"Stop hitting yourself, Stop hitting yourself"

The Spartan value system in the movie 300 can easily be compared to Americas value system in the 1950s, and the representation of Persia could parallel modern world views of America. King Leonidas brags that the women of Sparta are as strong and as brave as the Spartan men, all the while they are not allowed to speak in the senate and the Queen is ridiculed for being a woman. The disabled, acting as another negative representation, are portrayed as inadequate, physically and mentally, for the Spartan nation but not for the Persian army. Just like some nations today believe that Americans have a deformed value system, the Spartans believed that the Persian army was not only physically deformed, like its monsters, but mentally as well.

As long as we are over generalizing here, the 1950s carried with it a value system based in morals, tradition and image, the atomic family. It was thought that by being a patriotic, God fearing do-gooder american one would be considered normal. Men were thought to be strong and brave and ready to fight for his country, to happily give his life for his family, and his sons knew they would follow in his footsteps. Going into the army was thought to "make a man out of you." Women were honored and adored and every man was taught how to treat a lady, but politically and culturally women were mostly thought of as mothers and daughters, not politicians and leaders. These very principles are used to describe the people of Sparta. Its men are patriotic warriors ruled by mystical oracles, its women cannot speak in front of senate but are loved and adored by men, its young boys train to fight when they are young then go on a journey to become a man.

There can be many lines drawn between the representation of the Persian army in 300 and the modern world view of America. The Persian army is massive. It has covered most of the world. They are portrayed as decadent and depraved. The army is made up of many nations accepting anyone. (even though America is struggling with immigration laws, we are still a country of immigrants) The disabled in 300 are tossed out of Sparta only to be accepted by the Persian army, enlisting not only Quasimodo, but also people with saw arms and anger issues. This tells the Spartans that as long as everyone falls in line with depravity, its cool.

-Jonathan Donovan