Line #52 YMMV/ThreeHundred


1	[[PunctuatedForEmphasis These. Are. YMMV. Items!]]
2
3	* AccidentalAesop:
4	** The film adaptation of ''300'' is often interpreted to glorify secular, Westernized countries standing against the religious extremism and intolerance of the Middle East. However, some critics pointed out that in the film, Persia is a massive, wealthy and culturally diverse empire bent on expanding its influence throughout the world, while the Spartans are a small group of dedicated, zealous fighters who are willing to break the rules of war and martyr themselves to resist the invaders, which makes Persia represent the United States and Spartans represent the terrorists instead.
5	** Given that the Persians are written as one-dimensional villains (despite the fact that in RealLife, they were actually pretty tolerant and civilized), while the Spartans are presented as heroes and in such a badass way, one could think that the movie teaches that "it's A-OK to dehumanise/mock certain cultures to make other cultures seem superior".
6	* AdaptationDisplacement: Despite creator Creator/FrankMiller's pedigree in the comics world, the comic was not very well known in the mainstream before the film came out.
7	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Was Leonidas content to prove his point by [[spoiler:just "making a god-king bleed", or was he aiming to kill]]? For one thing, [[spoiler:Xerxes still bleeds anyway if he's killed, and that can't happen because of [[ForegoneConclusion history]]]]. The comic had no such ambiguity [[spoiler:since there Leonidas screams "Xerxes, die!"]] Then in both the comic and movie, [[spoiler:the narrator (who wasn't a witness anyway) is making excuses why the spear throw only grazed Xerxes (long distance, he's tired, etc)]].
8	* AmericansHateTingle: Naturally, the film was condemned as "Western Propaganda" in Iran due to the way it portrayed Persians.
9	* {{Applicability}}: As noted above under AccidentalAesop, fans and critics alike have often debated whether Sparta or Persia is meant to represent the United States, and which is meant to represent the Middle East. While the film came out at the height of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror, it was based on a graphic novel from The90s, predating the war and the "clash of civilizations" discourse that surrounded it.
10	* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The comic book contains some of the best art Creator/FrankMiller ever drew. The coloring also falls under this.
11	* CompleteMonster: [[SmugSnake Theron]] is a [[CorruptPolitician Spartan Senator]] who [[LesCollaborateurs betrays his people to Persia in exchange for riches]]. Manipulating the Senate and military into standing idly by while brutal Persia slowly conquers the land, [[TheQuisling Theron]] deliberately isolates King Leonidas and his army of 300 soldiers without backup so they will be slaughtered by the Persians. When Queen Gorgo comes to him desperate to send aid to Leonidas, Theron claims he will help her, [[ScarpiaUltimatum but first violently rapes her]]. He then [[ILied refuses to keep his promise]] and tries to frame Gorgo as a harlot so as to silence her for good and leave Sparta in Theron's hands to deliver to Persia.
12	* {{Designated Hero}}es: Ordinarily, you wouldn't be rooting for a side that glorifies warfare, practices eugenics, is profoundly xenophobic, executes diplomats and [[LeaveNoSurvivors systematically kills wounded and those attempting to surrender]]. The film gets away with it through sheer BlackAndGreyMorality, as the Persians are portrayed as even nastier tyrants who employ literal monsters, enslave entire cultures and massacre villages on their path, but this does not erase the Spartans's own crimes by modern standards (and cannot be accomplished without a healthy dose of ArtisticLicenseHistory, as those who are more familiar with the historical Greco-Persian Wars will know). As a consequence, ''300'' can be perceived to make an awkward stance, because it paints the Spartans as morally relatable even though it doesn't bother to cover most of their barbarism. It's tempting to view the Persians as misunderstood heroes leading the charge against a group of backwards, psychotic slavers who physically and sexually abuse their children. This is taken even further by ''Film/ThreeHundredRiseOfAnEmpire'', where the Spartans' TrainingFromHell is shown from the perspective of Athenian Themistocles, and there's nothing glorious about it, just four grown men beating up a child.
13	* {{Designated Villain}}s: The Persian soldiers are repeatedly mentioned to be nothing more than [[PunchClockVillain slaves]] forced by their fear of the king to fight. This is even meant to be derisive, as it implies they are at fault for not having enough bravery, strength or virtue to rebel against Xerxes or die trying as the Greeks do. Naturally, it doesn't make them any less sympathetic, especially to modern sensibilities. (Also because, as said above, this happens to be a huge historical deviation: Persian soldiers were certainly citizens forced into service by their monarchy, but they weren't literal slaves, while the Greeks didn't shy away from slavery themselves, especially the Spartans, where the majority of the population consisted of enslaved Helots.) The Persian Empire was known to be fairly cosmopolitan and tolerant in real life, so their portrayal as cruel tyrants relative to the supposedly heroic Spartans feels more than a little suspect.
14	* EstrogenBrigade: When your movie's cast is mostly made up of buff men who seem [[WalkingShirtlessScene unacquainted with the concept of a shirt]], getting one of these is inevitable.
15	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
16	** The movie was a ''massive'' hit in Greece and cultural neighbor Cyprus, most likely because it depicts Greeks as total badasses.
17	** It's also extremely popular with the European far-right for [[MisaimedFandom less wholesome reasons]].
18	** Also popular with the largely conservative Asian viewers.
19	* GratuitousSpecialEffects: This movie makes heavy use of prosthetics, GreenScreen and lots of CGI. The same battle was depicted in the movie ''Film/The300Spartans'' decades earlier with little more than fancy costumes and prop swords. The comic is comparatively more realistic with its visuals.
20	* HilariousInHindsight: Creator/DavidBrin, in a critical review of the story which bashed Frank Miller for downplaying the efforts of the other Greeks, stated "That Athenian triumph deserves a movie!" Three years later, they got one in the sequel.
21	* HoYay: This movie might have been called ''Ho Yay: The Motion Picture'', to the point where Website/{{Cracked}}'s Website/YouTube series ''Hilarious Helmet History'' [[https://youtu.be/naPUYTKEMc8 described the movie]] as a "Tom of Holland fest" (presumably a {{malaproper}} for Creator/TomOfFinland, instead of [[Creator/TomHolland that dude who played Spider-Man]]). [[TruthInTelevision In fact]], real-life Spartans in the ''agoge'' were encouraged to have a relationship with an older master who will train them. In some cases, girls had to shave themselves bald so that they could look like boys and get married.
22	* ItsPopularNowItSucks: Thanks to the movie's success, TheSpartanWay and generally, the Spartan culture, have become pretty well-known to modern times. This has resulted in a backlash from people who were never fond of the Spartans, with argues stating that they were not as heroic as the film portrays them.
23	* MemeticBadass:
24	** While the Spartans were already commonly regarded by historians as one of the most badass civilizations in all of history, this movie, also making bored high school students interested in a quaint little city state that they would not even know existed in the first place, exaggerated the idea further that the Spartans were really a race of hypermuscular Supermen who can each kill millions by themselves while wearing only underwear. It's like applying Website/ChuckNorrisFacts to an entire ancient city.
25	** Spartans don't need armour. Their abs are harder.
26	* MemeticMolester:
27	** Xerxes.
28	** The Spartans also suffer from this as well due to all the massive HoYay Fanservice they provide, and the historical fact that Spartans tolerated active homosexuality and pederasty while living in communal barracks. It's telling that the Spartans were known to be much more enthusiastic about their pedophilia than the other Greek city states. Even though Xerxes is portrayed as a depraved weirdo, his perversion seems to begin and end with his flamboyant outfit and his lax attitude towards the people having an orgy in his tent (who are all at least consenting adults rather than preteen boys like what the Spartans prefer).
29	* MemeticMutation: See! [[Memes/ThreeHundred HERE]]!
30	* MoralEventHorizon: If Theron didn't cross it by using Persian money to bribe the ephors into warning Leonidas against going to war against Persia during an imminent religious holiday, he definitely did so by [[spoiler:raping Gorgo]] and attempting to out her as an adulteress at the Senate meeting the next day.
31	* {{Narm}} / NarmCharm:
32	** We could also call this ''Narm Charm: The Motion Picture'', what with every single actor on a [[ChewingTheScenery 100% scenery diet]].
33	** The sheer premise: muscled badasses taking on a technologically and numerically superior continental empire of a thousand nations (with MONSTERS and [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Ninja Orc Supersoldiers]]) while wearing only briefs. If that's not TestosteronePoisoning, nothing else is.
34	** The Persian executioner, an ogre-like type with blades instead of arms, looks like he came out directly from either ''Diablo'' or ''Warcraft''.
35	** Gerard Butler's facial reaction when Daxos tells Leonidas that the Persians are on the high pass towards their rear guard. Instead of looking angry, frustrated, resigned or any other fitting emotion, he looks utterly confused, even doing a little goofy glance to the side. While it could be chalked up to him being shocked that the Persians found the pass (and being putting two and two together with his rejection of Ephialtes), it looks more like he cannot honestly remember what pass is Daxos talking about.
36	** The weird, dome-shaped turtle formation the Spartans execute at the background when cornered by the Persians. Aside from looking odd, it also seems hard to pull physically - are the Spartans forming a human pyramid inside or something?
37	* OlderThanTheyThink:
38	** The concept of a purportedly historical chronicle 90% made of RuleOfCool is hardly new. One could read Silius Italicus's ''Literature/{{Punica}}'' and consider it basically the Roman version of ''300'', given that it presents a series of ridiculously badass Roman allies fighting a massive, grotesque multi-ethnic army complete with war elephants and led by cruel conqueror with a vendetta. Some of its passages are so similar to scenes and elements in ''300'' that it is hard not to think either Miller or Snyder had read it.
39	** A number of lines from the comics and the movie are actually from Creator/{{Herodotus}}, including "fight in the shade" and "Tonight, we dine in Hades" (Hades is short for "Hades's kingdom", the underworld, which was where all afterlives were, for Ancient Greeks). The Spartan epitaph planted by the side of the road is actually still visible as a marker from the Classical period:
40	-->Go tell the Spartans, passer by,\
41	That here, by Spartan law, we lie.
42	** Queen Gorgo also apparently said "Only Spartan women give birth to real men." Though this is believed to have been said to another Greek, not to a Persian messenger.
43	** TheSpartanWay: the real life Spartans literally made this trope. However, real life Spartans didn't go to war naked; they were portrayed that way because in ancient Greece, muscular nakedness was a symbol of heroism.
44	* RetroactiveRecognition:
45	** Creator/MichaelFassbender plays Stelios. This movie came out a few years before his first truly famous roles so many people never really registered that it was him in this one.
46	** Creator/LenaHeadey had been working for over ten years but mostly in television roles, with maybe ''Film/TheCave'' or ''Film/TheBrothersGrimm'' being her only recognizable films. Of course only a few years later, ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' and ''Series/GameOfThrones'' changed that.
47	** Creator/PeterMensah, who plays the ill-fated Persian Messenger, would later become known for playing Oenomaus in ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand''.
48	* SignatureScene: The scene where Leonidas kicks a Persian messenger into a well in a show of patriotism became the best-known moment in the film as a result of its over-the-top presentation and Leonidas' hammy delivery of the line "This! Is! ''Sparta!''" The scene became a popular subject for parody, especially online, where it generated a popular YouTubePoop meme in the form of Sparta Remixes.
49	* SpiritualAdaptation: Creator/FrankMiller has openly admitted that ''300'' was inspired by the 1962 film ''Film/The300Spartans'' and therefore it serves as its unofficial comic adaptation only if it ran on RuleOfCool and ArtisticLicense. In some regions, [[DolledUpInstallment the movie was given the same title as the original, as though if it were a remake]].
50	* StrawmanHasAPoint: When the Persian herald confronts the Greeks building a wall from dead bodies and screams that they are barbarians, it's hard to argue that he isn't ''somewhat'' justified in his horror and rage.
51	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Most of Tyler Bates's score were derived from other works such as ''Film/{{Titus}}'', to the point that Creator/WarnerBros not only apologized and resolved their mistake, but they also posted a note on later releases that the music was "derived from preexisting compositions not authored by Tyler Bates."
52	* TearJerker:
53	** The finale: the camera pans across the horizon and shows that [[spoiler:the sacrifice of Leonidas and his brave 300 has inspired ''thirty thousand'' Greeks to fight against tyranny]].
54	** The final scenes of the movie, though thanks to Dilios's verbal eloquence and expertise for {{Rousing Speech}}es it leaves a bit of a hope spot for the Greeks (See Quotes page for the full speech.)
55	** Another scene that deserves mention is the one where Leonidas is leaving Queen Gorgo for the last time. As Dilios narrates with solemn dignity: "Goodbye my love. He doesn't say it. There's no room for softness, not in Sparta. Only the hard and strong may call themselves Spartans. Only the hard. Only the strong."
56	** And that tearjerker inspires another tearjerker near the end, when Leonidas, peppered with arrows, the only Spartan left standing as his comrades die around him, raises himself up, and declares his love for Gorgo just before the final rain of arrows fall.
57	--->''"MY QUEEN! My wife. My love."''
58	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The omission (in the movie) and downplaying (in the comic) of the Thespian contingent staying with Leonidas and his army, when seeing it emphasized how non-Spartans stayed, fought and died the same as Leonidas and his men could have gotten better play, especially if they'd been made to fight side by side.
59	* WatchItForTheMeme: Let's be honest, one of the reasons why people watch this film is because of the "This Is Sparta" scene and the [[VoiceClipSong numerous musical remixes that have spawned from it]].
60	* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical:
61	** Complicated again, as the film was made during The War On Terror, which Frank Miller supports, but the original comic was written a decade earlier. This has lead to such a bad MisaimedFandom that a March 2007 press conference saw director Zack Snyder asked by a reporter whether King Leonidas was meant to be George W. Bush or Osama bin Laden. Original author Frank Miller claims that his comic to a large degree was inspired by the 1962 film ''The 300 Spartans'', which is often considered to be a metaphor for the Cold War. Whether such a message was intended or not is far from clear.
62	** To further complicate things, people have made arguments for the movie taking ''both sides'' as an allegory for War on Terror: the Spartans can be seen as representing a small local native people being threatened by an enormous expansive imperial force, ''and'' white westerners boldly slaughtering dehumanized brown-skinned middle easterners.
63	** Xerxes tempts Leonidas with the idea of becoming his vassal and "carry [Xerxes'] battle standard to the heart of Europe". It's unclear what does Xerxes mean by the heart of Europe, but if we follow the geography of the time, he is referring to either the Gaul or Germania - places that back then weren't that interesting to a faraway Asian empire, but which nowadays we consider to be centers of the western culture and the European Union. The previous metaphor of white westerners vs. brown-skinned middle easterners couldn't get any less subtle.
64	%%* TheWoobie: Ephialtes

Context YMMV / ThreeHundred