidity of 300 just sends me into a permanent cringe.

[@TheProphet3113]

@@chrisball3778 Excellent points indeed, to say nothing of the power women held in Sparta. I guess I've seen it too few times to remember the lines contradicting history. This stuff still happens to this day, marines in Afghanistan that never see the front lines get PTSD purely from being disallowed from intervening. And yeah, the Spartans won the day due to the narrow pass and unit cohesion almost entirely, movement would have killed that advantage. The movie did not do the true history justice, I acknowledge your brilliance and conclude that there is little left to add.

[@chrisball3778]

@@TheProphet3113 Your point about possible increased risk of PTSD from having an unrealistic expectation of agency in war is an interesting one, especially as deaths from suicide and substance abuse among veterans with PTSD are now more common than in combat for the armed forces of the US and some other developed nations.

[@marklafrancis253]

What ever happened to the puppets? I thought Foldy was a cool idea.

[@Fin0fLenster]

Chronic pain with holding the puppet a certain way for extended periods of time or something like that if I remember correctly.

[@bobmiller3627]

The "Chapo Trap House" podcast did an AMAZING hour-long take-down of this shitty little film a couple of years ago. Give it a listen: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4qqgH2Nf6qjp68

[@EkEMaN91]

but this isn't the only movie celebrating hyper masculinity! It's most action movies! It also feels weird for you to day that you will not tackle the problem because it's not systemic when this had been the idealised picture of a man (buff, smart, courageous leader) since the Greek times.

[@ReinBelmont]

I know a name! Traitoro the traitor.

[@ryanhoover1981]

I know I'm super late to the party, but can't this same case be made for the Lord of the Rings trilogy?

[@serenedoge9920]

But isn’t 300 just Spartan war propaganda? Like, that guy with the eyepatch is revealed at the end to be telling a story to the Spartans to get them pumped for fighting. And like any crazy story, there’s a bunch of hyperbole. Maybe like how the enemy army is supposedly full of mutants and monsters? At least that’s how I interpret it.

[@claynorth964]

yes, and? the film doesnt critisize or have really anything to say about it just being thats soldiers propaganda.

[@mireillelebeau2513]

"300" about 200 000views, "50 shades of Gray" about 4 000 000 views. Oh! Objectivation of woman body sells more than objectivation of Man Violence.

[@mnm1273]

this is a reupload with no attempt at playing to the KZbin algorithm. The 50 shades video has a much better thumbnail and title, was posted when he was more established on KZbin and was a new video.

[@m.f.3347]

this video was made when he had a much smaller subscriber base

[@roguebuddha]

Who felt like the little guy on the right? Pretty much, but very accurate. This flic is utmost blatant propaganda.

[@TheGeorgeD13]

Every film ever made IS PROPAGANDA... Really stupid statement. And propaganda isn't even a bad thing. It just is.

[@roguebuddha]

propagandaprɒpəˈɡandə/nounnoun: propaganda; noun: Propaganda1. information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.

[@TheGeorgeD13]

gunnargerhardt So? You matched the description of every movie ever made. Still a stupid statement that you made, man. Still not a bad thing or a good thing. Just is.

[@MegaDrunkViking]

In what way is EVERY movie misleading in nature?

[@TheGeorgeD13]

Alexander West Not necessarily misleading. No film is misleading in nature. They just represent a different point of view. TO SOME that are refusing to see other points of view will find it to be misleading when it is not.

[@MadameCorgi]

Cersei!

[@shanel7707]

I don't get how you (correctly in my opinion) identifes the facist nature of Man of Steels or many super hero movies but completely ignores the much more overt facist overtone of 300.

[@riccardomazzaro1901]

300 is enjoyable fascist propaganda. Glorification of the mythical origins of civilisation; condemnation of the degenerate and the weak; West vs. East....

[@Commanber]

I have a special kind of seething hatred for this film in my heart. I fucking hate it so much.