The Field of Glory

I am only going to make two more posts before I take a good long break from this blog for a while. In order to wrap up my analysis of 300 and the way in which it defamiliarizes us by causing us to see the glory of being a soldier and going to war, I want to post one last video that shows the conclusion of this depiction from the film. It is the final stand by the 300 Spartan soldiers. They all get slaughtered; however, the film makes their death seem glorious! Perhaps the most obvious aspect of this portayal occurs at the very end of the scene when Leonidus is about to be murked by a ton of arrows. In particular, watch the way in which the film depicts Leonidus going down and ultimately dying; however, as you watch this part, watch the way in which the film shows the sun reflecting its glorious light. This is a blatant metaphor of the theme this film presents throughout its duration. It is ultimately a film about restoring glory to the ideas that we associate with being a soldier and going to war. It makes me want to fight and die for something bigger than me. In addition, it caused me as the viewer to want to watch the film again and agin and enjoy it as a piece of art that communicates directly to my soul. The film has an aesthetic beauty that can make any viewer stop and contemplate the way ideas are communicated as well as enjoy the special effects from the various scenes. For me, this final scene really encapsulates the essence of the reality that this film defamiliarizes us by creating a newness in the way in which we view being a soldier and being in war.

Fight to the Death

Glory of War

So, over the past several posts I have commented on how the film 300 defamiliarizes us to our normal ideas about war and the horrors and tragedies of war. 300 is quite a different depiction of the battlefield. In fact, it is as though the entire movie is a glorification of war or at least an attempt to make the glory that can be found in war glorious again. I feel that the way in which this particular battle scene is portrayed shows this ideology. It defamiliarizes us in many ways and there are various ways in which Zach Snyder, the director, purposely created the scene to do just this very thing. First off, the transitioning from slow motion to fast action filming defamiliarizes our perception of warfare by causing us to become focused on the relentless passion Leonidus has for killing his enemies. The clinging and clanging of the weapons providing the background music almost makes us think about war as being melodic, a form of art. The clinging weapons create the music that guides King Leonidus in this scene as he dances through the bodies of the Persians. The way the blood of the Persians he is killing is shown distorts the reality of war as being glorious rather than gruesome and horrid (compare it with the beach scene from Saving Private Ryan). I mean, I would say that the way that Snyder portrays the actual blood, killing, and fighting that takes place between the Spartans and the Persians ultimately defamiliarizes us further to this ideology. Rather than feeling a sense of sorrow or repulsivness over men killing other men, the film ignites a sense of passion and excitement in my heart as I see how AWESOME war can be (I say that based solely in light of the film) and the glory that can come from killing your enemy on the battlefield. I mean the film's portrayal of battle really is unfamiliar to us as viewers because it makes war seem so freakin' cool!!!

Leonidus goes ham!

Also...compare the portrayal of the 300 scene to this scene from Saving Private Ryan. Watch from about 4:30 to 7:00 on the clip to see what I am really talking about!

Living to fight

Once again, the film 300 is a great example of a film that defamiliarizes us to the ingrained ideas we have about things. In particular, I am expounding on the way that the film defamiliarizes us to the idea of war and our idea of soldiers. This scene where Leonidus asks his men about their profession is a perfect example. For the most part, we think as soldiers as being soldiers on the side in many ways. I mean, yes, today we have people who are full time soldiers in the military, and it is their profession; however, how many of those men lived their entire lives training to do nothing except fight and kill and go to war? I would argue that very few, if any, were brought up this way. In fact, I suppose that the way in which we usually think about being a soldier is similar to the way the Arcadians( the soldiers Leonidus questions) were portrayed in this specific scene. However, the film's portrayal of the Spartans, once again, defamiliarizes us to our normal ideas about being a soldier and restores the idea of glory to being a soldier and going to war. Go hit up this link!

Check it Out!!!

This is Sparta

Alright, so you may be wondering where am I going with this 300 thing. Well, ultimately, I finally had to choose to narrow my direction down to one specific area of focus, so I decided I would focus predominantly on this film as a form of art because of the defamiliarizing effect that it has on its viewers. As I watched the film, I felt like the main way in which it affected me through defamiliarization was by estranging the ideas I commonly associate with war by the film's critique of the glory that can be associated with being a soldier and going to war for one's country. Honestly, I really do not think of war as being glorious or something desirable. I would go to war if their was a draft or if I had to go, but I am not the type that really desires to go battle, kill others, and risk my life dying on a battlefield. However, I definitely believe there is much honor and respect to be had there. Therefore, this film, on the other end if the spectrum, is totally estranged to my views. Take this next scene link as an example. Leonidus has the oppurtunity to avoid going to war and remaining at peace with the Persians who are conquering their land. Now, I definitely understand if he would not want to surrender, thus, turning down Xerxes the Persian king's offer. However, he does way more than turn their offer down. He provokes them to attack Sparta by killing the messenger of Persia. Leonidus wants to go to war against the Persians or as he calls them later, a Tyrant. There is no sense of fear or hesitation about going to war. Rather, there is a sense of glory and honor to be gained by going to war. In fact, the only way to achieve this form of glory and honor is by going to war according to the film. Prior to seeing this film, I had never thought about the glory and honor of going to war in this way. Here in the scene, the cinematography is a very vital defamiliarizing effect. The sun shining in the way that it does once again hints at the idea of glory. Leonidus is seen looking at the sun as he is contemplating his descision. It is all centered around the idea of glory. He sees glory on the horizon. The cinematography depicts this mindset. Also, the music defamiliarizes us in a likewise manner by adding a weight of glory to the scene. In addition to the music, the way in which the scene slows down, zeroing in on Leonidus, hints at the idea that great glory is to be gained from going to war. As you watch the scene take in all the different ways that it reflects this idea and does so in a way that is unfamiliar to us. Every component makes the idea of war glorious again. This glory is what drove the Spartans and Leonidus to respond the way they do in the film and in this scene....also the pop up, if it happens when you watch it will defamiliarize the scene even further! Lol!

No Negotiations

An Enemy Approaches

Again, in the beginning of the film, 300, the movie defamiliarizes my sense of being a soldier. Even in his teen years, Leonidus, the King of Sparta in the film, is constantly tested as the narrator tells. All the testing is for one reason and one reason only: to prepare him to be a Spartan soldier. The narration is key to being defamiliarized here and making the glory of being a soldier glorious again. Honestly, before I saw this movie, I had never thought about warfare and being a soldier in the way I did after seeing this movie. I think this is one of the reasons it is such a great picture of defamiliarization. The sheer story line is enough to make this idea new again, but the special effects add even more gravity to it. For example, throughout the film pay careful attention to the lighting in the background from either the sun or the moon. At various times throughout the film there is a powerful visual portrayal of intense light shown through the use of special effects. The portrayal of light is a clear metapohor regarding the glory that was associated with war for the Spartan soldier. I say this because of the times when the light is shown and the way the light is shown throughout the film. Even in the scene that I am referring to in this post, there is an obvious implementation of this particular metaphor. Look at when this effect is used, how it is used, and the underlying reason for why it is used in this scene. Further adding to the defamiliarization effects of the film is the portrayal of the Spartan soldiers. For instance, in this scene, Leonidus has been cast into the wild to fend for himself and survive however he can. Not only is he put in the wild alone, he is put in the wild during the winter time. The way Zack Snyder, the director, decided to portray this encounter Leonidus has with the wolf is very artistic, and its whole purpose is to defamiliarize us to ideas like bravery and fearlessness and how they interact with the overarching theme of the film in that there is great glory to be found in being a soldier and going to war for your country. Look at the way the enemy is depicted, look at the special effects that bring light to the darkness of night, thus, hinting at the glory of being a soldier and killing the enemy. Also, look at the portrayal of the young boy and the way the film shows him interacting with the enemy, in particular, his fearlessness and bravery. In addition to all these components, think about the narrator's words throughout the scene. The totality of the scene exists to defamiliarize the way that we think of being a soldier and going to war.

His Form...Perfect