The New York Times, and Zack Snyder, discover that people will find contemporary political analogies in most anything — even in the retelling of a 2,500-year-old clash of cultures.
At a recent press junket for 300, Snyder’s adaptation of Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s epic tale of the battle of Thermopylae, a reporter asked, “Is George Bush Leonidas or Xerxes?”
The questioner, by Mr. Snyder’s recollection, insisted that Mr. Bush was Xerxes, the Persian emperor who led his force against Greek’s city states in 480 B.C., unleashing an army on a small country guarded by fanatical guerilla fighters so he could finish a job his father had left undone. More likely, another reporter chimed in, Mr. Bush was Leonidas, the Spartan king who would defend freedom at any cost.
Mr. Snyder, who said he intended neither analogy when he set out to adapt the graphic novel created by Frank Miller with Lynn Varley in 1998, suddenly knew he had the contemporary version of a water-cooler movie on his hands. And it has turned out to be one that could be construed as a thinly veiled polemic against the Bush administration, or be seen by others as slyly supporting it.
To be fair, The Times points out, this isn’t the first time Bush has been compared to the Persian emperor. A quick Google search shows the connection being made as early as 2002, when the president delivered his “axis of evil” State of the Union Address.
300 opens nationwide on Friday.
Related: Wizard interviews the movie Xerxes, Rodrigo Santoro
It’s also a little disingenuous for the Times to suggest that somehow it’s a shock when people look for political allegories in something by Frank Miller.
Comment by Jim — March 5, 2007 @ 8:42 am
King Leonidas: The miltaristic leader of a country invaded by the most powerful nation on Earth, defending the invasion of his homeland with a small ragtag personal guard, ultimately losing his life at hands of the invading forces.
His early 2500-years-removed equivalent? Why, Saddam Hussein, of course.
Comment by Anonymous — March 5, 2007 @ 4:53 pm
I would do anything to see Frank Miller’s reaction to this.
Probably his biggest work to date is used as propaganda against what he now stands for.
Comment by lorshas — March 6, 2007 @ 3:36 am
Well if we are spinning this the Xerxes is the culmination of radical Isalm and the Spartans are our brave men and women in uniform trying to stem the tide. Sorry I don’t buy into this Thermopolaye as Iraq analogy…far from it. But of course I’m some bleeding heart will try and prove nme wrong.
Comment by Dan — March 6, 2007 @ 7:07 am
I don’t know much about the movie, but whichever character is the stupid one, that would be Bush.
Comment by Mary — March 6, 2007 @ 8:38 am
Being Greek I take it as an insult to even think of comparing Bush as being Leonidas. After all, Leonidas fought and died in his own country not in Persia, like the poor American boys drop one after the other on the other side of the globe.
Comment by Stella — March 6, 2007 @ 10:54 am
Do we need vailed alegories to dislike this guy? He led us into a War on false pretenses with the only remaining pretext being “He tried to kill my Daddy”. We now are stuck with a bloody civil war on our hands. As Colin Powell aptly put it “You broke it You bought it”
The Democrats need to stop trying to fix it. It is his War, fund it to protect our troops but keep reminding everyone whose War it is. He will never get us out before 2008 so let the people punish his party again. Let’s get someone in there who can rebuild our tarnished reputation in the world. I would love to travel outside the US again without shame. I think the next Dem should allow Iran and Syria to protect their Sunni and Shia brothers respectively. Protect the Kurds and give them their own country. I never liked the Turks anyway>
Comment by Bobby — March 6, 2007 @ 11:34 am
For the full story at read Daniel Chpts 10 11 & 12 The whole real story is there..
Comment by Jewell — March 6, 2007 @ 2:42 pm
Bush is Leonidas, of course. For you rabid lefties out there, the way you decide is to figure out who is defending western civilization. Leonidas stopped the Persians then and Bush is stopping them now. Those of you who don’t see that are on the wrong side of history; again.
Comment by Mike — March 11, 2007 @ 3:36 pm
OK Mike
Let’s see which ones are the Persians the Iraquis or the Afghans. If I remember correctly Iraq was the country who kept Iran in check in the region. OOPs looks like we shot (hung) the wrong guy. If it is the Persians we have to fear, that is.
I think George the 2nd is scarier than all the Middle East countries combined. He has killed over 3000 Americans and created 50,000 wounded and failed to realize that the Military medical system and the VA was already operating over capacity. Yes George if you create casualities you have to treat them. React without planning is this guys trademark. Congress needs to build a strong fence around this guy to keep him from messing anything else up.
The environment, Yeah Kyoto, The European allies, Yeah Iraq. The Middle East, Yeah Iraq again. South America, Yeah Iraq. But hey “they tried to kill my Daddy” Oh and don’t forget the economy, What was the National debt when he took office? and what is it now? It’s going to take more than 8 years to straighten out this mess.
Comment by Bobby — March 12, 2007 @ 9:38 am
“I think George the 2nd is scarier than all the Middle East countries combined”
You lost me on that one there buddy. That is the problem with libs, they can never put things in perspective.
Comment by J meyers — March 21, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
and that perspective would be…?
Did the war in Iraq serve some greater good that is lost on most of the country? Are we keeping America safe from maurauding Iraqis in our streets? We have spent 2 Trillion dollars on the war in Iraq. If we spent that money on alternative fuels, we would not need Middle East oil. Better have that plate glass window put into your stomach. It will improve your perspective.
Comment by Bobby — March 22, 2007 @ 9:03 am
B U S H = L E O N I D A S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. SUPPOSEDLY Broke law to fight a just war
2. Enemy wants to rule the world (if you don’t see how this applies, you are terribly uninformed or mislead)
3. Opposed by traitors at home who don’t understand the real danger they face
4. Joined by coalition of like-minded troops from other nations
5. Deserted by coalition members when going got tough
6. Sacrificed his life to do the right thing (his political life in W’s case)
7. Greece has historically represented the West and gave birth to democracy
8. Persia IS Iran
9. Oracle of Delphi in movie = modernday false religion of pacifism
Quoting the Iowa Voice:
“During the war, there springs up two competing movements back home in Sparta, one to send more troops to aid the King in battle, and one to proclaim that the King has violated the law by waging war. Sound familiar?”
http://www.iowavoice.com/2007/03/11/is-the-movie-300-about-george-bush-and-iraq-part-ii-the-review/
BUSH 2008!!!!
Comment by Hezekiah King — April 11, 2007 @ 10:46 pm
This Iraq war is a mistake from the very beginning. The difference between an adult and a child is that an adult admits when they make a mistake and correct it so that one can move forward. A child denies resposibility. Bush is acting like a child. He REFUSES to admit he was wrong despite overwhelming evidence. And now we have to wait until he’s out of office to get someone to clean up his mess make amends so that we can move forward. High interest rates, taxes, insurance, gas prices and forclosures are affecting Americans to pay for this war, yet Bush keeps saying send more troops. I cannot afford this war to feed his ego…can you?
Comment by Jayne — April 17, 2007 @ 2:55 am
Who said George Bush II is a republican and those who realize his stupidity are lefties? It has nothing to do with left and right. GBII did nothing but to ruin any respect republicans ever had. Anyone in their right mind would not follow a nut case like that so blindly. So if you follow him and call yourself a republican, you are not! You are just a sorry lost person. US president would be a patriotic man, if he would fight the enemies, such as Bin Laden!
Comment by Barbara — May 5, 2007 @ 11:50 pm
“Bush is Leonidas, of course. For you rabid lefties out there, the way you decide is to figure out who is defending western civilization. Leonidas stopped the Persians then and Bush is stopping them now. Those of you who don’t see that are on the wrong side of history; again.”
mike, unless i’m mistaken, and i uh, could be, leonidas didn’t defeat the persians, the persians weren’t defeated until athens and sparta were united into greece.
read into that for a metaphor
Comment by thedude — June 8, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
Neither side is Leonidas. The sad thing is, with the dreams of empire, both are Xerxes.
We don’t have to wait until January 2009. We can, & should, impeach Bush now, for he has not been faithful to our laws.
Comment by philippos42 — August 5, 2007 @ 10:19 am